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Round 1
Report
by John Saunders |
C IS FOR
CARLSEN
The London Chess Classic
started with a bang on Monday when Magnus Carlsen beat
ex-world champion Vladimir Kramnik in the first round. It
also featured a marathon game between English grandmasters
Luke McShane and Nigel Short which ended in victory for
McShane after an eye-watering 163 moves.
In front of an impressive
400+ audience, tournament director Malcolm Pein said a few
opening words and then introduced the special guest who was
to make the honorary first move, British Member of
Parliament Dr Evan Harris. He had already played an
extremely important role in getting the tournament on the
road, explained Malcolm Pein. There had been problems
getting Vladimir Kramnik a visa to come to the UK but Dr
Harris had stepped into the breach and made it happen, so we
all had reason to be extremely grateful to him.
Incidentally, Dr Harris is no mean player himself,
particularly in his youth when he was a competition player
in his native Liverpool. I recall him giving a speech at a
chess congress some 11 years ago. On that occasion he
brought along a copy of one of John Nunn’s opening books
because he wanted to argue the merits of one of the lines in
the book. He knew John Nunn would be there, and the two
Doctors conducted a most interesting discussion of the line
during Dr Harris’s speech. Perhaps Dr Harris had
misinterpreted the invitation to give an “opening speech”?!
No matter, because it was probably the most stimulating
speech I have ever witnessed at a chess congress. This was
also a very good speech from Dr Harris during which he
teased Magnus Carlsen that he was going to make his English
debut with his own favourite opening, the Grob (that’s 1
g4).
But I digress (as usual).
Carlsen’s win against Kramnik must rank as one of the
highest quality games ever played in this country. After
Evan Harris had played the ceremonial move 1 e4 on the board
(I’m not sure why he didn’t carry through with his threat to
play 1 g4, but no matter), Magnus retracted it and replaced
it with 1 c4. The previous day he also selected the c-pawn
at the drawing of lots and it had given him the number one,
so perhaps he thought it would bring him luck. Another
theory, voiced at the press conference, was that he might
have played it because it is called the English Opening and
this was his first tournament game in England. Or perhaps he
played it simply because it was ‘C for Carlsen’. Some nice
talking points there, but a fourth theory is almost
certainly the most likely: he played it because Garry
Kasparov thought it would be a good move against his old
rival Vladimir Kramnik. Magnus more or less confirmed this
after the game.
Let’s not waste
any more time and look at the moves of this remarkable
encounter.
Round 1
Magnus Carlsen – Vladimir Kramnik
English Opening A29
1 c4!?
The English
Opening - played in Magnus's first competition game in
England. Did he play it because it was his first game here?
Magnus said no, though he had thought about it later during
the game, but said that Kasparov had recommended the line
for psychological reason.This remark will surely send a
shudder down the spines of Magnus's subsequent opponents.
For the first few moves of every game, they are effectively
playing a simultaneous display against the world's best ever
player and his anointed successor. Scary.
1...Nf6 2 Nc3 e5 3 Nf3 Nc6 4 g3 d5 5 cxd5 Nxd5
This line of
the English Opening is rather like a Sicilian Defence (1 e4
c5) with colours reversed. You might think it strange that
White should play a Black defence rather than choosing
something that promises an immediate initiative but, in the
hands of an elite player like Magnus, it has the force of
slow poison. And, of course, playing it with White gives him
an extra move.
6 Bg2 Nb6 7 0–0 Be7 8 a3
If you learnt
your chess from an old chess book, you might be surprised to
see some of Magnus's opening moves. He is playing a very
restrained opening, not yet trying to extend himself into
his opponent's position. Some chessplayers often like to use
the word 'prophylaxis' to describe this sort of strategy but
don't let them bamboozle you with their fancy terminology.
In plain English it is "wait and see" - high-class
manoeuvring, combined with a policy of restraint, while
trying to identify possible weaknesses in the opponent's
position. Some chess positions demand that you go at your
opponent from the start but this is not one of them. It
takes years of practice to know which is which - that, or a
brain the size of a planet, which is what Magnus has, of
course.
