6/5/2024 – Round 8 of the Norway Chess tournament saw Magnus Carlsen extending his lead over Hikaru Nakamura to a full point, as he got the better of R Praggnanandhaa in Armageddon, while Nakamura was defeated by Alireza Firouzja in the rapid tiebreaker. In the remaining encounter of the day, Ding Liren missed winning chances both in the classical game (which ended drawn) and the ensuing tiebreaker against Fabiano Caruana — a second draw with black in Armageddon granted Caruana 1½ points. | Photo: Stev Bonhage / Norway Chess
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Armageddon victories
Magnus Carlsen drew 4 out of the 8 classical games he has played so far at the Norway Chess super-tournament. Out of the 4 Armageddon deciders he played, he prevailed in three of them — the one player who beat him in this stage of the mini-matches was Hikaru Nakamura in round 7. In Tuesday’s eighth round, Carlsen drew R Praggnanandhaa in their classical encounter and then beat him in Armageddon.
The strong performance of Carlsen in the rapid tiebreakers in this edition mimics his previous showings in the rapid stages of the event, as noted by Tarjei J. Svensen, who shared the following stats on X:
Carlsen only has six Armageddon losses out of 32 games in #NorwayChess history:
❎Nakamura (with black) in 2024 ❎Abdusattorov (with white) in 2023 (draw) ❎So (with black) in 2022 ❎Anand (with black) in 2022 ❎Tari (with black) in 2022 ❎Caruana (with black) in 2019
In this course, we will learn how to identify passively placed pieces in any given situation and how to improve their health by bringing them into active squares.
Tuesday’s Armageddon victory allowed Carlsen to get a full-point lead over Nakamura in the standings. With two rounds to go and with classical wins granting 3 points, it is still all to play for in Stavanger.
The two remaining mini-matches in round 8 were also decided in the rapid tiebreakers, though there was no lack of excitement in the drawn classical encounters. In the end, it was Fabiano Caruana and Alireza Firouzja who prevailed in the deciders, over Ding Liren and Nakamura respectively.
While Firouzja outplayed Nakamura in a tactical struggle in Armageddon, Ding missed chances in both games against Caruana and ended up drawing with white in the tiebreaker — this is the second consecutive round that sees the world champion getting promising positions and failing to convert them into victories.
Following the rest day, Carlsen will play black against a resurgent Firouzja, while Nakamura will get the white pieces against Ding.
1.d4Nf62.Bf4d53.e3Bf54.c4e65.Nc3Bd66.Bxd6Qxd67.Qb3b67...Qb68.c5Qxb39.axb3Nc610.Bb50-011.Bxc6bxc612.Kd2Rfb813.Ra3Rb714.Nge2Rab815.Nc1e5½-½ Barseghyan,H (2467)-Stefansson,H (2523) PRO League Stage Chess.com INT rapid 2018 (6)16.dxe5Nd717.Ra5Nxe518.N3e2h519.Nd4Bh7±8.Nf30-09.Be2dxc49...a610.0-0Nbd711.Rac1dxc412.Bxc4b513.Be2c514.dxc5Nxc515.Qb4Rfc8=0-1 Kamsky,G (2662)-Nakamura,H (2736) Speed Chess GP4 Chess.com INT blitz 2021 (6)10.Qxc4a611.0-0Nbd712.Rfd1b513.Qb3=
13...c514.dxc5Qxc515.Nd4Bg616.Bf3Ra716...Bh5!?17.Rac1White exerts pressure on the queenside. Black counters on the kingside.Qg518.Nc618.Qa3!?Ne519.Be2Qh420.h3±18...Ne519.Nxe5Qxe520.a4bxa421.Qb621.Nxa4Be4=21...Qb822.Nxa4h623.Be2Nd524.Qd4a525.Nc5Qb626.Bf3Rb827.Bxd5exd528.b3After28.Qxd5?!Qxb2Black would get an outside passed pawn.28...Rc7
38.Rc1White expected nothing from the rook ending.38.Nxf5gxf539.Rc1Rb5=38...Rxc139.Kxc1Bd740.Kb2Kf841.Kc3Ke742.Ne2Kd643.Kd4a444.bxa4Bxa445.Nf4With the pawns on the same wing, the knight is slightly better.Bb346.h4Ba247.g4hxg447...g5!?=48.fxg4Ke7Or48...Bb349.h5gxh550.gxh5Bc251.Nxd5Ke652.e4f653.h6Kf754.Nf4Kg8=49.Nxd5+Ke650.e4Bb351.Nf4+Kf6?!More cautious was51...Kd6e.g.:52.h5gxh553.gxh5Ke754.Ke5Kf855.Kf6Bc256.e5Kg857.Nh3Bd158.Nf4Bf3=52.g5+Kg753.Ke5
White has a space advantage and winning plans in connection with the advance of the e-pawn. In certain situations, White can give up the knight on f7, win back the piece with the e5-e6 advance and then put Black in zugzwang.53...Bc254.Nd5Bd3?Absolutely necessary was54...Kf855.Nf6Ke7=55.Nf6Kf856.Kd6Bb157.Kd757.e5?Bf5=57...Bc258.Kd8Bb159.Nd7+Or even59.e5Bf560.Nd7+Kg861.Ke7Be662.Nf6+Kg763.Ne8+Kg864.Nd6Kg765.Nxf7Bxf766.e6+-59...Kg760.e5Bf561.Ke7Bb162.Nc5Bc263.Nb7Bb164.Nd6Ba2
In this Video-Course we deal with different dynamic decisions involving pawns. The aim of this Course is to arm club/tournament players with fresh ideas which they can use in their own practice.
20.Bxd5cxb3?Even better was20...Bf521.Be4Bxe422.Qxe4Qe823.Rxd8Rxd824.Qxe8+Rxe825.bxc4g526.Nd3Rxe227.c5with winning chances for White.21.Bxe6?21.Qe4wins:Rxc122.Bxc1Bxd523.Qxb4Nc624.Qc3bxa225.Bb2f626.Rxd5gains a piece.21...Rxc222.Rxd7Rxd723.Bxd7Rxc1+24.Bxc1bxa2Here White also is a piece up, but...25.Bb2Ba326.Bc326.Bd4Nb327.Bc3Bb428.Bb2=28.Be5Bc529.e3Bd4-+26.Be5Bd6=26...Bb427.Bb2Ba328.Bc3Bb429.Bb2Ba3½–½
Glorious sacrifices, unexpected tactics and checkmating attacks. The King's Gambit is one of the oldest and most romantic openings in the game of chess. This DVD contains all you need to know to tackle your opponent.
The Ruy Lopez is one of the oldest openings which continues to enjoy high popularity from club level to the absolute world top. In this video series, American super GM Fabiano Caruana, talking to IM Oliver Reeh, presents a complete repertoire for White.
Carlos Alberto ColodroCarlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.
2nd Move Anti-Sicilian Powerbase 2025 is a database and contains a total of 12090 games from Mega 2025 or the Correspondence Database 2024, of which 874 are annotated.
Ruy Lopez Powerbase 2025 is a database and contains a total of 12092 games from Mega 2025 and the Correspondence Database 2024, of which 1276 are annotated.
In this 60 Minutes, Andrew Martin guides you through all the key ideas you need to know to play with confidence. Whether you’re looking to surprise your opponents, or simply want a straightforward weapon against e5, the Centre Attack has you covered.
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