Zurich Chess: Carlsen wins Lost Game

ZURICH, Feb 1: Five-time World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand opened his account after signing the peace treaty with Fabiano Caruana of Italy in the third round of Zurich chess challenge now underway here at the Savoy. 

Anand - Caruana set for a draw and (below) Peter Leko, Viswanathan Anand and Fabiano Caruana witness the Drama that's going on on the board of the game Hikaru Nakamura - Magnus Carlsen and is mirrored in Hikaru Nakamura's desperate expression. Photos: Maria Emelianova

After two uncharacteristic defeats coming against Levon Aronian of Armenia and Hikaru Nakamura of United States, Anand put an end to his losses with a solid draw wherein he had to defend for a while in the early stages. World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway was the lucky one in the third round as he not only escaped from a certain defeat at the hands of Nakamura, but also turned the tables upside down to score a victory.

The second win in his third game gave Carlsen a full point lead over nearest rivals as the Norwegian took his tally to five points. Under the unique scoring system that gives two points for a win and one for a draw in Classical games, Aronian slipped to second spot on four points and he is now followed by Nakamura and Caruana on three points each.

Women's World Chess Champion Hou Yifan giving a simul as a special guest at the Zurich Chess Challenge 2014. Photo: Maria Emelianova

Israeli Boris Gelfand stands sole fifth in the six-player tournament on two points while Anand with a sole draw is at the bottom of the tables with two rounds in Classical and five rounds in Rapid chess still to come in the tournament. It may be recalled that in rapid, the usual point scoring system with one point for a win and half for a draw will be used and the winner will be the one who scores maximum points based under both scoring systems.

Anand went for the Slav defense as black and the game went in to uncharted territories early. Caruana was looking for some advantage with his pair of bishops in the ensuing middle game but Anand came up with a pawn sacrifice to neutralise white's initiative.

The Italian himself came under pressure after returning the pawn and many experts believed that Anand could have played for more. However, after an indifferent start, the Indian played it safe and settled for his first point in the highest category tournament.

Nakamura chose the Saemisch variation in the Nimzo Indian defense against Carlsen. The opening is known for its uncompromising play and Carlsen did not disappoint in going for something which is not very common at top level chess. Nakamura, however, proved his point by getting a dangerous attack on the king side and Carlsen had to keep pace with a piece sacrifice in the middle game.

However, when it looked all over for Carlsen, the American came up with an inexplicable blunder that sealed the fate of the game. Gelfand held on to his own to get a draw with Aronian.

The two later played a rapid game to enthrall the audience wherein Aronian came out victorious. This victory in rapid, however, will not be counted for overall standings. -- PTI

Results round 3: Hikaru Nakamura (USA, 3) lost to Magnus Carlsen (Nor, 5); Fabiano Caruana (Ita, 3) drew with V Anand (Ind, 1); Levon Aronian (Arm, 4) drew with Boris Gelfand (Isr, 2).

* Hikaru Nakamura - Magnus Carlsen 0-1: Python Explodes after Eating Alligator at Zurich Chess 2014

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Zurich Chess R2: Anand - Nakamura 0-1

Zurich Chess Challenge 2014 Round 2: Former World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand struggled with his form for the second consecutive day as he suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura of the United States in the second round of Zurich Chess Challenge on Friday.

Viswanathan Anand - Hikaru Nakamura in Round 2 at the Zurich Chess Challenge 2014 and (below) Main Sponsor Oleg Skvortsov playing Women's World Chess Champion Hou Yifan in a friendly game. Photos: Maria Emelianova

Having lost to Levon Aronian of Armenia in the first round, this turned out to be a double blow for Anand who now finds himself at the last spot in the highest category event.

World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway played out a draw with Aronian while Fabiano Caruana of Italy hung on to get his draw with Boris Gelfand of Israel in the other games of this six-player round-robin tournament.

With three rounds in Classical and five rounds in rapid chess still remaining, Carlsen, Aronian and Nakamura share the lead on three points under the special scoring system that gives two points for a win in Classical and one in the rapid format.

With two draws in two games, Caruana is in fourth spot on two points while Gelfand now has one point. Anand is yet to open his account.

Nakamura opted for the Berlin defense as black, a choice of Carlsen in the last World Chess Championship match against Anand last year, and got a complicated middle game that favoured Anand.

However, just while it looked Anand was pressing, Nakamura spotted a tactical resource with a piece sacrifice that was hard to meet over the board.

Not playing the best defense that he is known for, Anand succumbed to the pressure on the king side as Nakamura launched his attack and Anand's two pieces against rook did not prove sufficient. The game lasted 36 moves.

