"The Prince's Gambit" in The New Yorker

"The Prince's Gambit" (abstract only) in The New Yorker does a good job of presenting Magnus Carlsen to a general readership.  The story concludes with his desire to do well in the Amber tournament, so it is nice to see Carlsen joining the leaders today.  Worth picking up.

Kavalek on Carlsen

What could be more perfect than Magnus Carlsen's incredible performance at Medias, Romania?  Perhaps having Lubomir Kavalek comment on it in his chess column at the Huffington Post (reproduced at ChessBase), focusing on his use of the King's Gambit.

Der Spiegel Interviews Magnus Carlsen

"I am Chaotic and Lazy" is Magnus Carlsen's headlining self-description in a recent Der Spiegel interview reprinted by ChessBase.  It is a remarkable interview, most for the self-deprecating comments of the World Number One and for the insight into his own quite level-headed attitude toward the game.  One exchange amused me:

Carlsen: What is important is that I have a life beyond chess.

SPIEGEL: Why?

Carlsen: Chess should not become an obsession. Otherwise there’s a danger that you will slide off into a parallel world, that you lose your sense of reality, get lost in the infinite cosmos of the game. You become crazy. I make sure that I have enough time between tournaments to go home in order to do other things. I like hiking and skiing, and I play football in a club.

    SPIEGEL: Do you have a favourite club?

Carlsen: Real Madrid, the royals.

    SPIEGEL: Many football players use music to get in the mood before a game. Do you do that too before sitting down in front of the board?

Carlsen: Oh, yes. If I am feeling gloomy before a game, I listen to gloomy music.

    SPIEGEL: Such as?

Carlsen: You probably won’t know it, a song by Lil Jon. A silly rap song, but it does me good, I loosen up. I listen to music on the Internet, but don`t download any songs. It’s all totally legal. Many people may find that boring, but I think it is important.

I am sure many will speculate about the song that inspires the best chess player in the world, if only to add it to their own playlists....  Perhaps it's Give It All U Got?

Magnus Carlsen Wins Corus 2010 at Wijk aan Zee

World number one Magnus Carlsen won the Corus 2010 chess tournament at Wijk aan Zee (pronounced "wake ahn zey" say ChessBase and ChessVibes), followed by Vladimir Kramnik and Alexey Shirov in second.  All three top finishers had held the first place spot at one point in the event, with Shirov starting the tournament extremely hot with five wins in a row, Kramnik catching up, then Carlsen grabbing the lead at the finish (despite losing to Kramnik).  World Champion Vishy Anand (with the tournament's only undefeated record) and U.S. Champion Hikaru Nakamura finished tied for fourth.  The B-group was won by 15-year-old Dutch GM Anish Giri (profiled at ChessBase) who led for most of the way (see B-player profiles at ChessBase).  The C-group was won by Li Chao (see C-group profiles at ChessBase).  US youngster Ray Robson led the C-group by the middle of the tournament but fell back to fourth by the end following his loss to Li Chao in the Dragon. You can play over the games from the A-section at Chessgames.com.  There was excellent coverage of the event by ChessBase, TWIC, Chessdom, Mig's Daily Dirt (where there is always good discussion), ChessVibes, ChessOK and others.

Round 13 - Sunday, January 31st

Magnus Carlsen Wins Wijk aan Zee 2010 from ChessBase
Carlsen wins 72nd Corus Chess Tournament by Arne Moll at ChessVibes
ChessVibes featured a number of video reports throughout the tournament, all accessible from this page.
more

Round 12 - Saturday, January 30th

Anand beats Kramnik, Carlsen leads by Steve Giddins at ChessBase 
Anand defeats Kramnik to hand Carlsen the lead by Mark Crowther at TWIC
Anand - Kramnik annotated by Dennis Monokroussos
Anand - Kramnik annotated by Jorge Luis Fernandez

Round 11 - Friday, January 29th
Carlsen wins again, catches Kramnik at ChessBase 
Carlsen catches Kramnik with two rounds to go by Mark Crowther at TWIC
Carlsen - Dominguez Perez annotated by Hector Leyva

