GM Magnus Carlsen vs. GM Hikaru Nakamura - 2010 World Blitz Chess Championship

By Chess Tutor William Stewart



Original article on Magnus Carlsen Vs. Hikaru Nakamura with PGN available on William's site







Game Description: GM Magnus Carlsen (Norway, FIDE 2802) Vs GM Hikaru Nakamura (USA, FIDE 2741): 2010 World Blitz Championship -- Moscow, Russia. Carlsen opens with e4, and Nakamura answers with the French Defense. Nakamura employed the extremely complicated Steinitz-Boleslavsky Variation, following a previous Blindfold game between Anand and Morozevich at the 2005 Amber Blindfold Tournament by playing the psychotic 9. ...g5!!? Carlsen responded accurately, however he could have played the computer-like 15. g6! intending to follow 15. ...hxg6 with the precise piece sacrifice 16. Nxe6! to destroy the pawn cover around black's king. Luckily for Nakamura, Carlsen chose the quieter 15. Kh1. Carlsen went on to sacrifice a knight with 20. Ngf5!? to attempt to exploit his lead of development and black's king position in the center, however Nakamura was able to skillfully defend and deflect the majority of white's attack. Nakamura pragmatically sacrificed an exchange with 25. ...Rxh6! and completed the game with accuracy to score a full point. An absolutely fantastic game played between Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura.



About Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura



Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura could posibly be the most famous of all current chess players but unfortunately there haven't been that many games played between these 2 monster Grandmasters. I'll continue to see if there are any new Magnus Carlsen vs. Hikaru Nakamura games but quite few were as fantastic as this great game with Nakamura scoring an unusual win (Carlsen usually wins or at least draws Nakamura, but Naka is the "King of Blitz!")



By Chess Coach Will Stewart (USCF 2256, FIDE 2234)

Chess Video - Gata Kamsky Vs Magnus Carlsen - 2005 FIDE World Cup

By Chess Coach Will Stewart (USCF 2256, FIDE 2234)



Gata Kamsky Vs Magnus Carlsen: 2005 FIDE World Cup -- Kamsky opens with e4 and then up and coming prodigy Carlsen answers with c5, proceeding to take the opening into the dangerous Chelyabinsk Variation of the Sveshnikov Sicilian with 10. ...Bxf6. Kamsky plays the opening with great energy and begins to achieve a significant advantage with 16. Bb5! -- leading to excellent control over black's queenside. Carlsen played too defensively and without enough activity by 20. ...Bd8?! -- allowing white to really dictate the course of the game. 20. ...Kh8 and 21. ...f5 would have given black better chances. After an accurate series of pressing moves beginning with 24. Qa3! -- Kamsky was able to achieve a deserved win with 31. b6!

Original Article on Kamsky Vs. Carlsen available on William's site with a PGN.

Permission to use the ICC interface was generously granted by the Internet Chess Club. Check them out at http://www.chessclub.com

Chess Video - Gata Kamsky Vs Magnus Carlsen - 2005 FIDE World Cup

By Chess Coach Will Stewart (USCF 2256, FIDE 2234)



Gata Kamsky Vs Magnus Carlsen: 2005 FIDE World Cup -- Kamsky opens with e4 and then up and coming prodigy Carlsen answers with c5, proceeding to take the opening into the dangerous Chelyabinsk Variation of the Sveshnikov Sicilian with 10. ...Bxf6. Kamsky plays the opening with great energy and begins to achieve a significant advantage with 16. Bb5! -- leading to excellent control over black's queenside. Carlsen played too defensively and without enough activity by 20. ...Bd8?! -- allowing white to really dictate the course of the game. 20. ...Kh8 and 21. ...f5 would have given black better chances. After an accurate series of pressing moves beginning with 24. Qa3! -- Kamsky was able to achieve a deserved win with 31. b6!

Original Article on Kamsky Vs. Carlsen available on William's site with a PGN.

Permission to use the ICC interface was generously granted by the Internet Chess Club. Check them out at http://www.chessclub.com

Biel Chess Festival 2011 – Rounds 1 and 2

By Chess Coach William Stewart.

Original article on the Chess Festival in Biel available on William's website.

The 44th Biel International Chess Festival is taking July 18-29 in Biel, Switzerland. This 10 round, Double Round Robin super-tournament features many of the world's best players - boasting an average FIDE Rating of 2708. The highest rated player in world - Magnus Carlsen - is dominating with 2/2, while the experienced Morozevich chases with 1.5/2. The organizers have chosen to use a different scoring system to entice more combative chess, so a Win = 3 Points, a Draw = 1 Point, a Loss = 0.

