Chess (#983)

The London classic which follows closely on the heels of the Tal Memorial features many of the same players. Carlsen, Aronyan, Anand, Kramnik, Nakamura played in Moscow. They’re joined by Adams (2734), Short (2698), McShane (2671) and Howell (2633).

On paper, London is significantly weaker. The four Britishers replace the higher-rated Karjakin (2763), Svidler (2755), Gelfand (2744)and Nepomniachtchi (2730). It could be relatively high-scoring since the visitors will try to bash the locals. But Adams, Short, McShane and Howell are all individually capable of beating anyone, so it could get interesting.

Moscow was a high-drawing affair (35 draws out of 45 games) despite a ban on agreed draws. Carlsen again demonstrated his knack for logging the big wins when they count. The world no:1 was behind Levon Aronyan until the last round. In round 9, the Armenian GM drew, while Carlsen beat Nakamura with black to catch up.

The colour situation was crucial since “more wins with black” was a tie-break criteria. Carlsen took the title as a result. Carlsen and Aronyan shared 1-2 with 5.5 points each (+2, =7) and Ivanchuk, Karjakin and Nepomniachtchi tied for 3-5 with 5 each. Svidler and Anand hit 50 per cent. Kramnik, Gelfand and Naka had minus scores.

Aronyan overtakes Anand as world no:2 at least temporarily, though the world champion could easily wrest the rank back with a good performance at London. In the live ratings, Carlsen now stands at 2829 with Aronyan 2815, Anand 2806 and Kramnik slipping below 2800, to 2787. Of course, the next official rating list will be released in January.

The London chess classic also includes an Open event. The top players will also play a consultation game versus the Rest of the World on Twitter. This could get really competitive because crowd sourcing chess analysis is now easier than it was, even a few months ago. Apart from the Fritz13 cloud-based “Lets check” feature, which Chessbase is touting for all it's worth, there are several sites with free, high-end engine analysis available.

The diagram, WHITE TO PLAY, Aronyan Vs Svidler (Tal Memorial 2011) is high-tension. But there's no obvious way for white to exploit the exposed king and loose pawns. Aronyan played 40.Bxf6+ Kxf6 41.Qh8+ Kf5 42.Qxh4!! The “forced” 42. Ne2 g5 is just slightly better for white. This seems winning.

Svidler continued 42...Qxc3 43.g4+ Ke5 44.Qh8+ f6 45.Qb8+ Kd5 46.Qxb7+ Qc6 47.Qb8! The b-pawn is hard to stop. 47...Nc5 48.Qg8+ Qe6 49.Qxg6 Kc4 50.h4 Now, it’s clear — the b and h pawns dominate the Kt. Did Aronyan see this far on the sacrifice? 50...Kd3 51. h5 Ke2 52.h6 Qc4 53.h7 Ke1 54.Qxf6 (1–0). Protecting f2 ensures there’s no mating threats.

Devangshu Datta is an internationally rated chess and correspondence chess player