Return Of The King's Indian?

TALKING to a friend recently - cannot remember whom, or even where, but it may have been in Prague at the world seniors - he commented how the King's Indian Defence is 'never' seen at elite levels any more.

I pointed out how Mark Hebden had made a living out of it on the weekend circuit, and how it used to be a favourite with Garry Kasparov.

But that was quite a few years ago, or as the authoritative source Wikipedia puts it: "In the early 2000s the opening's popularity suffered after Vladimir Kramnik began scoring excellently against it; so much so that Kasparov gave up the opening after several critical losses to Kramnik."

However, that may be about to change after Magnus Carlsen used the defence to beat Dutch grandmaster Max Warmerdam in Germany's Bundesliga.

Notes in italics are by international master Malcolm Pein in Chess magazine.

Warmerdam (Solingen 2646) - Carlsen (St Pauli 2831)

English/Modern/King's Indian

1.c4 e5 2.g3 g6

At this point ChessBase classifies the opening as "A20: English Opening: 1...e5."

3.d4!?

This is much less popular than 3.Bg2, but scores 15 percentage points better in the 2025 Mega database, and is preferred by Stockfish17 and Dragon1.

3...d6!?

A provocative reply.

4.Nf3!?

It must have been very tempting to proceed 4.dxe5 dxe5 5.Qxd8+, which is how Yasser Seirawan beat Anatoly Karpov at Haninge (Sweden) 1990, although the engines reckon Black's position is fine.

4...Nd7 5.Nc3 Bg7

ChessBase now calls the game "A41: 1.d4 d6: Tartakower System and Modern Defence."

5.Bg2 Ngf6 7.0-0 0-0

ChessBase finally settles on "E67: King's Indian: Fianchetto: 6...Nbd7"

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8.Qc2 Re8 9.Rd1!? e4!?

Ambitious. 9...c6 and 9...Qe7 are standard, but not 9...exd4 10.Nxd4 Nb6 11.c5!

Most popular in Mega25 is 9...c6, followed by 9...exd4 and 9...e4!? The engines like 9...Qe7!?

10.Ne1

10.Ng5 e3 11.Bxe3?! Rxe3! 12.fxe3 Ng4 gives full compensation.

10...Nb6 11.c5?

The computer [unspecified] prefers 11.Bg5 when 11...Nxc4?! 12.Nxe4 is good for White, as is 11...Bf5 12.Nxe4 Kh8 13.f3 h6 14.Bxf6 Bxf6 15.Qb3. Instead, 11...e3!? 12.fxe3 Nxc4 13.Nd5! also looks better for White, but he has to reckon with 13...Nxd5!? 14.Bxd8 Ndxe3 15.Qc3 Nxd1 16.Rxd1 Ne3 17.Rd2 Nxg2, which looks pretty messy.

11...Nbd5 12.cxd6

12.Nxe4 Nxe4 13.Bxe4 Nb4 14.Qb1 d5! is terrible for White after 15.Bf3 Bf5 or 15.Bd3 Bxd4.

12...Qxd6 13.Bg5

Not 13.Nxe4 Nxe4 14.Bxe4 Nb4 15.Qb1 Qe7 or 13.e3? Bg4.

Walter Browne (2540) - Yuri Balashov (2600), Buenos Aires 1980, went 13.Qb3 Bg4 14.Nc2!? Nxc3 15.bxc3 Bxe2 16.Re1 Qa6!?, with at least a slight edge for Black, according to the engines (0-1, 39 moves).

13...e3!?

The wedge is driven into White's position with the aid of a supporting cast.

14.f3 Nxc3 15.bxc3

15.Qxc3 Nd5 16.Qb3 h6 is even worse.

15...Nd5 16.c4 h6!? 17.cxd5 hxg5 18.Rac1 Bf5!? 19.Qb3

If 19.Qxc7 [then] 19...Qxd5.

19...Rab8

The engines prefer the immediate 19...Rad8!?

20.Qc4?!

The engines much prefer 20.Nc2.

20...Rbd8!? 21.f4!?

Exposing the king, but otherwise White might lose both d pawns for no compensation.

21...gxf4 22.Qxc7!? fxg3

22...Qa6 23.Nd3 fxg3 24.hxg3 Rc8 was even better.

23.Qxd6 Rxd6 24.hxg3

How would you assess this queenless middlegame?

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Black has the bishop-pair, the better pawn-structure and, with his next move, confirms Black's possession of the initiative, adding up to a winning advantage, according to the engines.

24...Ra6 25.Bf3 Bf8!?

As Pein points out, there is nothing wrong with grabbing the a2 pawn. He suggests Carlsen may have been worried that 25...Rxa2 could be successfully answered by 26.d6?, but that makes White's position worse, especially after 26...Rd2. However 26.g4 Bd7 27.Rc7 is more promising for White, although the engines reckon Black is winning after 27...Bb5!?

26.g4

Pein's suggestion of 26.Rc7 is preferred by the engines.

26...Be4 27.Rc7!? Rxa2 28.Kf1

If 28.Rxb7 [then] 28...Bxf3 29.Nxf3 Rxe2 and wins.

28...Rd2 29.Ra1 Rxd4 30.Rxa7 Bxd5 31.Bxd5 Rxd5 32.Kg2 Rd2 33.Kf3 Rd1 0-1

So will the King's Indian Defence undergo a revival, at high levels as well as in club play?

Time will tell, and after all it may be significant that Carlsen only committed to a KID setup after White committed to a kingside fianchetto.

Lessons From Torquay VI: Magnus The Not-So-Magnificent

MY round-six game began 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.a4!?

This position occurs 208 times in ChessBase's 2024 Mega database

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In 123 of those games, Black played 5...e6, which scores 81% if White continues 6.Bc4?!

Magnus Carlsen is among those who have played 5...e6, admittedly in online blitz against a much-lower rated opponent.

But Stockfish16.1 reckons the reply 6.e5!? gives White a slight edge, although Dragon1 comes to view the game as equal.

Instead of 5...e6, they prefer 5...b6!?, and the move I played, 5...a6!?

LESSON: Magnus Carlsen may be the best-ever chess player, and plays a wide variety of openings in which he often comes up with surprising, but engine-approved, continuations. However, he is not infallible.

Reaching The Top

TOMORROW sees the 10th anniversary of Magnus Carlsen reaching 2882, the highest rating in chess history.

He was to duplicate that feat in August 2019, but currently stands at 2830, although that is 27 points more than second-placed Fabio Caruana and 68 more than world champion Liren Ding.

Here is the key game from the last round of the the Gashimov Memorial in April 2014 that helped propel Carlsen to the top.

Notes in italics are by grandmaster Michał Krasenkow in ChessBase.

Magnus Carlsen (2881) - Fabiano Caruana (2783)

Gashimov Memorial (Shamkir, Azerbaijan)

Queen's Pawn Game

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 c5!?

For what it is worth, Stockfish16 and Komodo14.1 do not like this

5.c3!? d5!?

It was not a good decision for Fabiano Caruana to sac the c5-pawn, taking into consideration that Magnus Carlsen is especially strong in this kind of position.

6.dxc5!?

Castling is much more popular in ChessBase's 2024 Mega database.

6...0-0 7.0-0 a5

This attempt to encircle the c5 pawn proves fruitless. 7...Qc7!? 8.b4 e5 deserves attention.

How should White proceed?

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8.Be3!?

This seems to have been a novelty - in a position in which 10 other moves are known.

8...Nc6

8...Ng4 9.Qd2 and Black cannot recapture the pawn anyway.

Nevertheless the engines continue 9...Nxe3, claiming that the bishop-pair and an extra pawn on the centre two files give Black enough compensation, which is why they prefer 9.Bd4.

9.Na3 a4

Seven years later a 1341 in this position played 9...e5!?, which Stockfish16 reckons is an improvement.

10.Qc1 e5

Black's pawn-centre doesn't fully compensate for his missing pawn.

11.Rd1 Qe7 12.Nb5 Be6 13.Ng5

13.Nd6 was less clear in view of 13...b6.