Round 10 - Wednesday, January 27th
Anand and Carlsen win, Kramnik leads at ChessBase 
Kramnik leads after Shirov loses by Mark Crowther at TWIC
Round 10 Games annotated by Dennis Monokroussos
Kramnik - Ivanchuk annotated by Antonio Torrecillas
Anand hands Kramnik the lead by Malcolm Pein
The Hare and the Tortoise by Ian Rogers at USCF 



Round 9 - Tuesday, January 26th
Kramnik beats Carlsen, leads with Shirov by Steve Giddins at ChessBase
Kramnik defeats Carlsen to join Shirov in the lead by Mark Crowther at TWIC
Kramnik beats Carlsen in great game by Malcolm Pein 
Carlsen - Kramnik annotated by Antonio Torrecillas
Round 9 Games annotated by Dennis Monokroussos



Round 8 - Sunday, January 24th
Kramnik beats Nakamura by Steve Giddins at ChessBase 
Kramnik - Nakamura annotated by Hector Leyva 
Kramnik - Nakamura commented at Chessdom by Jason Juett
Kramnik moves second after beating Nakamura by Mark Crowther at TWIC

Round 7 - Saturday, January 23rd
Nakamura beats Shirov, Carlsen beats Ivanchuk by Steve Giddins at ChessBase 
Nakamura defeats Shirov to close the gap to half a point by Mark Crowther at TWIC
Kramnik holds on against Short by Malcolm Pein 
Carlsen - Ivanchuk annotated by Hector Leyva
Round 7 Games annotated by Dennis Monokroussos

Round 6 - Friday, January 22nd
Kramnik, Dominguez, Leko win, Short stops Shirov by Steve Giddins at ChessBase 
Shirov finally held, Kramnik moves joint second by Mark Crowther at TWIC 
Dominguez Perez - Tiviakov annotated by Hector Leyva

Round 5 - Thursday, January 21st
Shirov beats van Wely, leads with 5.0/5 by Steve Giddins at ChessBase 
Shirov moves to 5 from 5 and extends lead by Mark Crowther at TWIC
Nakamura - Carlsen annotated by Dennis Monokroussos 
Smeets - Kramnik annotated by Antonio Torrecillas
Another win for Shirov by Malcolm Pein

Round 4 - Tuesday, January 19th
Ivanchuk beats van Wely, Shirov wins yet again by Steve Giddins at ChessBase 
Shirov wins again, as does Ivanchuk by Mark Crowther at TWIC 
Shirov rampage continues by Malcolm Pein
Shirov - Smeets annotated by Wilfredo  Sariego Figeuredo
Shirov - Smeets annotated in the Telegraph
Round 4 Games annotated by Dennis Monokroussos

Round 3 - Monday, January 18th
A black day in Wijk, with blood on the floor by Steve Giddins at ChessBase 
Black day for the underdog by Mark Crowther at TWIC 
Tiviakov - Shirov annotated by Hector Leyva
Third win for Shirov by Malcolm Pein

Round 2 - Sunday, January 17th
Shirov, Nakamura and Carlsen win, Shirov leads by Steve Giddins at ChessBase 
Shirov makes a 2/2 start by Mark Crowther at TWIC 
Carlsen's First Win by Malcolm Pein
Nakamura - Van Wely annotated by Guillermo Soppe 
Nakamura - Van Wely annotated by Jack Peters
Carlsen and Shirov wins annotated by Dennis Monokroussos

Round 1 - Saturday, January 16th
 Shirov, Van Wely draw first blood at ChessBase 
Caution from the favorites on Day 1 by Mark Crowther at TWIC 
Van Wely - Short annotated by Guillermo Soppe
Cautious start in first round by Malcolm Pein







Preliminary Reports
Wijk aan Zee -- let the games begin at ChessBase
Another Great Line-up for 2010 by Mark Crowther at TWIC 
Corus Wijk aan Zee gets underway by Malcolm Pein