Carlsen went for the English opening against Aronian who chose the reverse Sicilian structure with black pieces. The game did not involve many fireworks as Aronian kept pace with Carlsen throughout and matched him move for move.

A few pieces changed hands in the middle game and the players reached a queen and knights endgame in quick time. Carlsen gave up his knight to force a draw through perpetual checks.

Caruana was pushed to the wall by Gelfand. It was a Dutch defense game where the Israeli played white and won a pawn in the endgame. Caruana had to find some difficult defense but in the end succeeded in keeping his position together. The draw was agreed to in 56 moves. -- PTI

Results Round 2: Magnus Carlsen (Nor, 3) drew with Levon Aronian (Arm, 3); V Anand (Ind, 0) lost to Hikaru Nakamura (Usa, 3); Boris Gelfand (Isr, 1) drew with Fabiano Caruana (Ita, 2).

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Zurich Chess R1: Aronian - Anand 1-0

Zurich Chess Challenge 2014 Round 1 - Five-time World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand began his campaign in the Zurich Chess Challenge as he went down to Armenian Levon Aronian in the first round here. 

It turned out to be a bad day in office for Anand who lost his way in the middle game and his counter play bid did not materialize. The loss may prove quite costly as every win here is worth two points for the overall standings. 

World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen started from where he had left the classical chess. His last outing being the World Chess Championship match in Chennai, Carlsen did not show any rustiness coming back to the board and outplayed Boris Gelfand of Israel in a remarkable game. The other game of the six-player round-robin tournament between Fabiano Caruana of Italy and Hikaru Nakamura of United States ended in a draw. 

Viswanathan Anand all set for his game versus Levon Aronian. Photo: Maria Emelianova

With four rounds in the Classical chess remaining and then five in the rapid stage to be played, Carlsen and Aronian emerged as the early leaders on two points each and they are followed by Nakamura and Caruana with a point apiece. Gelfand and Anand will look forward to open their account in the second round. 

The tournament has a unique format wherein the Classical and rapid scores will be clubbed together to find the winner. Every Classical win gives two points, draw one and a loss none while in rapid every win gives one and a draw a half point. 

After tying for third and finishing fifth (in the opening pairings blitz chess), Anand got a black to start the proceedings and Aronian came up with the English opening as an initial surprise. After the opening Anand was close to equal but Aronian ensured a consistent pressure on the queen side that increased after an error. 

The Indian decided to part with a piece for three pawns but it was Aronian’s day as he masterminded the ensuing endgame in copy book fashion. The technical issues remained and Anand fought on till the end but the Armenian gave nothing away and won in 73 moves. 

Meanwhile, Carlsen was at his technical best against Gelfand. The Norwegian chose to get a playable position as white and then, in his typical style, created huge complications that were hard to handle. When the dust settled, Gelfand found himself two pawns less and the rest was child's play. 

Nakamura and Caruana battled it out in a Grunfeld defense game wherein the latter as black got a level endgame and the draw was a just result despite a tough contest. -- PTI

Results Round 1: Magnus Carlsen (Nor) beat Boris Gelfand (Isr); Levon Aronian (Arm) beat Viswanathan Anand (Ind); Hikaru Nakamura (Usa) drew with Fabiano Caruana (Ita). 

* Anand Gifts Magnus a Checkmate in Three

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Zurich Chess Challenge 2014: Carlsen beats Anand; wins Opening Blitz

Zurich: Five-time world chess champion Viswanathan Anand won two, lost two and drew one for a joint third place finish at the blitz tournament of Zurich Chess Classic that concluded here on Thursady.

On what turned out to be a decent outing, Anand had to bear the brunt of losing to Norwegian Magnus Carlsen, who had beaten him in the last World championship match at Chennai, and Levon Aronian of Armenia. While he posted victories against Fabiano Caruana of Italy and Boris Gelfand of Israel.

Anand gifts Magnus a checkmate in three

The Indian ace played out a sole draw against American Hikaru Nakamura to tally 2.5 points out of a possible five and finished fifth in the tiebreak following a three-way tie for the third spot. Carlsen trailed the field in the first three rounds where he scored just one point but won his last two games to finish first along with Aronian, who also scored three points.

Gelfand ended last scoring 1.5 points in all. Carlsen suffered his first defeat in the very first game that he played as the world champion. Italian Caruana swept the number one ranked off the board in almost no time with black pieces displaying fine tactical acumen.

After a first round loss, Carlsen played out two draws and his first victory in the blitz came against Anand in a game that will haunt the latter at least for a few days. It was an innocuous opening, almost never tried in top level chess, from where Carlsen got a dangerous king side attack and won in a mere 21 moves. In the final round, the Norwegian again won at the expense of Nakamura and pipped Aronian at the post thanks to a better tiebreak.