13...Bg4 14.Nd6! h6

14...Bxe2 15.Rxd5! Nxd5 16.Bxd5 Nd8 17.Qc2 Bg4 18.Qe4 with the upper hand.

15.Nf3 Kh7

An unnecessary loss of tempo. Better is 15...b6!, a typical undermining, although White keeps the better prospects after 16.Ne1! (16.Bxh6? bxc5) e4! (16...Bxe2 17.Rxd5 Nxd5 18.Bxd5 bxc5 19.Bxc5 Ra5 20.Qe3) 17.f3 exf3 18.exf3 Be6 19.Nd3.

The engines agree with much of this analysis, but reckon 19.Nd3 leaves Black with at least a slight edge. They prefer 19.Nc2!?, when Komodo14.1 gives White a slight edge, but Stockfish16 gives a slight edge to Black. I guess this shows how far engine analysis has come in a decade.

16.h3 Be6 17.b4

This move unexpectedly gives Black good counterplay. Better is 17.Ne1.

The engines fluctuate between the two moves.

17...axb3 18.axb3 Rxa1 19.Qxa1 Ne4 20.Nd2 f5?

The engines reckon this is where Black goes wrong, recommending either 20...d4 or Krasenkow's suggestion of 20...Nd6.

21.N2xe4 dxe4

21...fxe4 22.Qb1, intending c4, eg 22...h5 23.c4 d4 24.Bc1.

22.Qb1 f4 23.Bd2 e3

This is now harmless.

24.Be1

Safely protecting White's king while his other pieces are very active. Black has no compensation for the pawn whatsoever.

24...Bf5 25.Qc1 h5 26.fxe3 fxg4 27.Bxg3 Qg5 28.e4 Qxg3 29.Rd3 Qh4 30.exf5 gxf5 31.e4

White seizes the light squares.

31...fxe4

31...f4 32.Nf5; 31...Bh6 32.Qd1.

32.Bxe4+ Kh8 33.Qe3 f4 34.Bg2 Qe7 35.Qe2 Qh4 36.b4

The rest is clear. Black has no real counterplay anymore, and the advance of White's queenside pawns decides the game.

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36...e4!?

Giving up a second pawn to let the black knight add to the threats around White's king. Or, to put it another way, Black is reduced to looking for a swindle. 

37.Nxe4 Ne5 38.Rd5!? Kg8

So the knight can move without White being able to capture on h5 with check.

39.b5 Rf5 40.c6 bxc6 41.bxc6 Qe7 42.Nd6 Rg5 43.Nb5 Qe6 44.Rd8+ Kh7 45.Qe4+ Rg6

Black's king is proving the more vulnerable.

46.c7 Qa6 47.c8=Q Qa1+

White to play and win

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48.Kf2!

Not 48.Kh2? Nf3+! 49.Qxf3 (49.Bxf3 Qg1#) Be5+ and mates.

48...Qb2+ 49.Ke1 1-0

Northumbria Round Nine

FACED a Scottish junior (born 2009).

Tushar Roul (1494 Fide/1597 ECF) - Spanton (1858 Fide/1919 ECF)

Spanish Berlin

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5

Magnus Carlsen has played seven different moves in this position - can you guess them all?

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Carlsen has played 5.c3, 5.Bxc6!?, 5.Nbd2, 5.Nc3, 5.Bg5, 5.Ba4!? and:

5.0-0

Most popular in ChessBase's 2023 Mega database is 5.c3.

5...Nd4 6.Nxd4 Bxd4 7.Re1?!

This may be a novelty. Carlsen seems to have only played the mainline 7.c3.

7...c6 8.Ba4 d6

This may be enough for a tiny pull, but probably better is 8...Qb6!? with a double-attack on f2 and b2. Best-play, according to Stockfish16 and Komodo14.1, continues 9.Qd2!? and either 9...Bxb2 10.Bxb2 Qxb2 11.Bb3!?, with a sharp position that seems to favour Black, or 9...Ng4!? 10.Rf1 Bxb2 11.Bxb2 Qxb2 and 12.Bb3!? or 12.Nc3, again with a sharp position that seems to favour Black.

9.h3!?

The engines give 9.c3 Bb6 10.Be3.

9...Be6

Stockfish16 suggests 9...g5!?, while Komodo14.1 again likes ...Qb6!?

10.c3 Bb6 11.d4 0-0 12.Bg5 h6 13.Bh4 Qe7 14.dxe5 dxe5 15.Nd2 Rad8 16.Qe2 Rd7 17.Bb3 Rfd8 18.Red1 Rd3 19.Bc2 R3d7 20.Bg3 Bc7 21.Nf3 Qc5 22.Rxd7 Rxd7 23.Bb3 Bxb3 24.axb3 a6 25.b4 Qe7

How would you assess this late-middlegame position?

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White has pressure against e5, while Black occupies the open file. The engines reckon the position is completely equal.

26.Qe3 Nh5 27.Kf1?!

Bishops are not particularly powerful in this position as there are so many pawns on the board and the centre is fixed, but White probably should not allow his kingside pawn-formation to be damaged, although he does end up with knight against bad-ish bishop.

27...Nxg3 28.fxg3 Qd8 29.Ke2?

Better is 29.Qe2.

29...Bb6 30.Qc1 Qf6?

Strong is 30...Rd3, eg 31.Qc2 Re3+ 32.Kf1 Qf6 33.Rd1 (the engines reckon either this or 33.Ra3!? is best) 33...Rxf3+! 34.gxf3 Qxf3+ 35.Ke1 Qxg3+ with Black getting much more than enough for the exchange.

31.Qc2 Qe6 32.b3 Qe7 33.Rd1 Rxd1 34.Qxd1 c5 35.c4!? cxb4 36.Qd5 Qc5 37.Qxc5 Bxc5 38.Nxe5

How would you assess this minor-piece ending?

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Black has fewer pawn-islands and has hopes of creating a queenside passer, but White's knight will be able to use d5 as a strong outpost. The engines reckon Black has the better side of equality.

38...f6 39.Nd3 b6 40.Kf3 Bd6 41.g4!?

The engines prefer 41.Nf4 or 41.Ke3.

41...Kf7 42.Ke3 Ke6 43.Ne1

TR offered a draw.

43...Be5 44.Kd3 a5 45.Nc2 Bd6 46.Nd4 Ke5 47.g3

TR offered a draw.

47...g6 48.Nc6+ Ke6 49.Nd4+ Kd7 50.Ne2 Be5 51.Nf4 Bg5 52.Nd5

TR offered a draw in my time (just).

52...Kc6 53.Ne7+

Possibly better is the engines' 53.h4!? Kc5 54.h5.

53...Kc5 54.Nd5?!

Probably better is 54.h4, and if, as in the game, 54...b5, then 55.cxb5 Kxb5 56.Ng8 gives sufficient counterplay. However Black has 54...a4! 55.bxa4 b3 with promising play (Stockfish16 reckons White may be holding; Komodo14.1 gives Black the upper hand).

54...b5 55.cxb5 Kxb5 56.Kc2 a4 57.bxa4+ Kxa4 58.Nb6+ Kb5

The engines reckon 58...Ka3 wins, but I do not think it does.

Position after 58...Ka3

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The engines' mainline after 58...Ka3 runs 59.Nc4+ Ka2 60.Na5 Bc7 61.Nb3 Bxg3 62.Nc1+ Ka3 63.Nb3 Be5 64.Nd2 Ka2 65.Nb3, after which Komodo14.1 reckons Black's advantage is worth +2.04, while Stockfish16 reckons Black is about +6.00, but there seems no way for Black to make progress. But see Comments below.

Back to the game:

59.Nd5 Kc4 60.Ne3+ Kd4 61.Nf5+

TR offered a draw.

61...Kxe4 62.Kb3 Kf3

Or 62...h5 63.Kxb4 (63.gxh5?? Kxf5) hxg4 64.hxg4 Kf3 65.Nh6 Kxg3, reaching a position similar to what is reached in the game. Komodo14.1 suggests instead 65...Bd6+!?, but 66.Kc4 Bf8 67.Ng8 Bg7 68.Ne7 Kxg4, but 69.Kd5 is a tablebase draw, although this may have given better practical chances.