Jonah Lehrer on Chess and Expertise

Jonah Lehrer, who often writes on choice and decision making (from How We Decide to "Don't," mentioned here previously), has a great recent blog post on Carlsen and "Chess Intuition," in which he has some interesting things to say about what we mean by expertise:

Although we tend to think of experts as being weighted down by information, their intelligence dependent on a vast set of facts, experts are actually profoundly intuitive. When experts evaluate a situation, they don't systematically compare all the available options or consciously analyze the relevant information. Carlsen, for instance, doesn't compute the probabilities of winning if he moves his rook to the left rather than the right. Instead, experts naturally depend on the emotions generated by their experience. Their prediction errors - all those mistakes they made in the past - have been translated into useful knowledge, which allows them to tap into a set of accurate feelings they can't begin to explain. Neils Bohr said it best: an expert is "a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field." From the perspective of the brain, Bohr was absolutely right.

And this is why we shouldn't be surprised that a chess prodigy raised on chess computer programs would be even more intuitive than traditional grandmasters. The software allows him to play more chess, which allows him to make more mistakes, which allows him to accumulate experience at a prodigious pace.

Who was it who said that you have to lose thousands of chess games before you become an expert? Hat tip: Chess Vibes

72nd Corus at Wijk aan Zee Opens

The schedule is set for the three groups (see A, B, and C) participating in the 72nd Corus Chess 2010 tournament at Wijk aan Zee.  Players include Carlsen, Anand, and Kramnik in an all-star field, with U.S. players Hikaru Nakamura (A), Varuzhan Akobian (B), and young Ray Robson (C) taking part, fresh off their silver medal in the World Team Championship in Bursa, Turkey.  The tournament should receive daily coverage at ChessBase (see "Wijk aan Zee Super-GM Starts Saturday"), TWIC (see preview), The Chess Mind, Chessdom, ICC, ChessVibes, Chessgames, the official site, and numerous other places around the net.

Magnus Carlsen Featured in TIME

"A Bold Opening for Chess Player Magnus Calsen" by Eben Harrell offers up a complete article to frame the interview mentioned here last week.  Expect more high-profile articles on the 19-year-old world number one in the next couple weeks leading up to the annual Corus tournament in Wijk aan Zee.

Magnus Carlsen Interviewed in Time Magazine

Eben Harrell's Time interview, "Magnus Carlsen: The 19-year-old King of Chess," is the latest evidence that Carlsen has the ability to generate media interest in the game.  It is a very positive interview where the world number one says, "I'm not afraid the computer will find all the ideas and leave no room for imagination."  Of course, the article also suggests that chess is still judged with suspicion in the media, as though it were responsible for Fischer's dementia (instead of being the reason Fischer remained somewhat sane as long as he did): Carlsen is also asked, "Do you fear that trying to master a game of near-infinite variation can make you insane?"  The Time article even links to the 1972 article "Why They Play: The Psychology of Chess," which recalls the Freudian view of the game frequently cited back then.  I think the Freudians would have a field day with Tiger Woods and golf, so it's rather a shame their mode of interpretation doesn't get wider play or parody today.  For more thoughts on the Time piece, check out Mig Greengard's "Time for Magnus Carlsen."

Carlsen Wins London Chess Classic 2009

The London Chess Classic ended today with very well-contested draws by Magnus Carlsen (against Nigel Short, in a game played "to the kings") and Vladimir Kramnik (against Hikaru Nakamura) that kept Carlsen's one-point margin in place.  Luke McShane was awarded the brilliancy prize for his innovative Round 5 victory over Nakamura using the King's Indian Defense with Na6. Carlsen's countryman, Norwegian GM Jon Ludvig Hammer, won the concurrent London FIDE Open a full point ahead of the field.  And WIM Arianne Caoili won the London FIDE Women's Invitational by a point and a half over the rest of the field.  You can find games from all of the events in the Downloads / PGN Games section of the official website, and you can easily find and play over main event games at Chessgames.com.  I have found some of the games in the lower tournaments to be of great interest and may return to them in future posts.


