CHESS (#628)

Carlsen retained no:1 spot on the March list with 2813, while Kramnik (2790) nudged ahead of Anand (2787) to no:3. Veselin Topalov (2805) remains no:2. Linares ended too late for Topalov's gains to be incorporated. Aronian (2782) stays at no:5. Mamedaryov (2760), Grischuk (2756), Svidler (2750), Gelfand (2750 -less games than Svidler) and Wang Yue (2749) make up the Top 10.

According to the Live Ratings (chess.liverating.org), Topalov would touch 2812 if Linares had been rated. The 2813 mark remains a barrier only Kasparov has crossed. The Live Rating list also says Anand edged ahead of Kramnik if their Bundesliga games are taken into account.

Carlsen and Kasparov have issued a puzzling press release that suggests their relationship is changing. “Magnus will be responsible for all career decisions, without constant guidance. For the time being there are no plans for chess camps or regular coaching during events. Kasparov and Carlsen have agreed to remain in contact, and Carlsen will still have the opportunity to confer regularly with Kasparov.”

The Top 10 clusters into three sets; Carlsen-Topalov at the very top, followed by a gang of three, and then a gang of 5. However, the actual differences are trivial. Carlsen would expect to score around 53 per cent against Wang Yue. On the basis of Elo, Topalov should win the Sofia match by a minimum margin, 6.5-5.5. This is too narrow to call - one novelty or time trouble error could confound expectations.

The next major item on the chess calendar is Melody Amber, which starts next weekend. The stellar cast in alphabetical order is Aronian, Carlsen, Dominguez, Gashimov, Gelfand, Ivanchuk, Karjakin, Kramnik, Morozevich, Ponomariov, Smeets and Svidler. For obvious reasons, Anand and Topalov aren’t around. But Amber is still guaranteed to produce quality chess. It will be interesting to see if Carlsen can extend his winning streak in a rapid-blindfold format against a strong field.

The diagram, WHITE TO PLAY, (Topalov Vs Gashimov, Linares 2010) is one of several reasons why Topalov called his excellent Linares result “lucky”. He completely outplayed the Azeri GM with a series of lovely geometric Queen manoeuvres hitting the weak bank rank and long dark diagonal to force a mating attack. Now 39.Rh8! finishes, forcing 39...Kg6 40.h4! with the threat of h5+ Kxh5 Rg8! and Qb1-h1 mate to come.

However Topalov played 39.Rd5 Re6 40.h4 h5? Black could bail into a lost endgame with 40...f4 41.Qxf4 Qxf4 42.gxf4, where he still has chances of fighting on. Topalov didn’t miss a second chance with 41.Rd8! Kh7 42.Rg8 f4 43.gxf4 Qxh4 44.Rh8+ Kg6 45.Qg8+ Kf6 46.Qd8+ Re7 47.Rh6+ Kf5 48.Qd5+ (1-0). The forced 48. — Kg4 49. Qd1+ (or 49. f3+) Kf5 50. Rxh5 + is curtains.

Devangshu Datta is an internationally rated chess and correspondence chess player.