63.Kxb4 Bxg3 64.Kc4

TR offered a draw in my time (just).

64...Kg2 65.Nxh6 Kxh3 66.Kd5 Be5 67.Ke4 Kg3 68.Kf5 Kf3 69.Ng8 Bd4 70.Nh6 Ke3 71.Ng8 Be5 72.Nh6 Kf3 ½–½

Nothing New Under The Sun

A COMMON observation made about Magnus Carlsen's playing style is that he is very good at conjuring wins out of seemingly sterile positions.

It is not just 'run-of-the-mill' pundits who make this claim.

Even some of the world's greatest players acknowledge this ability of the current world champion.

For example, Anatoly Karpov said of Carlsen in a 2016 interview: "He can convert a minimal advantage into a real one."

But crediting players with such an ability is nothing new, as the following example from 500 Master Games Of Chess by Savielly Tartakower and Julius du Mont shows.

Notes in italics are algebraicised from the book.

Rudolf Charousek - Emil Schallopp

German Chess Federation Congress (Köln) 1898

Bishop's Opening

In the following elegant game White engineers a win out of practically 'nothing'. His exploitation of an increasing pressure on the open f file is an object lesson in logic.

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3

An ultra-solid continuation.

3...Bc5

Black also resorts to the quietest reply.

Calling 3...Bc5 "the quietest reply" seems rather unfair, especially when 3...d6 and 3...h6 are available.

4.Nc3 d6 5.Be3

Lifeless would be 5.Na4 Bb6 6.Nxb6 axb6, and Black has some compensation for the elimination of his controlling bishop (a [semi-]open a file, a compact mass of pawns on the queenside [and] a general simplification of the contest).

5...Bxe3

Presenting his adversary with an as yet invisible asset in the [semi-]open f file. An easier continuation is 5...Bb6, or even 5...Nc6 as after 6.Bxc5 dxc5 Black's pressure on the d file would compensate him for his doubled c pawns.

6.fxe3 c6 7.Qe2 0-0 8.Nf3 b5 9.Bb3 a5 10.a4

Very readily White blocks up the queenside, so as to devote the more energy to the opposite wing, where the [semi-]open f file furnishes him with an ideal base of action.

10...b4 11.Nb1

More useful than 11.Nd1.

Stockfish15 agrees with this verdict but Komodo13.02 marginally prefers the d1 retreat. If then, as in the game, 11...Nbd7, Komodo13.02's idea, at least at first, is 12.Nf2 (it later prefers 12.0-0), eg 12...d5 13.0-0 Re8 14.Nd2, although both engines reckon 14...Nc5 gives Black the upper hand.

11...Nbd7 12.Nbd2 Nc5 13.0-0 Nxb3 14.Nxb3 Ba6 15.Qe1

Evading the threat 15...Nxe4.

15...Ne8 16.Qg3 g6 17.Rf2 Ng7 18.Raf1 f5?

Restless play, which only precipitates events to his detriment. Better is 18...Qe7.

The engines agree the text is a mistake but 18...Qe7? is worse as it allows 19.Nxa5. It seems unlikely 18...Qe7 ("18...Q-K2" in the book) is a typo as 18...Qc7? is no better, thanks to the reply 19.Ng5. The engines reckon 18...f6 is equal.

How should White proceed?

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19.Nh4?

This parries the threat of 19...fxe4 and attacks the f5 pawn a fourth time, whereas it is effectively defended but twice (on account of a potential pin on the g file).

But the correct way to parry Black's threat to capture on e4 is 19.Nfd2, according to the engines, after which they reckon White has a slight edge.

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19...f4?!

Almost certainly better is the engines' 19...Nh5 20.Qh3, and now 20...f4, when 21.g3?! and 21.g4? seem to be successfully countered by 21...Bc8, so White should probably play 21.exf4, but then 21...Nxf4 gives Black at least equality.

20.exf4 exf4?

Black had to play 20...Nh5, when the engines reckon 21.Qg5 Nxf4 22.Qxd8 gives White a slightly better version of best play in the previous note.

21.Rxf4

Winning the pawn fairly and squarely, as the fork ...g5 is not applicable now or on the next move.

21...Rxf4 22.Qxf4 Qc7

For if 22...g5 [then] 23.Qf7+ Kh8 24.Nf5 etc.

23.Nc5

An elegant manoeuvre. But not 23.Nxa5 on account of 23...Nh5 24.Qg5 Bxd3 etc.

As the engines point out, 25.cxd3 wins for White, eg 25...Rxa5 26.Nf5! Kh8 27.b3 Qb8 28.Qh6 Ra8 29.Nd4, after which White is up a protected passed pawn and has the safer king and better-coordinated pieces.

23...Nh5 24.Nxa6 Qb6+ 25.Qf2 Qxf2+ 26.Kxf2! Rxa6 27.Ke3

It is hard to imagine that this position should lead to an easy and rapid win.

How would you assess the position?

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White is a pawn up and has the more-active king and rook. The engines agree White is winning, and while "an easy and rapid win" may not be expected, Tartakower/du Mont's last comment seems more connected with their first comment on this game rather than on the position the game has reached.

27...Kg7 28.Nf3 Nf6

Or 28...h6 29.Nd4 etc.

29.Ng5 h6?!

Almost certainly better is the engines' 29...Ra8.

30.Ne6+ Kf7 31.Nc5

A 'deflecting sacrifice'. In a twinkling Black's game collapses.

31...dxc5

Or 31...Ra7 (parries 32.Nd7) 32.e5 dxc5 (32...dxe5 33.Ne4, winning the knight) 33.Rxf6+ followed by 37.Rxc6 and wins.

32.e5 Ke6 33.Rxf6+ Kxe5 34.Rxg6 1-0

A very strangely annotated game by Tartakower and du Mont. Naturally it is easy to appear wise with the help of powerful engines, but one wonders how many of Carlsen's 'wins out of nothing' would stand up to rigorous analysis.

New & Improved Milner-Barry Gambit (part three)

JONNY Hector last played the New Milner-Barry Gambit (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.Bd3 cxd4 7.0-0!?) in 2015, according to ChessBase's 2020 Mega database.

The reason it is again attracting attention is because Magnus Carlsen played it in September, and came up with a novelty on move eight.

Carlsen - Pentala Harikrishna

St Louis Rapid 2020

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.Bd3 cxd4 7.0-0!? Bd7 8.Nbd2!?

Position after 8.Nbd2!?

This looks really weird. John Watson at chesspublishing.com compares the text with Jonny Hector's favoured 8.Re1, saying: "This [Re1] does seem to give White better attacking chances, if only because the combination of ...dxc3 and Nxc3 gives White’s knight dangerous prospects so Black has to either allow that or commit to less promising moves."

But you may recall from part two of this series that the analysis engines Stockfish12 and Komodo11.01 quite often like an early Nbd2, even though it means White cannot recapture on c3 with the queen's knight. Indeed, give them a little time and they come to like it at move eight at least as much as Re1.

8...Rc8

Clearly 8...dxc3 is critical. After the just-about compulsory reply 9.bxc3 (9.Nb3?! cxb2 10.Bxb2 looks like a poor version of the Danish Gambit), the engines give 9...Nge7 10.Nb3 Ng6 (they also like 10...Qc7) 11.Qe2 Be7 12.Rb1 0-0 (again they also like ...Qc7) 13.Nbd4 (Stockfish12 also likes 13.h4) Qc7 14.Re1 Rfc8!? 15.h4 with a position where they reckon White has more-or-less full compensation for a pawn. This needs tests, as grandmasters like to say - but will it get any at a high level?

9.Nb3 dxc3

The engines reckon alternatives are good for White, eg Stockfish12's main alternative line runs 9...Qc7 10.Re1 (10.cxd4 is also good, according to the engine) dxc3 (Stockfish12 reckons this is practically forced) 11.bxc3 Nge7 12.Rb1 with a slight edge for White despite being a pawn down. Komodo11.01 comes to also rate 9...Qc7 as the main alternative, but for a while prefers 9...Nge7, continuing 10.Nbxd4 Nxd4 11.Nxd4 Nc6 12.Nf3 with a slight edge for White in a materially equal position.