I have put together a round-by-round webliography of articles analyzing the games from the main event.  Long ago I got in the habit of looking at GM games using multiple sets of notes, finding that every commentator focuses on different questions in the game that are worth considering, and that opinions often diverge even where the same issues are considered.  Edward Winter once very nicely explored the case of "Analytical Disaccord" surrounding the game Capablanca - Bogoljubow, Moscow 1925 which was only an extreme example of just how differently various annotators can see things.  I hope readers find this collection of notes useful.  I will add more as they become available and welcome links from readers.



With his performance in this tournament, Carlsen guarantees that he will keep his world  number one ranking on the official FIDE ratings list, making him the youngest official number one player in history.  Next up for the champ will be the Corus tournament in Wijk aan Zee (January 15 - 31).


Round 7

• ChessBase Express Report
  
• Video Interview with Magnus Carlsen by Peter Doggers at ChessVibes
• Round 7 Games Annotated,  Mark Crowther at TWIC
• Carlsen Wins; Nakamura Mid-Field by Ian Rogers at USCF
  
• Short - Carlsen, Jason Juett at Chessdom
• Round 7 Games Annotated, Rybka at ChessOK
  

Round 6

• Kramnik and Ni Hua Win, Carlsen Escapes by John Saunders at ChessBase
  
• Kramnik and Ni Hua Win in Round 6 by Peter Doggers at ChessVibes
  Includes video of Short and Ni Hua analyzing their game.
• Carlsen - Adams, Raymond Keene at Times Online
  
• Carlsen - Adams, Pete Karagianis at Chessdom
  
• London Classic Final Round by Mig Greengard
  In a post looking toward the final round of play, Greengard nicely sums up the penultimate round action.
• Round 6 Games Annotated, Rybka at ChessOK
  

Round 5

• Carlsen and McShane Win by John Saunders at ChessBase
• Ni Hua - Carlsen, John Saunders
• Nakamura - McShane, John Saunders
• Round 5 Games Annotated, Dennis Monokroussos
• Round 5 Games Annotated, Rybka at ChessOK
  
• Ni Hua - Carlsen, Jason Juett at Chessdom
  
• London Classic: Kramnik Comeback; Carlsen Human (Maybe) by Mig Greengard
  A good summary of the action through round 5.
  

Round 4

• All Games Drawn but Fighting Chess by John Saunders at ChessBase
• Round 4 Games Annotated, Dennis Monokroussos
• Round 4 Games Annotated, Mark Crowther at TWIC
• Round 4 Games Annotated, Rybka at ChessOK
  
• Carlsen - Nakamura, John Saunders
• Short - Ni Hua, John Saunders
• Carlsen - Nakamura, Ian Rogers at USCF
• Carlsen - Nakamura, Jason Juett at Chessdom
  
• Carlsen - Nakamura, Malcolm Pein in the London Telegraph
  

Round 3

• Kramnik Wins Again, Carlsen Leads by John Saunders at ChessBase
• McShane - Kramnik, John Saunders
• Howell - Carlsen, John Saunders
• Howell - Carlsen, Malcolm Pein (also at TWIC)
  
• McShane - Kramnik, Malcolm Pein (also at TWIC)
• Howell - Carlsen, Jason Juett and Peter Karagianis at Chessdom
• Round 3 Games Annotated, Rybka at ChessOK
  

Round 2

• Kramnik and Carlsen Analyzed by John Saunders at ChessBase
• Kramnik - Ni Hua, John Saunders
• Carlsen - McShane, John Saunders
• Round 2 Games Annotated, Vallejo Pons at the official site
  
• Round 2 Games Annotated, Mark Crowther at TWIC
• Round 2 Games Annotated, Rybka at ChessOK
  
• Thirty Love, Carlsen Beats McShane photos by Frederic Friedel at ChessBase
• London Classic: Carlsen Starts Hot by Mig Greengard
• Kramnik - Ni Hua, Malcolm Pein at TWIC
• Carlsen - McShane, Christian Bauer and Peter Karagianis at Chessdom
  
