Anand Flexes A Little at Corus: Petroff's Defense

Kramnik has been in good form, so it's a bit of a surprise when he crashes behind the wheel of a Petroff. Tip of the hat to Anand, who got just the kind of game and result he needed here at the end of Corus and in preparation for Topalov (not that we'll see the opening again in the World Championship). Up to now, it's been a pretty lackluster performance by the World Champion, even if perhaps excusable. So, Carlsen is in command going into the final day--nothing new there. Tomorrow, though, will be young Caruana's biggest day as a chess player thus far. He has the black pieces in the last round of one of the world's finest chess tournaments, and the world number 1 will be playng to win on the other side. Play well--the world is watching!

Corus 2010: Carlsen Ventures a Catalan Against Kramnik

Perhaps too much has been made of Kramnik's play in this game.  As I was checking in on commentary yesterday, I had the impression that the play had been one sided.  Maybe the mistake was mine.  This was actually a hard fought game, in which Carlsen had the audacity to roll out the Catalan against Kramnik.  If Kramnik is known for one opening, it's probably the Berlin for obvious reasons.  But if we were to choose the opening he should be known for, it's likely the Catalan.  So perhaps Carlsen's choice of openings in this game is about an attempt to score both a moral and a tournament victory.  In any event, Kramnik certainly displayed why he's an expert in the Catalan.  Note, though, that Carlsen's blunder at move 35 does not come in the face of imminent defeat.  After 35.Qd2, White just may be okay, although some of the defense has a computeresque feel to it.  (Who better than Carlsen for that?) 

Corus 2010: Kramnik-Carlsen Race Emerging

Will Carlsen and Kramnik battle over the final few rounds to determine the winner of Corus 2010? Obviously it's too early to say since there are five rounds remaining, Shirov still leads the tournament, and over half the field is sitting on a plus score. Nor should Nakamura be written off following one bad day. His games of the last two days follow the crosstable.

 
TD>.

Corus A Wijk aan Zee (NED), 16-31 i 2010														cat. XIX (2719)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4
1.	Shirov, Alexei	g	ESP	2723	*	½	.	0	1	.	.	.	.	1	½	1	1	1	6	2891
2.	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2810	½	*	.	½	.	.	.	1	½	.	½	½	1	1	5½	2844
3.	Kramnik, Vladimir	g	RUS	2788	.	.	*	1	½	½	.	.	.	½	½	½	1	1	5½	2827
4.	Nakamura, Hikaru	g	USA	2708	1	½	0	*	.	.	.	½	½	.	1	.	1	½	5	2826
5.	Leko, Peter	g	HUN	2739	0	.	½	.	*	½	½	.	½	1	.	½	.	1	4½	2758
6.	Dominguez Perez, Leinier	g	CUB	2712	.	.	½	.	½	*	½	.	½	½	.	1	½	½	4½	2752
7.	Karjakin, Sergey	g	UKR	2720	.	.	.	.	½	½	*	.	½	½	1	½	½	½	4½	2739
8.	Ivanchuk, Vassily	g	UKR	2749	.	0	.	½	.	.	.	*	½	½	½	½	1	1	4½	2747
9.	Anand, Viswanathan	g	IND	2790	.	½	.	½	½	½	½	½	*	½	½	.	.	.	4	2726
10.	Caruana, Fabiano	g	ITA	2675	0	.	½	.	0	½	½	½	½	*	.	1	.	.	3½	2692
11.	Short, Nigel D	g	ENG	2696	½	½	½	0	.	.	0	½	½	.	*	.	0	.	2½	2600
12.	Tiviakov, Sergei	g	NED	2662	0	½	½	.	½	0	½	½	.	0	.	*	.	.	2½	2598
13.	Van Wely, Loek	g	NED	2641	0	0	0	0	.	½	½	0	.	.	1	.	*	2	2545
14.	Smeets, Jan	g	NED	2657	0	0	0	½	0	½	½	0	.	.	.	.	.	*	1½	2492

London Chess Classic: A Barn Burner

Carlsen and Kramnik went one-two at the London Chess Classic as expected. Magnus missed a win and then had to scramble to hold the game against Short. There was plenty of drama over the final few minutes, and when the smoke cleared there were only a pair of Kings left standing. The game can be seen at Chessdom. Howell was impressive as he didn't lose a game and finished above .500 even though he was seeded last. The tournament scoreboard wasn't kind to McShane, but you have to like his fight, and it was just a disappointing tournament for Nakamura and Short, who were the only two to not win a game.

Nr.	Title	Name	Fed.	Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Score
1	GM	Carlsen, Magnus	NOR	2801		1	½	½	1	½	½	1	13
7	GM	McShane, Luke J	ENG	2615	0		½	1	0	0	1	0	7
8	GM	Howell, David W L	ENG	2597	½	½		½	1	½	½	½	9
3	GM	Nakamura, Hikaru	USA	2715	½	0	½		½	½	½	½	6
6	GM	Ni, Hua	CHN	2665	0	1	0	½		½	½	0	6
5	GM	Adams, Michael	ENG	2698	½	1	½	½	½		½	½	9
4	GM	Short, Nigel D	ENG	2707	½	0	½	½	½	½		0	5
2	GM	Kramnik, Vladimir	RUS	2772	0	1	½	½	1	½	1		12

London Chess Classic: Don't Look Over Your Shoulder, Magnus

Carlsen dodged a bullet against Adams today in London. The game is worth seeing. Kramnik continued his comeback, and is now close enough that tomorrow will be a full work day for Magnus.

A further word on Kramnik. My sense is that he's going to go down as an under-appreciated World Champion. He is provocative in his statements at times, but that can likely be attributed to being brought up in a different (chess) world. One shouldn't ever forget that he took down arguably the greatest champion of all time, and I've never really bought into the idea that he did so when Kasparov was past his prime. He simply outplayed Kasparov for a brief moment in time. That was a feat. Among his recent pronouncements, he said that Magnus was not quite up to his and a few others' level quite yet. With a little time to digest the remarks, I suspect he's right. I also suspect that Magnus will exceed them all in a short time. In any event, here's to Vladimir and his game. He played well against Nigel today. And he's still a large force.

London Chess Classic: Day 2--Carlsen Again

McShane tossed out a KID against Carlsen and Carlsen chewed him up. Again, no fireworks, although there was some flash: see especially White's 47th. The kid wakes the imagination. Kramnik manhandled Ni Hua, and Howell and Short drew. Today, Hikaru escaped from Adams not unlike Ni Hua from Hikaru yesterday. Chess players are going to talk about Hikaru's speed and raw talent forever. Put the bullet down now and go for more.

Tomorrow's a red letter day. Howell has White against Carlsen, Hikaru has White against Short, and Gelfand-Ponomariov kick off in the World Cup final.

London Chess Classic: Carlsen over Kramnik

Carlsen was the big winner at the London Chess Classic today turning in a clean, convincing performance against Kramnik. There were no fireworks in the game, but rather one accurate move after another until Kramnik folded. Impressive. McShane also won, but I haven't found the energy to look more closely at this 163-move glacier. There could be some good chess in there. Disappointingly, Nakamura let a win slip through his fingers against Ni Hua. Adams and Howell drew after some fighting chess.

London Chess Classic

THE LONDON CHESS CLASSIC featuring the pictured players begins tomorrow. It promises to be an interesting tournament, especially with Carlsen and Kramnik on board. It'll be good to see how Nakamura handles himself against those two, and as well, whether he can sustain his game against a steady diet of 2600- and 2700-rated players. Here's wishin' him the best...and the link to the official website.