8...0–0 9 b4 Be6 10 Rb1 f6 11 d3 a5 12 b5 Nd4 13 Nd2 Qc8
The end of
Carlsen's theoretical knowledge, he said afterwards – so we
have perhaps reached the limit of Garry Kasparov's direct
influence on the game. From now on, Magnus is on his own.
14 e3 Nf5 15 Qc2
We are just
beginning to see a glimmer of the pressure that Magnus is
about to bring to bear on the c-file. It all looks very
nebulous at club-player level but, at the elite level, the
merest hint of a weakness can ultimately prove fatal.
15...Rd8 16 Bb2 a4 17 Rfc1 Nd6 18 Nde4 Ne8 19 Qe2
Note for
theorists: this is where the game departs from a known path
- 19 Ne2 has been played before. Note to computer engine
junkies: some (not all) analysis engines may tell you that
Black is better here. But don't believe it - it is not the
sort of position that chess engines are particularly good
at.
19...Bf8 20 f4 exf4
"The principled
move," said Carlsen. I'm never quite sure what grandmasters
mean when they describe a move as "principled". I suspect it
might mean something like "I could try explaining it to you
but I suspect it would go way over your head and would only
waste your time and mine." Incidentally, I once heard Garry
Kasparov say exactly that to a questioner at a press
conference. It was at least an honest answer, if a trifle
tactless. Magnus prefers to use the tactful approach and it
suits his style better.
21 gxf4 Qd7 22 d4
Most of us
ordinary mortals would have rejected this on sight as it
allows the dangerous looking 22...Bc4 but Magnus has looked
further.
22...c6
At this point
in the press conference, Lawrence Trent mentioned several
lines which the commentators had been looking at and
admitted that 22...c6 had not been one of them. Magnus
blithely responded: "c6 was my main line." This elicited
some laughter from the audience and also from a rueful
Lawrence. "Leading with your chin," commented Malcolm Pein,
watching the press conference. 22...Bc4 23 Qe1 Bd3 24 Nc5!
is a promising rook for bishop sacrifice for White.
23 Nc5 Bxc5 24 dxc5 Nc4 25 Rd1 Qc7 26 Bc1
At first sight
you might think the c4 knight is "dominating" the c1 bishop
but the point is that it cannot permanently establish itself
on c4. Magnus knows that, sooner or later, he will shift the
knight and when it goes, he might be able to take the
a-pawn. General principles don't apply to chess gods. But,
for any children reading this, don't try it at home – not
yet, anyway.
26...Na5
Kramnik decides
to run away before he is pushed away. "It's hard to suggest
another move for Black," said Carlsen.
27 bxc6 bxc6 28 Nxa4!
Despite some
apparent danger of Kramnik taking over the initiative,
Carlsen dares to take the pawn - a brave and correct
decision.
28...Rxd1+
"I didn't like
this," said Carlsen. Neither did most of the press-room
pundits.
29 Qxd1
Remember the
old adage about "a knight on the rim is dim"? Notice that
all three knights are on the edge of the board here. But
Magnus' knight is the least 'dim' of the three, though he
wasn't entirely happy to have it there.
29...Rd8 30 Qc2 Qf7 31 Nc3
Around here,
grandmaster opinion in the press room was that Kramnik would
have to do something pretty quick if he was to get any
compensation for the lost pawn.
31...Qh5
Not best, said
Carlsen, adding that Kramnik had missed something obvious.
Oh... what was I saying about Magnus being tactful? Just as
well that Vlad was nowhere to be seen (only winners are
obliged to face the press and audience after games).
32 Ne2! Bf5
You and I might
be tempted to play 32...Bg4 but then 33 Nd4 consolidates
White's position and cuts off the black rook's influence
along the d-file.
33 e4 Bg4 34 Ng3 Qf7 35 Bf1
Two bishops on
their original squares! Magnus mentioned this at the press
conference and thought that they were well placed there.
Again, to children reading, please don't try this at home.