• Adams - Nakamura, Christian Bauer and Peter Karagianis at Chessdom
  

Round 1

• C is for Carlsen by John Saunders at ChessBase
  Carlsen explains his win over Kramnik in the first round.
• Round 1 Games Annotated, Dennis Monokroussos 
• Round 1 Games Annotated, Mark Crowther
• Round 1 Games Annotated, Vallejo Pons at the official site
• Round 1 Games Annotated, Rybka at ChessOK
  
• Carlsen - Kramnik, John Saunders
  
• Carlsen - Kramnik, Lubomir Kavalek, Washington Post
• Carlsen - Kramnik, Malcolm Pein
• Carlsen - Kramnik,  Hector Leyva at InforChess
  
• Carlsen - Kramnik at Chessdom
• Nakamura - Ni Hua at Chessdom
  

Additional Coverage

• People and Personalities at the London Chess Classic, photos by Frederic Friedel
  
• London Chess Classic Photographs at The Streatham & Brixton Chess Blog
  

London Chess Classic Starts Tuesday

The London Chess Classic starts Tuesday, December 8th, and promises to be one of the most interesting tournaments of the year for chess fans in the Western hemisphere. Not only will the tournament website and related coverage be in English, but the event will feature such fan favorite players as world number one Magnus Carlsen, former world champion Vladimir Kramnik, U.S. champion Hikaru Nakamura, and resurgent British star Nigel Short (all of whom are playing in top form of late). The Daily Telegraph has been providing excellent coverage, including an interview today with 19-year-old Carlsen -- see "Magnus Carlsen: The Rise and Rise of Chess's Answer to Mozart" by Max Davidson. An earlier Davidson article, "London Chess Classic: The Chess Set Come to London," suggests that chess is regaining popularity in Britain, which once produced the strongest players in the West, including former championship challenger Short. Luke McShane and David Howell, who represent the next generation of rising British stars, will participate in the tournament as well, though they are likely to have a tough time against such strong opposition. I will be following the tournament closely and hope to post some articles about the event.

Nakamura Beats Carlsen in Oslo Blitz Final

Less than two weeks ago, Magnus Carlsen won the World Blitz Championship at the Tal Memorial in Moscow. Yesterday he lost to Hikaru Nakamura, widely considered the best blitz player in the world (but who did not play in Moscow), in the final of the BNBank knockout blitz tournament in Oslo. So who's really the champ? Check out the Oslo Blitz page created by ChessBase to play over the games and watch them on video at the same time. And does blitz even matter? Read Bobby's Blitz Chess by Larry Parr (from the Internet Archives, which may be slow to load) for some historical perspective.

Related Links

• Oslo Blitz -- Nakamura Beats Carlsen in the Final from ChessBase
• Nakamura Blitzes Carlsen in Norway by Mig Greengard
• Nakamura Wins BNBank Blitz by Dennis Monokroussos
• Carlsen Wins Tal Memorial Blitz
  

Carlsen Wins Tal Memorial Blitz

The World Blitz Championship at the Tal Memorial in Moscow has just concluded, with Magnus Carlsen first, Viswanathan Anand second, and Sergey Karjakin third. Carlsen dominated the field today and the three have led since yesterday. See the final table at ChessBase for full results.

The Tal Memorial Blitz event is for many the highlight of this wonderful tournament, which this year is among the strongest in history. Blitz has a visceral appeal that anyone can relate to with only a basic understanding of the game. Such events should receive wider publicity. Video is available online from the official site and was available live during the event. Numbering the days after the tournament's fortnight, you can see video of the blitz event on Day 16, Day 17, and Day 18. It is interesting to watch even when the board is not very visible (though I recommend playing over the games at the same time on Chessgames or with the PGN). ChessBase covered the action also in their reports: "World Blitz Championship Day One: Anand Leads," "Impressions from Day One in Moscow" (by Misha Savinov), "World Blitz Championship Day Two: Carlsen Takes Over," "Trials and Tribulations of a Blitz Player," "Carlsen Wins with Three-Point Margin," "World Blitz Championship: Pictorial Impressions," "World Blitz Championship: Close-Up Video Footage."

