Chess #652

Magnus Carlsen has delivered a tectonic shock by withdrawing from the current title cycle. The 20-year-old Norwegian who has just dropped to number two in the world rankings, wrote an open letter to Fide explaining his reasons.

Essentially he wants a switch from the current system where the champion plays a title match against a qualifier. His suggestions are either that the champion should be pulled into the Candidates earlier, or there should be a match tournament. One can argue theoretical merits but in practice, the match system has worked better than the alternatives.

This pullout is unfortunate for many reasons, not least because Carlsen had a chance to become the youngest-ever champion. Fide has responded with an open letter expressing regret and replacing Carlsen with Grischuk. The Candidates start in March 2011. The correspondence exchange has been very civilised. So far.

 

The Tal Memorial in Moscow is proving extremely hard-fought event with a 40 per cent decision ratio. Despite missing Topalov, Carlsen and Anand, the field averages 2757 with the lowest rated Wang Hao at 2727. Aronyan could make a bid for no:1 ranking if he justifies his top seeding in this 10-player round robin. The live video coverage at http://video.russiachess.org/ is stunning.

Aronyan and Mamedaryov share the lead with 4 points each after six rounds (both have +2,=4) followed by Karjakin. Grischuk, Nakamura, Wang Hao, all on 3.5. Kramnik is on 3 and Eljanov, Gelfand and Shirov all have minus scores.

The DIAGRAM, BLACK TO PLAY (Aronyan Vs Kramnik, Moscow 2010) is a good example of stubborn defence turning the tables. Black launched a strong sacrificial attack in the early middlegame and maintained strong pressure for minimal material investment. Kramnik probably missed a couple of wins. Aronyan grimly hung on and now threatens the obvious 39. Nxb7.

This is an odd position. It seems objectively equal but very imbalanced. Both players were in extreme time trouble. There seems to be only one good move for black. If he finds 38. - Rad2! it's White's turn to walk a tightrope with the fantastic 39. Nxb7 b3 40. Na5!! b2 41. b7 Rxg2+ 42. Rxg2 Rxg2+ 42 Kxg2 b1=Q 43. Ba7!!.

This is a draw since black apparently has no more than a perpetual. The Ba7 resource is unavailable if the Kt is on c5.and hence, 40. Nc5 b2 with the threat of Rxg2+ wins for black. It's anyone's guess if they could have found something so crazy with seconds on the clock.

In the event Kramnik played the losing 38. --Rfd2? 39. Nxb7 b3 40. Nc5 b2 41. Rb1 (1-0). There is no Rxg2+ resource any more because the a2 rook is self-blocked., leading to a damp squib finish.

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