Magnus can do it because he is Magnus.
35...Be6 36 Qc3 Ra8 37 Rb4
The constrictor
grip tightens: Magnus deprives the knight of the c4 square.
37...Qd7 38 f5 Bf7 39 Bf4
Only now, 39
moves into the game, does Magnus start gaining space.
Patience is one of the grandmaster's key weapons.
39...Qd1 40 Kf2 Nb3
Now Black loses
material. 40...Qd8 was the last chance.
41 Be2 Qb1 42 Bc4 Rxa3 43 Ne2 1–0
After 43 Ne2
the game might go 43...h6 44 Bxf7+ Kxf7 45 Qc4+ Kf8 46
Rb7 and mate will follow. If Kramnik tries anything else
with rook or queen instead of h7-h6, then he will lose the
knight and it will be all over.
Understandably, this game
between the two top seeds grabbed most of the attention of
the audience, and there was a large exodus of people to see
Magnus being interviewed next door. That still left three
other games, of course. We had seen a Norwegian play the
English Opening, so what would the English players (all
paired against each other) play? They went for a Double
Scotch… no, they didn’t adjourn to the bar (the so-called
‘Sofia rules’ prohibit draw offers at this tournament –
peace negotiations have to be made via the arbiter), they
both started their games with the Scotch Opening (1 e4 e5 2
Nf3 Nc6 3 d4). Howell-Adams was quite a lively encounter but
eventually came down to a very drawish double rook endgame.
The other all-English game,
McShane-Short, we’ll come back to after considering the next
game to finish between the representatives of two world
super-powers – Hikaru Nakamura (USA) versus Ni Hua (China).
Hikaru came out of the opening pretty well and eventually
converted his advantage into something tangible – a rook for
bishop and pawn. But the pawn was a good one, lodged in the
heart of the American side of the board. Hikaru returned the
exchange (i.e. gave up rook for the bishop) to eliminate the
nasty pawn and grandmaster opinion suggested he might yet
win. But it was hard to figure out and some resourceful play
by Ni Hua held the draw.
Now for the marathon men…
McShane-Short came down to a fairly arid position where Luke
had some play against Nigel’s doubled pawns. It went on …
and on… and on. Luke eventually encircled the double pawns
and, on move 98, captured one of them. Even then, the game
was not over – it was not clear how Luke could exploit his
pawn advantage. The game seemed to go round in circles, as
Luke played a few quick moves to gain time on his clock. I
should explain that the time control after the first 60
moves, the players received 15 minutes plus an increment of
30 seconds per move, so Luke was trying to play a few quick
moves so that he would have four or five minutes to think
about the critical decisions. The next phase was for Luke to
pitch camp on d5 with his knight – this took another 18
moves to achieve. Next, to get in b3-b4 – that took another
17 moves of manoeuvring.
The game reached the eight
hour of play. By this time, by the way, the watching
audience had dwindled by quite a lot (I counted 11 at one
point). Arbiters were slumped in their chairs, dreaming of
their dinner. The gentlemen of the press seemed to have
turned their attention to their favourite online poker site.
On the board, it was rather like watching a determined
mountaineer slog up Everest. Eventually, around move 145, it
was apparent that Luke was close to planting his flag on the
summit. Cynics in the press room speculated that Nigel was
only playing on in the hope that his opponent’s mobile phone
might ring, but news later filtered back from the arbiters
that Nigel was intent on a summit of his own – his longest
ever game. This happened somewhere beyond move 160. Even at
the end, there was some hope that Luke might let Nigel take
his queen so that Luke could show us how to mate with bishop
and knight.
Around 10pm, with the
janitor jangling the keys to the building outside, the game
ended. The press room packed their bags, having rechristened
the English number one “Nigel Long” in commemoration of this
memorable achievement. As regards Luke McShane, acquisition
of the three points (remember, we are using the 3–1–0
scoring system) comes at a price. Following his seven hours
36 minutes game today, he must face Magnus Carlsen with
Black tomorrow. After Everest, the North Face of the Eiger…
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