U.S. resident Alexandra Kosteniuk finished at the bottom of the field, but she had some very strong scalps along the way, including wins over the top finishers Anand and Carlsen. The reaction of the two greats to losing was a study in contrasts, with the World Champion resigning amicably and shaking hands (despite having a significant time advantage that might have caused Kosteniuk some trouble, though she was easily winning) and predicted future champ Carlsen simply jumping up from the table and stalking off to sip his orange juice. He knew he had let a strong attacking position slip in time pressure, but his behavior was hardly gallant.


You can see video of the Anand - Kosteniuk game online at YouTube. If I am able, I will try to post some games with analysis. I was especially interested in Kosteniuk's win over Carlsen and in Aronian's handling of the black side of the Spanish in several games.

Tal Memorial 2009 Webliography

The Tal Memorial concluded in Moscow with former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik winning with 6 out of 9 and Vassily Ivanchuk and Magnus Carlsen close behind with 5.5 out of 9. None of the top three finishers had any losses. Current World Champion Viswanathan Anand lost in the final round to Levon Aronian to drop to 5 out of 9, leaving him tied with Aronian for fourth and fifth. Carlsen was widely expected to do much better after his incredible performance in Nanjing (see Carlsen Wins to Finish Nanjing with 8/10 and Magnus Carlsen Dominates Nanjing), but he was suffering from the flu for the first half of the tournament (which prompted Ivanchuk to wear a mask during their game) and did not recover until the halfway point. However, after finishing with two wins he not only tied Ivanchuk for second but also gained enough rating points to edge out the temporarily inactive Veselin Topalov for the number one spot on the Live Ratings List, making him the youngest number one ever. You can download all games in PGN from a number of sources, including ChessBase and the official site, or view the games online at Chessgames.com. The official tournament site is only available in Russian. Kramnik and Carlsen's next tournament will be the London Chess Classic, December 8-15.

Round 9

• Pictorial Impressions from Moscow by WGM Yana Melnikova
• Kramnik Wins Tal Memorial with annotations by Ian Rogers
• Tal Memorial 09 R9: Kramnik Untouchable by Mig Greengard
  
• Kramnik wins Tal Memorial 2009, Carlsen number one, with annotations by Michael Humphreys
• Kramnik Deserved Winner in Day of Slapdash Chess by Mark Crowther
• Tal Memorial, Round 9 annotations by Dennis Monokroussos
• Anand - Aronian annotated by Hector Leyva
• Leko - Carlsen annotated by GM Bauer, GM Safarli, NM Karagianis, and Jason Juett
• Ivanchuk - Kramnik annotated by GM Bauer, GM Safarli, NM Karagianis, and Jason Juett
  

Round 8

• Carlsen Beats Ponomariov with notes by GM Dmitri Reinderman
  
• Carlsen beats Ponomariov, report by Michael von Keitz with annotations by Michael Humphreys
• Tal Memorial 09: Carlsen (& Tal) in Moscow by Mig Greengard
  
• Tal Memorial, Round 8 annotations by Dennis Monokrousso
• Carlsen Finally Wins by Mark Crowther
• Carlsen - Ponomariov by GM Bauer, GM Safarli, NM Karagianis, and Jason Juett
• Carlsen - Ponomariov annotated by Wilfredo Sariego

Round 7

• Ivanchuk Beats Gelfand, with annotations by Wouter Spoelman
  
• Ivanchuk beats Gelfand, Morozevich interview, report by Michael von Keitz
• Ivanchuk Wins in "Bit Rubbish" Round by Mark Crowther
• Tal Memorial, The Classics by Mig Greengard
  
• Svidler - Carlsen by GM Bauer, GM Safarli, NM Karagianis, and Jason Juett
• Ivanchuk - Gelfand annotated by Antonio Torrecillas