10.bxc3 Qc7 11.Re1 Nge7 12.h4

This is the move we have seen Hector play after Black plays ...Nge7. The main idea seems to be to discourage ...Ng6 as the black king's knight will later be hit by h5.

12...Ng6

Harikrishna plays it anyway as here White has to first protect e5 before being able to push the h pawn.

13.Qe2 Be7 14.h5 Ngxe5?!

Black will get three pawns for a knight, but that is not usually enough in a middlegame.

The engines give 14...Nh4, when 15.Nxh4 Bxh4 16.h6 g6 17.Ba3 Be7 18.Bxe7 Nxe7 19.Qe3 is unclear. Komodo11.01 wants for some time to continue with 19...Qxc3!?, but Stockfish12's 20.Rec1 Qb4 21.Rab1 gives White dangerous play, as Komodo11.01 comes to recognise.

15.Nxe5 Qxe5 16.Qxe5 Nxe5 17.Rxe5 Bf6 18.Re3 Rxc3 19.Rb1 d4 20.Rg3 0-0 21.Bb2 Rfc8!?

Now Harikrishna imaginatively offers the exchange. The engines agree this is Black's best shot, but they much prefer White.

22.Bxc3 dxc3

(The second time Black has played ...dxc3)

23.Rd1 Bc6 24.Bc2 Kf8

Black has just three pawns for a rook, but he has the bishop-pair on an open board and his material deficit is apparently not enough to resign at a rapid time-control even when facing the world champion.

25.Re3 b6 26.Nd4!?

Probably even stronger is 26.Bxh7 but Carlsen was presumably reluctant to risk unblockading the advanced c pawn in case he had missed something in his calculations.

26...Bd5 27.a4 g6 28.hxg6 hxg6 29.Nb5 Rc4?!

Seemingly stronger is the engines' 29...a6 30.Nd6 Rc6 31.Ne4 Bg7, albeit still much favouring White.

30.Nxa7 Rb4

Harikrishna is staking all on advancing the c pawn.

31.Nb5 Rb2 32.Rc1!?

Returning the exchange, but after ...

32...Bg5 33.Nxc3 Bxe3 34.fxe3

... White emerges up a knight for a pawn (1-0, 47 moves).

'Secret' Gambit Repertoire For White (part two)

THERE are two well-known gambits White can play on move two against the Sicilian.

Most popular is the Morra Gambit, which starts 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3.

This gambit has quite a literature, covering both its accepted form, 3...dxc3, and methods of declining it, chiefly 3...d5, 3...Nf6, 3...d3 and 3...e6.

A Morra gambiteer has to know a lot about the methods of declining the gambit as that is what happens roughly half the time, at least at club level 

The other reasonably well-known anti-Sicilian gambit is the Wing Gambit, which starts 1.e4 c5 2.b4.

This has much less coverage in books, but you can still expect an opponent to have something prepared against it.

Indeed, two of the most-popular anti-Sicilian guides for Black, Joe Gallagher's Beating The Anti-Sicilians (Batsford 1994) and Dorian Rogozenko's Anti-Sicilians: A Guide For Black (Gambit 2003), recommend the same line against the Wing Gambit.

They both suggest playing 1.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 3.a3 d5. Gallagher even gives an exclamation mark to 3...d5, which is Black's commonest response to 3.a3 in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database.

What this means is that whites who play either the Morra or the Wing Gambit will quite often, in practice, not get to play a gambit-style game, ie a game in which the opponent has grabbed a pawn.

My recommendation is therefore to follow up 1.e4 c5 with 2.a3.

At first glance this looks like a non-move, or perhaps a sort of trick to get Black to effectively play an English with colours reversed and White having an extra tempo - a tempo that has been used to play a3, which would be ...a6 in a proper English.

But there is rather more to it than that, which is why 2.a3, which first appears in Mega20 in a game from 1943, has been played by the likes of world champion Magnus Carlsen, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2764) and Ian Nepomniachtchi (2751).

Strong players who have lost against 2.a3 include Victor Bologan (2640), Ernesto Inarkiev (2689) and Sergei Rublevsky (2649).

Since 2.a3 is not a forcing move, Black has a big choice of replies, but the most popular are 2...Nc6, 2...g6 and 2...e6.

All three have their points. 2...Nc6 and 2...e6 are meant to discourage White from following up 2.a3 with 3.b4, while 2...g6 anticipates 3.b4 by intending to fianchetto the black king's bishop on the a1-h8 diagonal.

I will look at each of Black's three main replies in turn.

Magnus Carlsen (2837) - Ernesto Inarkiev (2689)

World Blitz Championship (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) 2017

1.e4 c5 2.a3 Nc6 3.b4!?

White insists on playing a gambit. In effect the game will become a sort of Wing Gambit, but one in which most blacks will already be out of book.

3...cxb4 4.axb4

This position was reached by the old-time greats Capablanca and Marshall, but from a Wing Gambit move-order: 1.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 3.a3 Nc6 4.axb4. Of course with that move-order the modern black player would probably play the book-recommended 3...d5 rather than 3...Nc6.

4...Nxb4 5.d4!?

Capablanca and Marshall preferred the natural-looking 5.c3. The text does not appear in Mega20 until 1992, but has rapidly overtaken 5.c3 in popularity. The main idea is that White immediately creates a classical centre, while leaving the b4 knight hanging in mid-air. In practice the two lines often transpose.

5...d5

It is normal in this type of position for Black to immediately challenge the establishment of a pawn-duo on d4 and e4. Second in popularity in Mega20 is 5...g6, and if 6.c3 then 6...Na6!?, when the analysis engines Stockfish12 and Komodo11.01 reckon White has more than enough compensation for the pawn-deficit after 7.Bxa6!? or 7.h4. Also interesting is Stockfish12's suggestion 6.Bd2!?, which is not in the database. After 6...Nc6 7.d5 Bg7 8.Bc3 Bxc3+ 9.Nxc3 White has a handy lead in development, and Black must avoid the piece-losing blunder 9...Ne5?? 10.f4.

6.c3 Nc6

How should White proceed?

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7.exd5

Both Capablanca and Marshall preferred 7.e5!?, although then Black gets to develop his light-square bishop at ...Bf5 before playing ...e6, plausibly arguing he has a superior form of French Defence.

7...Qxd5 8.Na3

The knight eyes a possible fork at c7. A handful of games have seen 8.Nf3, half of which were met by 8...e5?!, which looks dubious in light of the engines' suggested novelty 9.Nbd2!?, eg 9...exd4 10.Bc4 Qh5 11.0-0 with dangerous attacking chances for White.

8...Bf5!?

Offering back the pawn while getting on with development.

9.Nb5 Rc8 10.Nxa7 Nxa7

After 10...Ra8 11.Nb5! Black seems to have nothing better than 11...Rc8 (not 11...Rxa1?? 12.Nc7+), which is inferior to the game continuation, according to the engines.

11.Rxa7 e5

Black cannot grab the c pawn, eg 11...Rxc3? 12.Qa4+ Qc6 13.Qxc6+ bxc6 14.Ra8+ Kd7 15.Bd2 and 16.Rxf8. The engines slightly prefer 12...Kd8, but the position is horrible for Black, eg 13.Bd2 Rc7 14.Nf3 with a huge attack for White.

12.Nf3 exd4 13.Nxd4

The engines prefer 13.Qxd4 Nf6 14.Qxd5 Nxd5 15.Bb5+.

13...Bd7 14.Nb5 Qxd1+ 15.Kxd1 Bc6 16.Bd3 Bc5 17.Re1+ Ne7 18.Ba3 Bxa3 19.Rxa3 Rd8 20.Nd4 Kd7!

Inarkiev has successfully negotiated the opening. The position is close to level, but very open and remains tactically sharp.

21.Ra7 Rhe8 22.Kc2 Kc7 23.Rb1 Rb8 24.f3 Nd5?

A tactical oversight. The engines reckon White's edge is small after 24...g6 or 24...Red8.

25.Nxc6 Kxc6 26.Bb5+ Kb6 27.Rxb7+ 1-0

Inarkiev presumably felt there was no need to test Carlsen's technique after 27...Rxb7 28.Bxe8+ Kc7 29.Rxb7+ Kxb7 30.g3.

