Business Standard

CHESS #609

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Devangshu Datta New Delhi

It is always difficult to compare players across eras but that doesn't stop fan-speculation. How would Bradman have fared against the Windies quicks of the 80s or Viv Richards against Larwood? Or Pele against modern defences?

Chess has an advantage in this respect. The rating system was originally designed for precisely the purpose of cross-era comparison. Also, some careers span 40 years and hence, there are people who have played across several eras. Viktor Korchnoi and Vassily Smyslov for instance, have been around since the 1940s.

Nevertheless, rating inflation makes cross-era comparisons very difficult and even players of great longevity tend to have relatively short periods of peak form. According to Jeff Sonas, statistician extraordinary and owner of chessmetrics.com, ratings inflate by around 7 points per annum. So in order to compare a 2005 performance versus a 2009 performance, you need to subtract 29 points / player from the 2009 ratings. It's more inaccurate as you go further back.

 

Sonas rates Magnus Carlsen's tour de force at Nanjing among the 20 best tournament performances of all-time and says it is the best-ever by an 18-year-old. Carlsen scored 8 from 10 (+6=4) against 2733 opposition for a 2850 performance using Sonas' adjustment. In nominal terms, he delivered a 3002 performance against 2763 average.

Carlsen's rating will jump past 2800 in the next list, placing him at no:2, behind Topalov, (second at Nanjing with 5.5). On Sonas' scale, Karpov's victory at Linares in 1994 (11/13 with +9,=4) is the biggest win of all time.

Certainly Carlsen delivered a commanding performance and one that marks him as world-champion-in-waiting. One of the most striking things is his hunger. He plays everything out to the end and he's prepared to take risks even when he's ahead. This usually pays off in tournaments where his energy and technique nets him extra points. But he may need to tone this down once he's into the cycle of title matchplay and also, when he's a little older and has less energy to burn.

The Diagram, WHITE TO PLAY (Carlsen Vs Jakovenko, Nanjing 2009) is from the last round where Carlsen was already assured of the Euro 80,000 first prize. He found 26.Nxd5! Qxd5. The main idea is, both queens are unprotected and the e4 Kt therefore hangs after 26. --cxd5 27. Rxe4.

But Jakovenko intended 26...Nc5 (exploiting the pinned Qd4) 27.f6 Red8 but now saw 28.e6 Nxe6 29.f7+ Kf8 (29...Kh8 30.Rxe6 Qxe6 31.Nc7) 30.Qe4 Qxd5 31.Qxh7 when black is dead. So he was forced into a pawn-down endgame. That is also lost due to the central steam roller after 27.Qxe4 Rad8 28.e6 Qxe4 29.Rxe4 Rd6 30.g4 Kf8 31.g5 Ke7 32.Kg2 Rd5 33.Kg3 Kd6 34.h4 c5 35.f6 gxf6 36.gxf6 Rd3+ 37.Kh2 Rd2+ 38.Kh1 (1-0).

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First Published: Oct 17 2009 | 12:59 AM IST

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