Carlsen Lives Up To The Hype... Again

Magnus Carlsen began with a quality 88 move grind over local Swiss favorite Yannick Pelletier. Pelletier allowed Carlsen to snatch a pawn with 11. ...Bxc3!? - with the intention of gaining time and development to attack black in the center. Carlsen's thorough preparation allowed him to play the opening rapidly and emerge into a Q+R endgame with an extra pawn by move 30. Carlsen patiently nursed this pawn to victory over the next 58 moves and won his first round game in convincing fashion.

Pelletier Vs Carlsen - Final Position After 88. Qd2

Round 2: Carlsen + Time-Trouble Take Out Shirov

Carlsen played d4 and Shirov's response came as no surprise as he played the active Meran Defense. Carlsen's early 13. Nd4!? provoked a slower response from Shirov, beginning his time-trouble issues with 16 minutes spent on 13. ...e5. Carlsen's strange and rapid play began to immediately affect Shirov, as he spent a costly 43 minutes on 16. ...Bc5. Carlsen played extremely quickly and strove to create maximum tension and complications to take advantage of Shirov's lack of time. By move 27, the dust was settling: white had an extra protected past pawn and definite attacking possibilities against black's king that was stuck in the center. Shirov attempted to defend, however his lack of time combined with Carlsen's rapid and resourceful attack led to black's resignation after a tactical oversight.

Carlsen Vs Shirov - Final Position After 33. Rxd8+!

Morozevich With Good Defensive Win

At 34 years old Alexander Morozevich has been one of the best chess players in the world for over a decade. His results have seen him in a slump as he dropped under 2700 recently, however his calm defensive win against Vachier-Lagrave today proved that he can certainly still play with the best in the world. I found it very interesting that the Russian chose to play the Grunfeld, as Lagrave has scored a number of impressive wins lately with that opening as black. Morozevich was unafraid of the young frenchman's preparation, and chose a topical line involving a potential pawn sac on c5 to gain the initiative with activity for the black pieces. Lagrave did not take the pawn, but chose instead to attack the black king. Morozevich played too indecisively with 15. Qd7 and 16. Qe6?! - allowing Lagrave to attack with tempo on 17. f5! and 19. d5. Morozevich stayed calm as Lagrave desperately sacrificed a knight with 28. Ng5+, white's attack fizzled out and Lagrave was forced to resign after 41 moves.

Lagrave Desperately Sacrifices With 28. Ng5+

Biel Chess Festival 2011 – Rounds 1 and 2

By Chess Coach William Stewart.

Original article on the Chess Festival in Biel available on William's website.

The 44th Biel International Chess Festival is taking July 18-29 in Biel, Switzerland. This 10 round, Double Round Robin super-tournament features many of the world's best players - boasting an average FIDE Rating of 2708. The highest rated player in world - Magnus Carlsen - is dominating with 2/2, while the experienced Morozevich chases with 1.5/2. The organizers have chosen to use a different scoring system to entice more combative chess, so a Win = 3 Points, a Draw = 1 Point, a Loss = 0.

Carlsen Lives Up To The Hype... Again

Magnus Carlsen began with a quality 88 move grind over local Swiss favorite Yannick Pelletier. Pelletier allowed Carlsen to snatch a pawn with 11. ...Bxc3!? - with the intention of gaining time and development to attack black in the center. Carlsen's thorough preparation allowed him to play the opening rapidly and emerge into a Q+R endgame with an extra pawn by move 30. Carlsen patiently nursed this pawn to victory over the next 58 moves and won his first round game in convincing fashion.

Pelletier Vs Carlsen - Final Position After 88. Qd2

Round 2: Carlsen + Time-Trouble Take Out Shirov

Carlsen played d4 and Shirov's response came as no surprise as he played the active Meran Defense. Carlsen's early 13. Nd4!? provoked a slower response from Shirov, beginning his time-trouble issues with 16 minutes spent on 13. ...e5. Carlsen's strange and rapid play began to immediately affect Shirov, as he spent a costly 43 minutes on 16. ...Bc5. Carlsen played extremely quickly and strove to create maximum tension and complications to take advantage of Shirov's lack of time. By move 27, the dust was settling: white had an extra protected past pawn and definite attacking possibilities against black's king that was stuck in the center. Shirov attempted to defend, however his lack of time combined with Carlsen's rapid and resourceful attack led to black's resignation after a tactical oversight.

Carlsen Vs Shirov - Final Position After 33. Rxd8+!