WindPower (2465) - Ciron (2502)

PAL/CSS Rapid 2008

1.e4 c5 2.a3 e6

Black's alternative way of apparently preventing, or at least discouraging, 3.b4.

3.b4!? cxb4
The actual move-order in this computer game was 1.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 3.a3 e6, ie the Sicilian Wing Gambit, but that allows the modern riposte 3...d5. Note that one reason 3...d5 is considered strong is that, after 4.exd5 Qxd5, White does not have 5.Nc3 (and he certainly does not want to enable that move by 5.axb4?? Qe5+).

4.axb4 Bxb4

Once again Black has won a pawn, for which White can take over the centre with tempo and have pressure down the a and b files (somewhat like a reverse Benko Gambit).

5.c3

5.Bb2!? has attracted a fair bit of attention recently. After 5...Nf6 6.e5 Nd5 7.c4 Ne7 (this slightly counter-intuitive move is Black's commonest choice) the position is rather unclear, although Stockfish12 and Komodo11.01 slightly prefer Black. The text is White's traditional plan in the position.

5...Be7

The most solid and easily the most popular reply.

6.d4 d6

Black's Scheveningen-style small centre is common in the Sicilian. The French-style 6...d5 is not very popular, perhaps because the position is reached via a Sicilian, but seems perfectly playable. The normal continuation is 7.e5 Nc6 8.Bd3 when White seems to have a  better-than-usual set-up against the French Defence (apart from being a pawn down!).

7.Bd3 Nf6 8.Ne2!?

This somewhat strange-looking continuation comes to be the choice, at least for a while, of my analysis engines. Slightly more popular, and a lot more successful, at least percentage-wise, in Mega20 is building a big centre with 8.f4.

8...Nc6 9.0-0 0-0 10.Nd2 Qc7

Alessandro Bonafede (2310) - Fabiano Caruana (2709), Italian Championship (Siena) 2010, saw 10...e5!? 11.f4 Bg4 12.d5 Nb8 13.f5 with an unclear position that my engines believe favours Black (but ½–½, 63 moves).

11.h3!?

This seems a little slow. Perhaps 11.f4 is an improvement.

11...b6

Part of a plan to swop off Black's light-square bishop.

12.f4 a5 13.Ba3 Ba6

How should White proceed?

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14.Bxa6!

White does not have time to preserve the bishop, eg 14.Bc2? Bxe2 15.Qxe2 Nxd4 or 14.Bb1?! b5, when Black's a and b pawns are a strength rather than targets.

14...Rxa6 15.c4!?

Is White's centre impressive or vulnerable? The outcome of the game will hinge on this.

15...Rfa8 16.d5 Nb4!?

White is better after 16...Nd8 17.Nd4, according to my analysis engines.

17.Nd4 e5 18.Nb5 Qc8 19.fxe5 dxe5 20.Bb2!?

My analysis engines prefer to get the white king away from checks on the g1-a7 diagonal by playing 20.Kh2.

20...Nd7

Stockfish12 reckons 20...Nb3!? 21.Bc3 Nd7 slightly favours Black, but Komodo11.01 gives White full compensation for the pawn deficit.

21.Qe2 Bg5?!

Stockfish12 gives White a large advantage after this, while Komodo11.01 reckons any edge is small. As we shall see, Stockfish12 is probably right. Both engines agree 21...f6 is a better move, but with the black queenside blockaded, White's long-term central and kingside chances look promising.

22.Nf3 Bf4 23.Kh1 Qc5

Komodo11.01 reckons 23...f6!? 24.Nh4 g6 25.Rad1 is close to being equal, but Stockfish12 has White positionally winning.

24.g3! Bxg3 25.Ng5

Now Komodo11.01 agrees White is much better.

25...Qe7 26.Qg4 h6

If 26...Bf4 then 27.Rxf4! exf4 28.Bxg7! wins, eg 28...f5 29.Qxf5 Qxg7 30.Qe6+ Kf8 31.Rg1 with a winning attack, one line being 31...Rd8 32.Qf5+ Ke7 33.d6+ Kd8 34.Ne6+ Kc8 35.Rxg7.

27.Nxf7 Qh4

This is best, but hopeless, according to my analysis engines.

28.Nxh6+ Qxh6 29.Qxg3

Material is level but Black is busted.

29...a4!?

29...Rf8 avoids the knight fork, but after 30.Rxf8+ Kxf8 31.Rg1 (31.Rf1+ is also strong) Qf6 32.Nc7 Ra7 33.Ne6+ White crashes through.

30.Nc7 Nc2 31.Ra2 Qh7 32.Kh2 1-0

Black is losing at least the exchange, has uncoordinated pieces and the more-vulnerable king.

Andrey Mustafin (2241) - Temur Kuybokarov (aka Igonin) (2498)

Moscow 2016

1.e4 c5 2.a3 g6!?

Instead of trying to deter b4, or at least being in a position to capture twice on the square b4, Black prepares to fianchetto his dark-square bishop to take advantage of the likely opening of the a1-h8 diagonal. This means White will not be playing a gambit - at least early on - and the game is likely to be more positional than tactical.

3.b4 Bg7 4.Nc3

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, a former 2800+ player who plays 1.e4 c5 2.a3 a lot, has also tried the somewhat awkward-looking 4.c3!?

4...d6

This is Black's most-popular reply. Also common is 4...b6, while Victor Bologan has played 4...Nc6!?

5.Nf3

Slightly more popular is 5.g3, presumably on the ground that White is effectively playing a Closed Sicilian, while Mamedyarov has played 5.Rb1, a common idea in lines where White has met ...Bg7 with Nc3.

5...Nc6 6.Rb1 e6 7.bxc5 dxc5 8.Bc4 Nf6 9.0-0 0-0

White has a central pawn-majority and pressure down the b file, but Black has a powerful dark-square bishop and no exploitable weaknesses. Stockfish12 and Komodo11.01 reckon the position is equal.

10.d3 Ne8 11.Ne2

An obvious alternative is 11.Bb2, but Mustafin is happy to shuffle the knight to the kingside, where he has more space.

11...Nd6 12.Ba2 b6 13.Bg5 Qd7 14.Qc1 Ba6

Setting a little trap.

15.Ng3

Not 15.Bh6? Nxe4!

15...Rfc8 16.Bh6 Bh8 17.Rd1

The engines prefer 17.Qf4!?, which Stockfish12 reckons gives White a small edge but Komodo11.01 evaluates as equal.

17...Nd4 18.c3!?

This comes to be the choice of both engines.

18...Nxf3+ 19.gxf3

White's king's position has been weakened but it is not clear how Black can get at the white king. Meanwhile White maintains a central pawn-majority.

19...Nb7!?

This is Komodo11.01's choice, but Stockfish12 strongly dislikes it. Black's pieces are looking a little bunched on the queenside, while it is easier for White to focus on the kingside, although it is hard to say how significant these factors are.

20.f4 Na5 21.Qe3!?

A bold offer of a pawn.

21...Bxc3!?

Black accepts the challenge, which the engines for quite some time reckon is the right thing to do, but they come to prefer a less-committal move such as 21...Bb7.

22.e5!?

This is the point of Mustafin's idea. Black's dark-square bishop is cut off from its king, but White becomes weak along the h1-a8 diagonal.

22...Bb7 23.Nh5

Even stronger is the engines' 24.Ne4! The point is that if, as in the game, Black replies 23...Qc6, White has 24.Qg3, threatening catastrophe for Black on the kingside dark squares. Black is therefore obliged to go in for 23...Bxe4 24.dxe4 Bd4, but then 25.Qh3 is unclear - Stockfish12 has White almost winning; Komodo11.01 reckons the game is equal.

23...Qc6 24.Nf6+ Kh8 25.Ne4 f5! 26.exf6 Bxf6

Black's dark-square bishop returns to the kingside, greatly increasing his defensive resources.

27.Kf1?!

This defensive move - it gets rid of Black's mating threats at g2 and h1 - seems too slow. The engines reckon 27.h4! is much less clear, not least because 27...Bxh4? runs into 28.Qh3 Be7 29.Bxe6.