For Anand, too, the event started with a loss against Aronian but the Indian pulled himself up quickly to beat Caruana. Then came a draw against Nakamura and after losing to Carlsen, Anand made short work of Gelfand to land in the tie for third. The blitz tournament also decided the draws for the classical tournament, wherein Anand will now get three black games out of a possible five.

Anand's first outing will be against Aronian again and he will meet Carlsen in the final round. The Classic is a short event with just five rounds between six of the world's top 10 players. The event boasts of being the highest category tournament ever organised with an average rating of 2801 elo points. -- PTI

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Kasparov Receives First Interactive Digital Chess Magazine - New in Chess

New in Chess Digital - Amsterdam, Jan 30: Former World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov received the first copy of New In Chess magazine 2014#1 when he visited the Tata Steel Chess Tournament. "I am delighted that you can replay all games without the need of a chess set," says editor-in-chief Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, when he presented Kasparov with the iPad and the magazine. "This digital edition travels well. It is great that our readers can now choose between a paper and a digital edition. Or enjoy both!" 

In the first digital chess magazine with a gameviewer the reader can play through all games which are annotated by top GM's. Issue 2014#1 has annotations by Nakamura, Karjakin, Giri, Vachier-Lagrave, Nepomniatchi and many others.

• Hikaru Nakamura: I’m the biggest threat to Carlsen
• Jonathan Speelman on the trickiest player on the planet
• Yuri Dochoian explains why coaching the Russian team to victory in the World Team Championship was a hell of a job
• The 30,000 chess books of Lothar Schmid
• Willy Hendriks on Turing, Alzheimer and chess
• Mihail Marin: why was Lajos Portisch so good?
• Nigel Short: how the Brits invented rapid chess
• Jan Timman: what really happened in my match with Karpov
• Daniel King on playing the bass-guitar

Other regular contributers are Magnus Carlsen, Levon Aronian, Vladimir Kramnik, Peter Svidler, Nigel Short, Anish Giri, Jan Timman and many more.

New In Chess 2013#8 is still available as a FREE download for iPad. This issue features the World Championship match between Magnus Carlsen and Vishy Anand. Top-GM Anish Giri analyses the crucial games of the match. Vishy Anand explains why he lost and Russian GM Sergey Shipov points out why Carlsen won.

To download the app and the free issue, please click here

The apps for Kindle Fire and Android tablets will be available soon.

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Zurich Chess Live: India 12 am Tonight

Indian chess ace Viswanathan Anand will find himself in the unfamiliar position of starting as the lowest-ranked player when he takes on a tough field in his first Classical tournament since losing the world title, in the Zurich Challenge at the Savoy. 

The small event, having just five rounds between six players, boasts of a very strong field led by reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen, who is playing his first tournament since clinching the champion's tag from Anand. 

Watch Live tonight India time 12.00 am at official website.

For Anand it will be a new challenge and one can expect him to play at his best having got a good rest. For the upcoming candidates tournament too, this could prove to be a good warm-up. Anand will have a chance to even the scores a little. 

World number two Levon Aronian of Armenia, Fabiano Caruana of Italy, Hikaru Nakamura of United States and former world championship challenger Boris Gelfand of Israel complete the lineup of what is the highest category tournament ever in the history of the game. 

This will be the first time when Anand starts a tournament as the lowest ranked player with his world ranking slipping to number nine. 

According to the January list, Nakamura is third, Caruana is fourth and Gelfand is just a shade ahead of Anand at eight. Anand's return to competitive chess after the World Championship was in London Classic but it was played under rapid chess rules. 

The Indian was ousted in the quarterfinals when he lost to Vladimir Kramnik of Russia. Here, however, it will be a different ball game wherein Anand will get a chance to test himself before the Candidates Tournament slated in mid-march. Carlsen has been busy in various promotions since the World Championship triumph. 

The 23-year-old was on a long tour to United States where he gave a simultaneous display against Google employees, a nine-move checkmate to Bill Gates and some lesson to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg besides others. 

Carlsen's return to the board might not sound alarming to his competitors but the form he displayed in the match against Anand makes him a huge favourite for the title here. Aronian is fresh from his round-to-spare victory at the Tata steel tournament that finished just a few days back and is considered to be in top form while rising star Caruana has proven himself to be a world beater on his day. 

Nakamura had an indifferent Tata Steel tournament and the American will be keen to make amends. Gelfand, who finished joint last in the Tata event, too would like to stage some sort of comeback. The draw of lots will be done through a blitz tournament and the event will complete with a rapid event. -- PTI

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