Morozevich With Good Defensive Win

At 34 years old Alexander Morozevich has been one of the best chess players in the world for over a decade. His results have seen him in a slump as he dropped under 2700 recently, however his calm defensive win against Vachier-Lagrave today proved that he can certainly still play with the best in the world. I found it very interesting that the Russian chose to play the Grunfeld, as Lagrave has scored a number of impressive wins lately with that opening as black. Morozevich was unafraid of the young frenchman's preparation, and chose a topical line involving a potential pawn sac on c5 to gain the initiative with activity for the black pieces. Lagrave did not take the pawn, but chose instead to attack the black king. Morozevich played too indecisively with 15. Qd7 and 16. Qe6?! - allowing Lagrave to attack with tempo on 17. f5! and 19. d5. Morozevich stayed calm as Lagrave desperately sacrificed a knight with 28. Ng5+, white's attack fizzled out and Lagrave was forced to resign after 41 moves.

Lagrave Desperately Sacrifices With 28. Ng5+

World Chess Team Championship 2011

World Chess Team Championship 2011

By Chess Coach William Stewart

William's Opinion

The World Team Chess Championship 2011 promises to be a very entertaining event, featuring many of the best Grandmasters in the world. Boris Gelfand will not be participating, choosing to rest and prepare for his 2012 World Championship Match. Vladimir Kramnik and Hikaru Nakamura are playing in Dortmund (7/21-7/31) so I assume they will not be participating either. The favorite for the event must be the star-studded Russian team, although Armenia and China are looking very strong as well. I'm excited to see the American team match up without top board Nakamura - hopefully some of the young talents will have a breakout performance.

Following Excerpt from Chessdom.com ...

Championship will be held in China

"The Chinese Chess Association with the patronage and support of the Ningbo Municipal Government and Ningbo Sports Bureau has the honour to announce the 2011 World Team Chess Championship in Ningbo, China. The event will be held from July 15 2011 (arrival) to July 26 2011 (Departure) at the playing venue in New Century Grand Hotel Ningbo.

According to FIDE Regulations D.07.11.6.2., the following Federations are entitled to send a team:

1. China (host country)
2. Russia (winner 2009)
3. Ukraine (Olympiad 2010)
4. Israel (Olympiad 2010)
5. Hungary (Olympiad 2010)
6. Azerbaijan (Europe qualifier)
7. India (Asia qualifier)
8. USA (America's qualifier)
9. Egypt (African qualifier)
10. Armenia (FIDE President's nomination)

New Century Grand Hotel Ningbo

The championships will be played using a 9 round, round-robin system. The time control: 90' for 40 moves + 30' to the end + 30'' increment per move, staring from move 1. Zero tolerance rule will apply and draw offers can not be made for the first 30 moves.

Each match will be scored by match points as used in the FIDE Olympiad. Winner will get 2 points, a draw will give each team 1 point, and a loss is scored as 0 points."

Excerpt from Chessdom.com

Original article on the World Chess Team Championship - 2011 along with the excerpt also available on William's site.

GM Magnus Carlsen vs. GM Hikaru Nakamura - 2010 World Blitz Chess Championship

By Chess Tutor William Stewart

Original article on Magnus Carlsen Vs. Hikaru Nakamura with PGN available on William's site



Game Description: GM Magnus Carlsen (Norway, FIDE 2802) Vs GM Hikaru Nakamura (USA, FIDE 2741): 2010 World Blitz Championship -- Moscow, Russia. Carlsen opens with e4, and Nakamura answers with the French Defense. Nakamura employed the extremely complicated Steinitz-Boleslavsky Variation, following a previous Blindfold game between Anand and Morozevich at the 2005 Amber Blindfold Tournament by playing the psychotic 9. ...g5!!? Carlsen responded accurately, however he could have played the computer-like 15. g6! intending to follow 15. ...hxg6 with the precise piece sacrifice 16. Nxe6! to destroy the pawn cover around black's king. Luckily for Nakamura, Carlsen chose the quieter 15. Kh1. Carlsen went on to sacrifice a knight with 20. Ngf5!? to attempt to exploit his lead of development and black's king position in the center, however Nakamura was able to skillfully defend and deflect the majority of white's attack. Nakamura pragmatically sacrificed an exchange with 25. ...Rxh6! and completed the game with accuracy to score a full point. An absolutely fantastic game played between Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura.

About Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura

Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura could posibly be the most famous of all current chess players but unfortunately there haven't been that many games played between these 2 monster Grandmasters. I'll continue to see if there are any new Magnus Carlsen vs. Hikaru Nakamura games but quite few were as fantastic as this great game with Nakamura scoring an unusual win (Carlsen usually wins or at least draws Nakamura, but Naka is the "King of Blitz!")

By Chess Coach Will Stewart (USCF 2256, FIDE 2234)