27...Bd4 28.Qh3 c4?!

Simpler is the engines' safety-first 28...Rc7.

29.Ng5?!

Setting a trap, but almost certainly objectively better is the engines' 29.Rb4.

29...cxd3??

The move ...Rc7 is still good for Black.

White to play and win

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30.Bg7+! Kxg7

White mates immediately after 30...Bxg7 with 31.Qxh7#.

31.Qxh7+ 1-0

Champion Of Champions

I WAS musing the other day on the fact there have been 16 classical world chess champions - a figure ideal for organising a knockout tournament.
If the champions were seeded by chronological order, this is what the bracket would look like.

Round of 16
1. Steinitz
v-------------------------
16. Carlsen

8.Tal
v--------------------------
9.Petrosian

6. Botvinnik
v--------------------------
11. Fischer

13. Kasparov
v--------------------------
4. Alekhine

3. Capablanca
v--------------------------
14. Kramnik

5. Euwe
v--------------------------
12. Karpov

7. Smyslov
v--------------------------
10. Spassky

15. Anand
v--------------------------
2. Lasker

There are some mouthwatering match-ups, including the opening specialists Kasparov and Alekhine going head-to-head and the clash between champion-of-the-West Fischer and communist hero Botvinnik.
But how to decide the matches?
Just for fun, I am going to organise two-game mini-matches based on the players' games in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database.
In a 'game' each champion will make the move in any given position that he has played most often in Mega20.
When a position is reached which does not appear in a champion's repertoire, the game will be adjudicated by my main analysis engines Stockfish11 and Komodo11.01.
Whichever champion scores most over a two-game match will advance to the next round.
As I say, this is just for fun, but what else is there to do in lockdown?

Round of 16
Match One: Steinitz v Carlsen
Game One
Wilhelm Steinitz - Magnus Carlsen
Evans' Gambit
1.e4
Steinitz played 1.e4 in almost 80% of his games with the white pieces.
1...e5
Carlsen's reply is not so predictable, but the text has been more popular with him than 1...c5.
2.Nf3
Perhaps surprisingly this move is not the runaway winner. It appears 85 times in Steinitz's games, compared with 78 for 2.Nc3 and 65 for 2.f4.
2...Nc6 3.Bc4
Steinitz played this more than twice as often as 3.Bb5.
3...Bc5 4.b4!?
We have what is widely regarded as an archetypal 19th-century opening.
4...Bb6
This has been Carlsen's response both times he faced the Evans.
5.b5

Game One ends here as we have reached a position that does not appear in Carlsen's games

Both engines evaluate this position as better for Black. Averaging their two evaluations, once the evaluations become stable, gives Carlsen a score of +52 (in other words Black is 52 hundredths of a pawn better) - a great start with the black pieces.

Game Two
Magnus Carlsen - Wilhelm Steinitz
Spanish Cozio Deferred
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6!?
No Steinitz Defence - the great Czecho-Austro-American (Steinitz was born in Prague, then part of the Habsburgs' Austrian empire, but later became a US citizen) played Morphy's 3...a6 more frequently than he played his own defence, 3...d6.
4.Ba4 Nge7
A Steinitz favourite, beating out the Steinitz Defence Deferred: 4...d6. I guess 4...Nge7 is a Cozio Deferred.

Another short game, but again we have reached a position that does not occur in Carlsen's games

The engines again much prefer Carlsen's position, giving him an averaged score of +50.5, which adds up to a match score of +102.5 - a resounding victory.
So after one match the tournament bracket looks like this.

Round of 16                   Quarter-Finals
1. Steinitz
v-------------------------------Carlsen
16. Carlsen (+102.5)

8.Tal
v--------------------------
9.Petrosian

6. Botvinnik
v--------------------------
11. Fischer

13. Kasparov
v--------------------------
4. Alekhine

3. Capablanca
v--------------------------
14. Kramnik

5. Euwe
v--------------------------
12. Karpov

7. Smyslov
v--------------------------
10. Spassky

15. Anand
v--------------------------
2. Lasker

Champion Repertoire (part 16)

MAGNUS Carlsen has been world champion since defeating Vishy Anand in 2013.

Carlsen is well-known for varying his openings, but his games in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database reveal distinct patterns.

White

Open 1.e4, intending to play a mainline Spanish: 1...e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 Be7 7.Bb3, and if 7...0-0 avoid the Marshall Attack by playing 8.a4, meeting 8...b4 with 9.d3 d6 10.Nbd2 and meeting 8...Bb7 with 9.d3 d6 followed by either 10.Nbd2 or 10.Bd2.

Against 7...d6 play 8.c3 0-0 9.h3, meeting 9...Na5 with 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Qc7 12.Nbd2, meeting 9...Nb8 with 10.d4 Nbd7 11.Nbd2 bb7 12.Bc2 Re8 13.Nf1 Bf8 14.Ng3 g6 followed by either 15.a4 or 15.b3, meeting 9...Bb7 with 10.d4 Re8 11.Nbd2 Bf8 12.d5, and meeting 9...Re8 with 10.d4 Bb7 11.Nbd2, which is a transposition to the line with 9...Bb7.

Against the Open Variation: 5...Nxe4 play 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 9.Nbd2, meeting 9...Nc5 with 10.c3, continuing against 10...d4 with 11.Bxe6 Nxe6 12.cxd4 Ncxd4 13.a4 and continuing against 10...Be7 with 11.Bc2, meeting 9...Be7 with 10.c3 0-0 followed by either 11.Bc2 or 11.Qe2, and meeting 9...Bc5 with the somewhat unusual 10.c3!? 0-0 11.Bc2.

Against 5...b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 play 7.c3 d6 8.d3!? If 6...Bb7 play 7.d3.

Against 5...Bc5 play 6.c3, meeting 6...0-0 with 7.d3!? and meeting 6...b5 with 7.Bb3 Nxe4 (7...d6 transposes to 5...Bc5 6.Bb3 Bc5) 8.Qe2!? d5 9.d3.

Against the Steinitz Deferred: 4...d6 play 5.c3 Bd7 (no games with 5...f5) 6.d4.

Against the Berlin: 3...Nf6 play 4.d3, meeting 4...Bc5 with 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.h3!? and meeting 4...d6 with 5.0-0, continuing against 5...Be7 with 6.c3 0-0 7.Re1 and continuing against 5...g6 with 6.d4 exd4 (no games with 6...Bd7) 7.e5 dxe5 8.Nxe5.

