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.
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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

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.

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