The Weekly Show: Maximum Magnus

by Lawrence Trent
4/30/2019 – On the show today, IM Lawrence Trent looks at the monstrously good performance of World Champion Magnus Carlsen at the Grenke Chess Classic. Live at 16:00 UTC (18:00 CEST, 12 Noon EDT) and free to watch on-demand for a limited time with a ChessBase Basic Account. You can register a free 90-day account to watch.
Welcome to the Bombastic Bird's, a revolutionary repertoire for one of the most enterprising and underrated openings in chess theory (1.f4). In this series, IM Lawrence Trent uncovers a number of groundbreaking theoretical novelties and new ideas that will soon have scorners of this romantic system regretting they ever doubted its soundness.

GOAT-calibre chess: 7½ / 9 in elite company

Each week, I bring you the latest trends, games and combinations from elite chess tournaments on Tuesday at 16:00 UTC (18:00 CEST, 12 Noon EDT).

Today's show focuses on Magnus Carlsen's win over Levon Aronian from Round 7 and we'll also look briefly at his win over Peter Svidler. Follow along or analyse these featured games yourself in the viewer below!

But first...Harikrishna was odds on favourite to win the recent Shenzhen Masters but this defeat was the start of his sharp demise. Did he miss a chance in this position against Ding Liren though?

 
Ding vs Harikrishna, Round 10
Position after 59.Rh5

Black to play — Give up? You'll find the complete game at the bottom of this article!

This week

Lawrence is live this week! To watch, you can register a free 90-day account and will gain access to this and many more shows from a variety of authors.

Lawrence is live most Tuesdays at 16:00 UTC (18:00 CEST / 12 Noon EDT)

 
New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Replay and check the LiveBook here
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.e4 Bb4 6.Bg5 c5 7.Bxc4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 And now Bb5+ would win. Qa5! D39: Queen's Gambit Declined: Ragozin Defence with 5 Bg5 dxc4 10.Bd2N Predecessor: 10.Bb5+ Nbd7 11.Bxf6 Qxc3+ 12.Kf1 gxf6 13.h4 Qb4 14.Rh3 a6 15.Be2 Ne5 16.Rb1 Qd6 17.Rc3 0-0 18.Qd2 Ng6 19.h5 Nf4 20.Qe3 e5 21.Nc2 1/2-1/2 (33) Grischuk,A (2766)-Karjakin,S (2773) Saint Louis 2018 10...0-0 11.Qe2 e5 The position is equal. 12.Nb3 Qc7 13.0-0 Bg4 14.f3 Rc8 15.Bd5 Nxd5 16.exd5 Bh5 17.c4 Nd7 18.Rfc1 b6 19.a4 a5 20.Qf2 Qd6 21.Be3 Bg6 22.Qd2 f6 23.Qb2 Rc7 24.Nd2 Nc5 25.Qa3 Rd8 26.Rc3 f5 26...Rb7 27.Re1 e4 Better is 27...Na6 28.fxe4± fxe4 29.Bxc5! Rxc5 30.Nxe4 Qe5 31.Rce3 Rcc8
32.h3! Qc7 33.Nd2 Re8
34.Re7! Rxe7 35.Rxe7 Resist 35.Qxe7?! Qxe7 36.Rxe7 Bd3± 35...Qd8? 35...Qf4 36.Qe3 Rc7 37.Re6 Rc5 38.Qb3 Accuracy: White = 79%, Black = 42%. 1–0
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Carlsen,M2845Aronian,L27631–020196th GRENKE Chess Classic 20197.3
Svidler,P2735Carlsen,M28450–120196th GRENKE Chess Classic 20198.3

Previous shows on-demand

After each show, the video is available along with all previous editions in the videos archive. To watch those you'll need a ChessBase Premium Account.

Lawrence Trent's latest

Read a recent review of Trent's previous FritzTrainer on the "Baffling b3 Sicilian"!

The Scotch Gambit is a brazen yet utterly sound system for White who immediately opens up the position, by sacrificing a central pawn, in an attempt to assassinate the enemy king as quickly as possible.

