Corus 2010: Carlsen Wins!

Close the books on Corus 2010. Carlsen simply outlasted everyone else, although Kramnik made a tournament of it. Nakamura experienced highs and lows, but the bottom line is that he's put himself clearly into the top 20 and he's undoubtedly on the rise. We should see his attendance increasing in the best tournaments. Today, he refused to take the easy out against Tiviakov, and pressed until his opponent blundered at move 56. Nakamura finished tied for fourth along with Anand, a good showing. Robson in the C Group started on fire, but then had all the look of a player who ran out of gas in the second half. The last 90 days have brought him a wealth of experience and we should set expectations high. As for Akobian in the B Group, there just isn't much good to say about this tournament. He'll have better days.

Corus 2010: Classical French

A relatively quiet and impressive performance by Carlsen. For 7...Qb6, see Wesley So's win against Kamsky in the World Cup (G10 below).

Three rounds to go.

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.	Kramnik, Vladimir	g	RUS	2788	*	1	.	.	1	½	½	.	½	½	½	½		1	7	2853
2.	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2810	0	*	½	½	½	.	1	1	.	.	½	½	1	1	6½	2823
3.	Shirov, Alexei	g	ESP	2723	.	½	*	0	0	.	½	.	1	1	1	½	1	1	6½	2822
4.	Anand, Viswanathan	g	IND	2790	.	½	1	*	½	½	½	½	½	½	½	½	.	.	5½	2755
5.	Nakamura, Hikaru	g	USA	2708	0	½	1	½	*	½	½	0	.	.	.	1	1	½	5½	2764
6.	Dominguez Perez, Leinier	g	CUB	2712	½	.	.	½	½	*	.	½	½	½	1	½		½	5½	2743
7.	Ivanchuk, Vassily	g	UKR	2749	½	0	½	½	½	.	*	.	.	½	½	½	1	1	5½	2751
8.	Karjakin, Sergey	g	UKR	2720	.	0	.	½	1	½	.	*	½	½	½	1	½	½	5½	2745
9.	Leko, Peter	g	HUN	2739	½	.	0	½	.	½	.	½	*	1	½	½	0	1	5	2706
10.	Caruana, Fabiano	g	ITA	2675	½	.	0	½	.	½	½	½	0	*	1	.	½	0	4	2646
11.	Tiviakov, Sergei	g	NED	2662	½	½	0	½	.	0	½	½	½	0	*	.	.	1	4	2664
12.	Short, Nigel D	g	ENG	2696	½	½	½	½	0	½	½	0	½	.	.	*	0	.	3½	2628
13.	Van Wely, Loek	g	NED	2641	0	0	0	.	0	½	0	½	1	½	.	1	*	.	3½	2622
14.	Smeets, Jan	g	NED	2657	0	0	0	.	½	½	0	½	0	1	0	.	.	*	2½	2535

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?) 

Hikaru and Magnus: Rivalry in the Making?

You should read Peter Nicholas' article in the LA Times. It raises some interesting thoughts about a developing rivalry between Hikaru and Magnus. Magnus's take on a "rivalry" was essentially that such talk is premature. (He regards his rivals as Anand, Kramnik, and Aronian--fair enough.) The difference between the two is 27 places on the official world rankings list, and that would be enough to ensure that they'll seldom face each other. One must simply be ranked in the top 10 or 15 places to get consistent invitations to super events. But note that while Nakamura is rated 28 on the official list, a quick check of the Top Live List will show him at number 18 and less than 15 Elos from the top 10. Moreover, I'll note that we should all afford Hikaru a period of acclimation. He has much less experience than Carslen on the world stage at this point. Anyone care to bet against him adapting and moving himself into the top 10?  Age wise, Nakamura is a much better-suited rival than those mentioned by Carlsen, including Aronian.  There are others on the rise besides Nakamura and Carlsen (if the World's No. 1 can be said to be rising) of course, but I find few potential rivalries out there to be more appealing.  That's all said, of course, with an American's bias, but I also think that part of the appeal is the prospect of an emerging American superstar, which would be good for chess in general.

Corus 2010: Carlsen Beats Smeets In Botvinnik Variation of Semi-Slav

Few openings are more imbalanced than the Botvinnik variation of the Semi-Slav. Smeets' willingness to go there with Carlsen bespeaks his fearlessness or foolishness. Whichever, it didn't pay off today.

Magnus Carlsen: Time Interview

Click here to some nice publicity for the game.

Semi-Slav 101: Moscow--Olita Rause

Olita Rause is the strongest woman correspondence chess player in the world. To boot, she's one of the world's top ten correspondence chess players. Her opponent here is the current number two player in the world. This game introduces the Moscow variation of the Semi-Slav, the most staid of the 5.Bg5 lines. Also see Magnus Carlsen's CBM 131 annotation of his game with Topalov from the 2009 MTel Masters.

Nakamura downs Carlsen to win BNbank Blitz in Norway

Nakamura has won the BNbank Blitz tournament in Norway, defeating Magnus Carlsen--newly crowned World Blitz Champion--by the score of 3-1. The loss to Carlsen in the first game of the finals was the only game Nakamura failed to win in the tournment. Following the first round loss, Nakamura swept Carlsen in the next three rounds to take first. Nakamura is arguably one of the most formidable speed players in the history of the game. Hopefully, bigger things await him. The BNbank Blitz official site, here. The USCF coverage is here. Nakamura gives his own account of this tournament very well on his blog.