Corus 2008 Round 5 & 6.
In the game as black against Ivanchuk in round 5 Magnus was a bit surprised in the opening as he had not seen b3 and Ba3 in the Ruy Lopez Exchange variation before.
After some calculations he found that he could equalize with Bxf3.
Afterwards the continuation was forced and the rook ending dead draw already after 19 moves when Ivanchuk offered a draw and Magnus accepted.
Topalov outplayed a struggling Gelfand in a fearly equal but tactical middle game while Radjabov beat Eljanov with black to tie for first with Aronian and Magnus.
Against Polgar Magnus played Qc2 in the Nimzo Indian variation but instead of her previously used 4.... 0-0 she played 4....d5. Magnus had looked at this variation some time back and thought 10.e3 Qf6 11.f3 looked interesting. Polgar played 10... Qf6 and indeed, white got excellent positional play despite the black knights threatening f3. Magnus continued to play fast, finding natural moves putting pressure on black weaknesses. After 40 moves he was two pawns up in the knight and bishop ending and could soon decide the game with the unstoppable h-pawn. 1-0!
At chessvibes.com you may find the two videos from the press conferance after the game, the first one at the following link http://www.chessvibes.com/videos/lang_nlpersconferentie-magnus-carlsenlang_nllang_enpress-conference-magnus-carlsenlang_en/
Kramnik blitzed out more than 30 moves against Aronian but did not manage to find a completely winning plan. After locking his h-pawn on h5 he had to give up his a-pawn to make progress and entered a rook ending with f and h-pawn which is theoretically drawn.
Kramnik did not make much progress until Aronian blundered in time trouble and supposedly lost on time in a lost position.
It is interesting to see how these kind of positions get played till the end even at top level and how hard it can be to defend accurately at the end of a long and tense game.
(Some of the ridicule 13 year old Magnus received after loosing the World Cup tie break back in 2004 against Aronian in a similar position, seems to have fallen dead now.)
Topalov continued his turnaround with another win, this time as black against Leko, to reach 50% (and still counting...)
Magnus' tough tournament schedule this autumn and the subsequent 30 day break digesting the new experiences seems to have brought new progress.
I'm not making any predictions about the second half, let us just enjoy Magnus' as sole leader after 6 rounds in Corus A half a point ahead of pursuers Kramnik and Radjabov!!
(And his unofficial rating is 2748 and the rank no. 7 in the World!!)
Today Magnus has black against Topalov. A difficult task especially as Topalov again has started winning games convincingly.
Henrik Carlsen
Wijk aan Zee, January 19th, 2008
After some calculations he found that he could equalize with Bxf3.
Afterwards the continuation was forced and the rook ending dead draw already after 19 moves when Ivanchuk offered a draw and Magnus accepted.
Topalov outplayed a struggling Gelfand in a fearly equal but tactical middle game while Radjabov beat Eljanov with black to tie for first with Aronian and Magnus.
Against Polgar Magnus played Qc2 in the Nimzo Indian variation but instead of her previously used 4.... 0-0 she played 4....d5. Magnus had looked at this variation some time back and thought 10.e3 Qf6 11.f3 looked interesting. Polgar played 10... Qf6 and indeed, white got excellent positional play despite the black knights threatening f3. Magnus continued to play fast, finding natural moves putting pressure on black weaknesses. After 40 moves he was two pawns up in the knight and bishop ending and could soon decide the game with the unstoppable h-pawn. 1-0!
At chessvibes.com you may find the two videos from the press conferance after the game, the first one at the following link http://www.chessvibes.com/videos/lang_nlpersconferentie-magnus-carlsenlang_nllang_enpress-conference-magnus-carlsenlang_en/
Kramnik blitzed out more than 30 moves against Aronian but did not manage to find a completely winning plan. After locking his h-pawn on h5 he had to give up his a-pawn to make progress and entered a rook ending with f and h-pawn which is theoretically drawn.
Kramnik did not make much progress until Aronian blundered in time trouble and supposedly lost on time in a lost position.
It is interesting to see how these kind of positions get played till the end even at top level and how hard it can be to defend accurately at the end of a long and tense game.
(Some of the ridicule 13 year old Magnus received after loosing the World Cup tie break back in 2004 against Aronian in a similar position, seems to have fallen dead now.)
Topalov continued his turnaround with another win, this time as black against Leko, to reach 50% (and still counting...)
Magnus' tough tournament schedule this autumn and the subsequent 30 day break digesting the new experiences seems to have brought new progress.
I'm not making any predictions about the second half, let us just enjoy Magnus' as sole leader after 6 rounds in Corus A half a point ahead of pursuers Kramnik and Radjabov!!
(And his unofficial rating is 2748 and the rank no. 7 in the World!!)
Today Magnus has black against Topalov. A difficult task especially as Topalov again has started winning games convincingly.
Henrik Carlsen
Wijk aan Zee, January 19th, 2008
Comments:
Posted by: Ole Morten Persen
So far Corus has been another impressive performance for Magnus. I agree totally that he seems to have taken another step in his development as a chessplayer. His openings seems better with both colors, and the mistakes/inaccuracies are fewer than ever while he is almost ruthless in exploiting chances when he gets them. Only missed the chance vs. Aronian, but even Magnus is still human...luckily!
Although many tough games remain, Magnus is now one of the favorites to win Corus no matter how one sees it, and that says a lot. Black vs. Kramnik could be the decisive game, and Magnus held his own when no one else could at Tal Memorial, so he has no reason to fear that game any more than any other game. But no matter what he has done the job he came to do now, but I for one do not think Magnus is finished yet! Always the optimist I predict +5 for Magnus, wheter that will be enough to win remains to be seen, but the way he plays now +5 is not unrealistic at all. Wish him all the best for the rest of the tournament!
Although many tough games remain, Magnus is now one of the favorites to win Corus no matter how one sees it, and that says a lot. Black vs. Kramnik could be the decisive game, and Magnus held his own when no one else could at Tal Memorial, so he has no reason to fear that game any more than any other game. But no matter what he has done the job he came to do now, but I for one do not think Magnus is finished yet! Always the optimist I predict +5 for Magnus, wheter that will be enough to win remains to be seen, but the way he plays now +5 is not unrealistic at all. Wish him all the best for the rest of the tournament!
Posted by: Caissa
Congratulations on your convincing win against Polgar and today's draw against Topalov!
Posted by: Einar, the coffin-tanned Norwegian
Why isn't Magnus' great results being covered on Norwegian television? When they do show biathlon and mediocre achievements from Norwegian speed skaters, why not show some World Class Chess?
I don't get it. Is it because it doesn't involve frozen water? At least I am disappointed on Norwegian media. Luckily we get coverage through Internet.
What are your thoughts on this, Henrik?
I don't get it. Is it because it doesn't involve frozen water? At least I am disappointed on Norwegian media. Luckily we get coverage through Internet.
What are your thoughts on this, Henrik?
Posted by: Øyvind A
I'll second Einars comment. It is ridiculous that nothing is said about such events as these. Bobby Fischers sad departure got heavy coverage though, well deserved as he was a legend second to none.
I do believe medias such as NRK should cover this event, it will be a support to chess in general and Magnus specifically. Hopefully Norway will get the chess olympiad in 2014, maybe that will change fortunes.
Anyway congrats on a well fought match against topa today. Good luck tomorrow!
I do believe medias such as NRK should cover this event, it will be a support to chess in general and Magnus specifically. Hopefully Norway will get the chess olympiad in 2014, maybe that will change fortunes.
Anyway congrats on a well fought match against topa today. Good luck tomorrow!
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