Solution to today's puzzle:

 
New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Replay and check the LiveBook here
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Nb6 7.0-0 Be7 8.d3 0-0 9.Be3 Re8 10.Rc1 Bf8 11.Bg5 A29: English Opening: Four Knights Variation with 4 g3 11.a3 Nd4 12.Ne4 c6 13.Bg5 f6 14.Nxd4 exd4 15.Bd2 Be6 16.Re1 Bd5 17.Qc2 Qd7 18.b4 Rad8 19.Qb2 0-1 (73) Nepomniachtchi,I (2767)-Karjakin,S (2785) Doha 2016 11...f6 12.Be3 Be6N Predecessor: 12...Bg4 13.Nd2 Rb8 14.Nb3 Nd4 15.Re1 c6 16.Ne4 Be6 17.Nec5 Bf7 18.Nxd4 exd4 1/2-1/2 (38) Belchev,B (2320) -Jankowiak,A (2230) GER email 2014 13.Nd2 The position is equal. Qd7 14.Nb3 Bh3 15.Bxh3 Qxh3 16.Bc5 Bd6 17.e3 Rad8 18.Qf3 Nd7 19.Bxd6 cxd6 20.Nd5 Nb6 21.Nd2 21.Nxb6 feels hotter. axb6 22.Qd5+ Qe6 23.Qb5 Ra8 24.a3 21...Nxd5 22.Qxd5+ Qe6 23.Qxe6+ Rxe6 24.a3 Ree8 25.Rc2 d5 26.Nb3 Rd6 27.Rfc1 Kf7 28.Nc5 Nd8 29.b4 Re7 30.Kf1 Ne6 31.a4 Ng5 32.b5 e4 33.d4 Nf3 34.h3 f5 35.Nb3 b6 36.Nd2 Ng5 37.h4 Ne6 38.Nb1 h6 39.Nc3 g5 40.hxg5 hxg5 41.Na2 f4 42.Nb4 Kf6 43.Rc8 Kf5 43...Nd8± was necessary. 44.Rh8!+- Rf7 44...fxe3 is a better defense. 45.fxe3 Ng7 45.Ke2 f3+ 46.Kd2 Nf8? 46...Nd8± was worth a try. 47.Re8 Rfd7 48.g4+ Kf6 47.Rc8 Ng6 48.Rh6 Ne7 49.Rxd6 Nxc8 50.Rxd5+ Endgame KRN-KRN Kg4 Black hopes to continue with ...Rh7. 51.Nc6? 51.Rd8!+- is the precise move to win. Rh7 52.Nc6 52.Rxc8 Rh2± 51...Kh3± 52.Ne5 52.Rxg5?! Kg2= 52.Rd8!± Rc7 53.d5 52...Rf6 52...Rg7 53.Rd8 Better is 53.Rd7± 53...Nd6 54.Kc3 Nf5 White must now prevent ...Nxe3. 55.Rh8+ Kg2 aiming for ...Nxe3! 56.Ng4! Rf7 57.Rh2+ Kg1 58.Kc4 Rd7 59.Rh5 Rd6 59...Nxe3+= keeps the balance. 60.fxe3 f2 61.Nxf2 Kxf2 Double Attack 60.d5 Weaker is 60.Rxg5 Nh6 White should try 60.Rh7!± 60...Rg6? 60...Rd7= and Black is okay. 61.Rh7 Rd6
61...Kg2 62.Rh2+ 62.Rxa7 Nh6+- 62...Kf1 62.a5!+- Worse is 62.Rxa7 Nh6 62...bxa5 63.Rxa7 Nh6
63...Rd8 64.b6 Rc8+ 65.Rc7 Rb8 64.Kc5! Rd8 65.Nxh6 Kxf2 KRN-KR 66.Nf5 Kg2 67.Rxa5 f2 68.Ra2 Kf3
69.Rxf2+‼ Kxf2 70.b6 Rb8 71.d6 Kf3 72.d7 Rf8 Accuracy: White = 60%, Black = 41%. 1–0
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Ding,L2809Harikrishna,P27231–020193rd Shenzhen Longgong Masters Dute Cup10.1

Links:

Born in 1986, Lawrence Trent is an international master, who has represented England in numerous international youth championships (including a 7th place in the U18 WCh in 2003). The Londoner, who has a degree in Romance languages, already has a lot of experience as a trainer. Trent has recorded several DVDs for ChessBase.

Discuss

Rules for reader comments

 
 

Not registered yet? Register

We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.