Round 6

• Kramnik 2.0 leads in Moscow by Peter Doggers, with notes by Dmitri Reinderman
  
• Kramnik Back in the Lead Alone by Mark Crowther (with notes)
• Kramnik, Ivanchuk, Gelfand win, report by Michael von Keitz
• Tal Memorial, Round 6 annotations by Dennis Monokroussos
• Morozevich - Ivanchuk annotated by Wilfredo Sariego
• Morozevich - Ivanchuk annotated by Malcolm Pein
• Morozevich - Ivanchuk annotated by
  
• Carlsen - Anand annotated by GM Bauer, GM Safarli, NM Karagianis, and Jason Juett

Round 5

• Anand beats Leko, Leads with Kramnik by Peter Doggers with notes by Merijn van Delft
  
• Anand beats Leko, joins Kramnik in the lead, report by Michael von Keitz
• Anand Joins Kramnik in Lead by Mark Crowther
• Anand Steps Up by Mig Greengard
• Ivanchuk's Mouth Cap by Peter Doggers
  
• Tal Memorial, Round 5 by Dennis Monokroussos
• Aronian - Morozevich annotated by Guillermo Soppe
• Anand - Leko annotated by Malcolm Pein

Round 4

• Kramnik Beats Svidler, Grabs Lead in Moscow by Peter Doggers with notes by Robert Ris
  
• Kramnik beats Svidler, leads in Moscow from ChessBase
• Second Win for Kramnik by Mark Crowther
• Lost Gruenfeld Weekend by Mig Greengard
  
• Tal Memorial, Round 4 by Dennis Monokroussos
• Kramnik - Svidler annotated by Alfonzo Jerez
• Kramnik - Svidler annotated by Malcolm Pein
• Carlsen - Aronian annotated by GM Bauer, GM Safarli, NM Karagianis, and Jason Juett

Round 3

• Anand, Aronian and Kramnik Win in Third Round of Tal Memorial by Peter Doggers with notes by Robert Ris
  
• Anand, Aronian, Kramnik draw first blood from ChessBase
• Deadlock Broken by Mark Crowther
• Action at Last by Mig Greengard
  
• Tal Memorial, Round Three by Dennis Monokroussos
  
• Andand-Svidler annotated by Lubomir Kavalek in the Washington Post
• Anand - Svidler annotated by Jack Peters in the LA Times
• Anand - Svidler annotated by Jorge Luis Fernandez
• Anand - Svidler annotated by Malcolm Pein
• Anand - Svidler annotated by GM Bauer, GM Safarli, NM Karagianis, and Jason Juett

Round 2

• Five more draws in second round of Tal Memorial by Peter Doggers with notes by Sipke Ernst
  
• All games drawn -- first win expected tomorrow from ChessBase
• Five More Draws in Round 2 by Mark Crowther
• Ponomariov - Aronian annotated by Guillermo Soppe
• Ponomariov - Aronian annotated by Malcolm Pein

Round 1

• Five draws in first round of Tal Memorial by Peter Doggers with notes by Merijn Van Delft
  
• All games drawn, with plenty of excitement from ChessBase
• All draws on day 1 by Mark Crowther
• Tal Memorial 2oo9 by Mig Greengard
  
• Bettle Royal by Mig Greengard
• Morozevich - Leko annotated by Hector Leyva
• Carlsen - Kramnik annotated by Malcolm Pein

Carlsen Wins to Finish Nanjing with 8/10

Phenomenal 18-year-old Super-GM Magnus Carlsen finished the Nanjing Spring tournament (games at Chessgames) with a win to give him an unbelievable 8 / 10 score for the event, leading his nearest competitor, world number one Veselin Topalov, by 2.5 points. With the win, Carlsen broke 2800 on the Live Ratings List, making him one of the few in chess history to have done so. He is now less than 8 points back from Topalov and has an opportunity to surpass him before the year is out.