Against the Schliemann: 3...f5 play 4.d3 fxe4 (no games with 4...Nf6) 5.dxe4 Nf6 6.0-0, meeting 6...Bc5 with 7.Bxc6, 7.Qe2!? or 7.Qd3 and meeting 6...d6 with 7.Nc3!?
Against the Petrov: 2...Nf6 play 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3, meeting 6....Bd6 with 7.0-0 0-0 8.c4, meeting 6...Nc6 with 7.0-0 Be7 8.c4 Nb4 9.Be2 0-0 10.Nc3 and meeting 6...Be7 with 7.0-0 0-0 (7...Nc6 is a transposition to 6...Nc6) 8.c4 Nf6 (no games with 8...c6) 9.Nc3.
Against the Philidor: 2...d6 play 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Be7 6.g3!?
Against the Sicilian: 1...c5 play 2.Nf3, 3.d4 and (after 3...cxd4) 4.Nxd4.
Against the Najdorf: 2...d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 play 6.Be3 e5 7.Nf3!?, continuing against 7...Be7 with 8.Bc4 0-0 9.0-0 Be6 10.Bb3 and continuing against 7...Qc7 with 8.a4. If 6...Ng4 play 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Bg3 Bg7 10.Qd2!? If 6...e6 play 7.f3 b5 8.Qd2, meeting 8...Nbd7 with 9.g4 and meeting 8...b4 with 9.Na4.
Against the Dragon: 5...d6 play 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3, meeting 7....0-0 with 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.0-0-0, continuing against 9...d5 with 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.Bd4, continuing against 9...Bd7 with 10.g4 Rc8 (or 10...Qa5 11.Kb1 Rfc8 12.h4) 11.h4 and continuing against 9...Nxd4 with 10.Bxd4 Be6 11.g4!? Qa5 12.Kb1 Rfc8 13.a3. Meet 7...Nc6 with 8.Qd2 Bd7 (8...0-0 transposes to 7...0-0) 9.0-0-0, when 9...0-0 (the only move Carlsen has faced in Mega20) again transposes to 7...0-0. Meet 7...Nbd7 with 8.Qd2 h5 (the only move against Carlsen in Mega20) 9.Bc4.
Against 5...Nc6 play 6.Bg5, meeting 6...e6 with 7.Qd2, continuing against 7...a6 with 8.0-0-0 Bd7 f4 or 8...h6 9.Nxc6!? bxc6 10.Bf4 d5 11.Qe3 and continuing against 7...Be7 with 8.0-0-0 0-0 9.f4 Nxd4 10.Qxd4 Qa5 11.Bc4 Bd7 12.Kb1!? or 8...Nxd4 9.Qxd4 a6 10.f4 b5 11.Bxf6 gxf6 12.Be2!? Meet 6...Bd7 with 7.Qd2 or 7.Be2 (just one game of Carlsen's with each move in Mega20). Meet 6...g6 with 7.Bxf6 exf6 8.Bc4 Bg7 9.Ndb5 0-0 10.Qxd6 f5 11.0-0-0. Meet 6...e5 with 7.Bxf6 gxf6 8.Nf5.
Against the Scheveningen: 5...e6 play 6.g4!? h6 (only move played against Carlsen in Mega20) 7.Bg2!? Nc6 8.h3.
Against 2...e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 play 5.Nc3, meeting 5...Qc7 with 6.Be3, continuing against 6...a6 with 7.Bd3 Nf6 8.0-0 and continuing against 6...Nf6 with 7.Bd3, when Carlsen has only faced the transpositional 7...a6. Meet 5...a6 with 6.Be3, continuing against 6...Nf6 with 7.Bd3, when Carlsen has only faced the transpositional 7...Qc7, and continuing against 6...Nge7 with 7.Nb3 Ng6 8.Be2!? Meet 5...d6 with 6.Be3 Nf6 7.f4!? Be7 8.Qf3. Meet 5...Nf6 with 6.Ndb5, continuing against 6...Bb4 with 7.a3 Bxc3+ 8.Nxc3 d5 9.Bd3!? and continuing against 6...Bc5 (no games with 6...d6) with 7.Bf4!?
Against 2...e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 play 5.Nc3 with likely transpositions. Meet the independent 5...b5 with 6.Bd3 Qb6 (no games with 6...Bb7) 7.Nf3!?
Against 2...e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 play 5.Nc3, again with likely transpositions. Meet the independent 5...Qb6 with 6.Nb3 Bb4 7.Bd3.
Against 2...Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 play 5.Nc3, meeting 5...d6 with 6.Bg5, which is a transposition to lines already covered. Meet 5...e5 with 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Bxf6  gxf6 10.Nd5, continuing against 10...f5 with 11.Bd3 Be6 12.0-0 and continuing against 10...Bg7 with 11.Bd3 Ne7 12.Nxe7 Qxe7 11.0-0.
Against 2...Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5 play 5.Nb5, meeting 5...d6 with 6.N1c3 a6 7.Na3 b5 8.Nd5, continuing against 8...Nge7 with 9.c4 and continuing against 8...Nf6 with 9.Nxf6+!? Qxf6 10.c4.
Against 2...Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 play 5.c4, meeting 5...Bg7 with 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Nc3 0-0 8.Be2 d6 (Black's last two moves are often transposed) 9.0-0 Bd7 10.Qd2 Nxd4 11.Bxd4 (Carlsen also reaches the same position via the move-order 9...Nxd4 10.Bxd4 Bd7 11.Qd2) Bc6 12.f3, continuing against 12...a5 with 13.b3 Nd7 14.Be3 (also reached vis 12...Nd7 13.Be3 a5 14.b3) Nc5 15.Rab1 Qb6 16.Rfc1. Meet 5...Nf6 with 6.Nc3 Nxd4 7.Qxd4 d6 8.f3!? Bg7 9.Be3 0-0 10.Qd2.
Against 2...g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Bg7 (4...Nc6 transposes to lines already covered) Carlsen has almost equally played 5.Nc3 and the repertoire-friendly 5.c4. He has also reached the position after 5.Nc3 via 2...g6 3.d4 Bg7 4.Nc3 cxd4 5.Nxd4, the games continuing 5...Nc6 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4, after which meet 7...0-0 with 8.Bb3 a5 9.0-0 a4 10.Nxa4 Nxe4 11.Nb5. If 8...Qa5 play 9.0-0 d6 10.h3 Bd7 11.Re1 and if 8...e6 (the only other move Carlsen has faced in Mega20) play 9.f4!? d6 10.Qf3. Meet 7...Qa5 with 8.0-0 0-0 9.Bb3 (a transposition to the line with 7...0-0 and 8...Qa5).
Against 2...Nf6 play 3.e5 Nd5 4.Nc3, meeting 4...Nxc3 (the only move Carlsen's faced) with 5.dxc3 Nc6 6.Bf4.
Against 2...a6 play 3.c3, meeting 3...d5 with 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.d4 and meeting 3...e6 with 4.d4 d5 5.e5.
Against the French: 1...e6 2.d4 d5 play 3.Nc3, meeting the Classical: 3...Nf6 with 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3, continuing against 7...a6 with 8.Qd2 b5 9.a3!?, continuing against 7...Be7 with 8.Qd2 0-0 9.g3!?, continuing against 7...cxd4 with 8.Nxd4 Bc5 9.Qd2 and continuing against 7...Rb8 (the only other move played against Carlsen in Mega20) with 8.a3!? and if 8...c4 (the only move faced by Carlsen) then 9.g4.
Meet the Winawer: 3...Bb4 with 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ (no Carlsen games with 5...Ba4) 6.bxc3, meeting 6...Ne7 with 7.Qg4, continuing against 7...Nf5 with 8.Bd3 h5 9.Qf4, continuing against 7...Qc7 with 8.Bd3!? cxd4 9.Ne2 dxc3 10.Qxg7 Rg8 11.Qxh7 and continuing against 7...0-0 with 8.Bd3 Nbc6 (no other moves played against Carlsen in Mega20) 9.Qh5 Ng6 10.Nf3 Qc7 11.Be3 c4 12.Bxg6 fxg6 13.Qg4. Meet 6...Qa5 (the only move apart from 6...Ne7 faced by Carlsen in Mega20) with 7.Bd2 Qa4 8.Qg4. Against 4...b6 play 5.a3 Bf8 6.Nf3.
Meet the Rubinstein: 3...dxe4 with 4.Nxe4 Nd7 (only move faced by Carlsen in Mega20) 5.Nf3, continuing against 5...Ngf6 with 6.Bg5 Be7 7.Nxf6+ Nxf6 (no games with 7...Bxf6) 8.Bd3 and continuing against 5...Be7 with 6.Bc4!? Ngf6 7.Nxf6+ Nxf6 (no games with 7...Bxf6) 8.0-0 0-0 9.Ne5!?
Against the Caro-Kann: 1...c6 2.d4 d5 play 3.e5, meeting 3...Bf5 with 4.Be3!? e6 5.Nd2 and meeting 3...c5 with 4.Nf3!? Nc6 5.c4.
Against the Pirc: 1...d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 Carlsen has varied, playing 4.f4, 4.Nf3 and 4.Be3 twice each and playing 4.Bg5 once. Perhaps the easiest repertoire fit is 4.Nf3 as Carlsen has also reached this position via various Modern move-orders, eg 2...g6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3. After 4...Bg7 play 5.Be2 0-0 6.0-0, meeting 6...Bg4 with 7.Be3 Nc6 8.Qc1!?, meeting 6...c6 with 7.h3 Nbd7 8.e5, meeting 6...Nc6 with 7.Be3!? and meeting 6...a6 with 7.h3!?
Against the Alekhine: 1...Nf6 play 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3, meeting 4...Bg4 with 5.Be2, meeting 4...dxe5 with 5.Nxe5 c6 6.Be2 and meeting 4...g6 with 5.c4!? Nb6 6.exd6 cxd6 7.Be2 Bg7 8.0-0.
Against the Scandinavian: 1...d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 play 3.Nc3, meeting 3...Qd6 with 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 g6 (the only 3...Qd6 line faced by Carlsen) 6.Nb5, meeting 3...Qa5 with 4.d4 Nf6 5.Bd2 and meeting 3...Qd8 with 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.h3 Bxf3 7.Qxf3 c6 8.Qd3!? Against 2...Nf6 play 3.d4 or 3.Nf3.
Black v 1.e4
Play 1...e5 aiming to meet the mainline Spanish: 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 d6 9.h3 with 9...Nb8 10.d4 (the only move played against Carlsen in Mega20) Nbd7, continuing against 11.Nbd2 with 11...Bb7 12.Bc2 Re8, meeting 13.a4 with 13...Bf8 14.Bd3 c6 and meeting 13.Nf1 with 13...Bf8 14.Ng3 g6. If 11.c4 play 11...c6 12.Nc3 b4 13.Na4 c5 14.d5 Re8.
Against 9.d4 play 9...Bg4, meeting 10.Be3 with 10...exd4 11.cxd4 Na5 12.Bc2 c5 and meeting 10.d5 with 10...Na5 11.Bc2 c6 12.h3 Bc8.
Against the Anti-Marshall: 8.a4 play 8...b4!?, against 8.h3 play 8...Bb7 9.d3 d6 and against 8.d4 play 8...d6 9.c3 Bg4.
Against 5.Qe2 play 5...Be7 6.c3 d6!? 7.0-0 0-0.
Against the Exchange Variation: 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.0-0 (the only move faced by Carlsen in Mega20) play 5...Bd6 6.d4 exd4 7.Qxd4 f6 and against 6.d3 play 6...Ne7!?
Against the Italian Game: 3.Bc4 play 3...Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 a6, meeting 6.0-0 with 6...d6, continuing against 7.a4, 7.Re1, 7.Bb3, 7.h3 and 7.Nbd2 with 7...Ba7, meeting 6.Bb3 with 6...0-0!? 7.0-0 Ba7 and meeting 6.Nbd2 with 6...Ba7. Against 5.d4 play 5...exd4 6.e5 (the only move played against Carlsen in Mega20) d5, meeting 7.Bb5 with 7...Ne4 8.cxd4 Bb6 and meeting 7.Be2 with 7....Ne4 8.cxd4 Bb6.
If 4.0-0 or 4.d3 play 4...Nf6 with likely transpositions, and if 4.Nc3 play 4...Nf6 5.d3 d6.
Against the Evans Gambit: 4.b4 play 4...Bb6 5.a4 a6.
Against the Scotch: 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 play 4...Bc5, meeting 5.Nxc6 and 5.Be3 with 5...Qf6 and meeting 5.Nb3 with 5...Bb6, and against the Scotch Gambit: 4.Bc4 play 4...Nf6.
Against the Scotch Four Knights: 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 play 5...Bb4 and against the Spanish Four Knights: 4.Bb5 play 4...Bb4.
Against the Ponziani: 3.c3 play 3...Nf6, against the Vienna: 2.Nc3 play 2...Nc6, against the Bishop's Opening: 2.Bc4 play 2...Nf6 and against the King's Gambit: 2.f4 play 2...exf4 3.Nf3 (only move faced by Carlsen in Mega20) g5.
Black against 1.d4 and Others
Against 1.d4 aim for a Nimzo-Indian: 1...Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4, meeting 4.Qc2 with 4...d5, meeting 4.e3 with 4...0-0, meeting 4.Nf3 with 4...d5, meeting 4.f3 with 4...d5, meeting 4.Bg5 with 4...b6 and meeting 4.a3 Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 with 5...Nc6.
Against 3.Nf3 transpose to a Queen's Gambit Declined with 3...d5, meeting 4.Nc3 with 4...Bb4 (Carlsen has played 4...Be7 with equal frequency but scored much better with 4...Bb4, which fits in with the Nimzo-Indian repertoire), meeting the Catalan: 4.g3 with 4...Be7 5.Bg2 0-0 6.0-0 dxc4 and meeting 4.Bg5 with 4...Be7 5.Nc3 (the only move faced by Carlsen in Mega20) h6, continuing against 6.Bh4 with 6...0-0 7.e3 b6 and continuing against 6.Bxf6 with 6...Bxf6. If then 7.e3 play 7...0-0 8.Rc1 c6, if 7.Qc2 play 7...dxc4 8.e3 c5 and if 7.cxd5 play 7....exd5 8.b4 (the only move Carlsen has faced) 0-0 8.e3 c6.
Against 3.g3 play 3...d5 with likely transpositions.
Against the London: 2.Nf3 d5 3.Bf4 play 3...c5, against the New London: 2.Bf4 play 2...e6 3.e3 b6 and against the Colle: 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 play 3...e6, meeting 4.c4 with 4...a6!?, meeting 4.b3 with 4...b6 and meeting 4.Bd3 with 4...Bd6.
Against the Trompwosky: 2.Bg5 play2...d5, meeting 3.Bxf6 with 3...exf6 and meeting 3.e3 with 3...c5.
Against the Veresov: 2.Nc3 d5 3.Bg5 and the Jobava-Prié: 3.Bf4 play 3...g6.
Against the English: 1.c4 play 1...Nf6, meeting 2.Nc3 with 2...e5 3.Nf3 Nc6, continuing against 4.g3 with 4...d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Nb6, continuing against 4.e3 and 4.e4 with 4...Bb4 and continuing against 4.d3 with 4...d5. Meet 3.g3 (no other moves have been faced by Carlsen in Mega20) with 3...Bb4 4.Bg2 0-0. Against 2.g3 (no games with 2.Nf3) play 2...e6 3.Bg2 d5 or 2...c6 3.Bg2 d5.
Against 1.Nf3 play 1....Nf6, looking for transpositions. Meet the independent 2.g3 with 2...g6 3.Bg2 Bg7, continuing against 4.0-0 0-0 5.d4 and 4.c4 0-0 5.0-0 with 5...d6 but continuing against 4.c4 0-0 5.Nc3 with 5...c5. Meet 2.b3 with 2...c5 3.Bb2 Nc6.
Against 1.b3 Nf6 2.Bb2 play 2...g6.