Next up is the Tal Memorial (Moscow, November 5-14, 2009) where he will have a much greater challenge, facing nearly the rest of the top 20 in the world: World Champion Viswanathan Anand, Levon Aronian (who is a fantastic tournament player), former champion Vladimir Kramnik, Peter Leko, Vassily Ivanchuk, Boris Gelfand, Alexander Morozevich, Peter Svidler, and Ruslan Ponomariov. If he passes that test, then he should have an easier time in the London Chess Classic (Kensington, December 8-15) facing Kramnik again, Hikaru Nakamura, Ni Hua, Nigel Short, Michael Adams, Luke McShane, and David Howell. There's lots of good chess to look forward to in the coming months!

Below are links to annotations of Carlsen's games from Rounds 6 - 10. I will try to add more as they appear. I previously posted links to annotations of Rounds 1 - 5.

Carlsen - Jakovenko, Round 10

• Dennis Monokroussos
• Peter Doggers
• Ljubomir Kavalek
  
• ChessBase Report
• GM Dimitrov
  

Radjabov - Carlsen, Round 9

• Peter Doggers
• ChessBase Report
• Miodrag Perunovic and Goran Urosevic
  

Carlsen - Wang Yue, Round 8

• Dennis Monokroussos
• Peter Doggers
  
• ChessBase Report
• Malcolm Pein
• Miodrag Perunovic and Goran Urosevic
  

Topalov - Carlsen, Round 7

• ChessBase Report
• Peter Doggers
  
• IM Wilfredo Sariego Figueredo
• Gaprindashvil, Azmaiparashvil, Ye Jiangchuan
• GM Dimitrov
  

Leko - Carlsen, Round 6

• ChessBase Report
• Peter Doggers
• GM Dimitrov
  

Please use the comments area below to alert me to any I have overlooked.

Magnus Carlsen Dominates Nanjing

If Garry Kasparov needed an advertisement for his talents as a chess coach, he could ask for none better than Magnus Carlsen's incredible performance at the Nanjing Super-GM tournament (official site). With a score of 4.5 out of 5 at the tournament's halfway mark, Carlsen is not only dominating some of the best chess players in the world, he is the only one with any wins. What's more, even in his one draw result (against Wang Yue), Carlsen had a winning position but let it slip in time pressure. This has to be one of the most impressive tournament performances in chess history, so it is well worth replaying Carlsen's games with notes.

Carlsen - Radjabov, Round 5

• Dennis Monokroussos
• Lubomir Kavalek
• Malcolm Pein
  
• Andre Shultz (see also ChessBase report)
• Gaprindashvili, Azmaiparashvili, Ye Jiangchuan
  
• Peter Doggers (ChessVibes)
  
• IM Perunovic and Goran Urosevic (refresh if ads intrude)

Jakovenko - Carlsen, Round 4

• ChessBase Annotations and Report
• Karsten Mueller
  
• Peter Doggers
  
• Jorge Luís Fernández
  

Wang Yue - Carlsen, Round 3

• Dennis Monokroussos
• IM Perunovic and Goran Urosevic
• Peter Doggers
  
• ChessBase Report

Carlsen - Topalov, Round 2

• Dennis Monokroussos
• GM Dimitrov
• ChessBase Report
• Peter Doggers
  
• IM Héctor Leyva Paneque
  

Carlsen - Leko, Round 1

• Dennis Monokroussos
• Malcolm Pein
  
• IM Perunovic and Goran Urosevic
• ChessBase Report
• Peter Doggers
  

Garry Kasparov Training Magnus Carlsen

News broke today that former World Champion Garry Kasparov, widely seen as the greatest chess player in history, has been training 18-year-old Magnus Carlsen, currently ranked #4 in the world and one of the most likely contenders for the world title. ChessBase quotes Espen Agdestein, who sums it up nicely: "This is the king training his crown prince." Here are some links, and I will add to them as more stories emerge.

• Breaking News: Carlsen and Kasparov Join Forces at ChessBase
  The first story, with the best photos.
  
• Garry & Magnus by Mig Greengard
  Greengard, a friend and adviser to Kasparov, gives the inside scoop.
• Magnus Carlsen: "My Job Is to Improve My Chess" by Peter Doggers
  Interview with Carlsen confirms that this is not a fantasy.
• Garry Kasparov hired as chess trainer for Magnus Carlsen by Steve Goldberg