Here Carlsen destroys a strong grandmaster's 'drawish' Berlin.
Carlsen (2837) - Sergey Karjakin (2760)
World Blitz Championship (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) 2017
Spanish Berlin
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6
Carlsen has played six other moves here, including the somewhat bizarre 5.Ba4, but the text, which was played as long ago as 1870, is fashionable among the elite.
5...dxc6 6.Nc3
Carlsen's only outing with this move in Mega20, where he has scored a win and a loss with 6.Qe2, a win and two draws with 6.Nbd2 and four wins with 6.h3.
6...0-0 7.Be3 Bd6
My main analysis engines Stockfish11 and Komodo11.01 prefer 7...Bxe3!? but strong players have shied away from half-opening the f file for White.
8.Bg5 Re8 9.h3 c5!?
Weakening d5 will cost Black the bishop-pair.
10.Nd5 Be7 11.Nxe7+ Qxe7 12.0-0 h6 13.Be3 Nd7
The engines' 13...c4!? may be an improvement.
14.Nd2 Nb8?!
Carlsen is clearly aiming for a kingside attack, and it may be Karjakan thought his knight had time to redevelop via c6 to d4 or e5, but 14....Nf8 was more prudent.
15.f4 exf4 16.Rxf4 Nc6 17.Qh5
White develops with tempo thanks to threatening the c5 pawn.
17...b6 18.Raf1 Rf8 19.Nf3
Even stronger is 19.R4f3, threatening Bxh6 and Rg3+.
19...Be6 20.Rh4 f6 21.Qg6 Qf7?!
Defence is especially hard at blitz. The engines suggest 21...Bf7 22.Qg3 Kh7 with a small edge for White, according to Stockfish11, although Komodo11.01 rates the position as level.
22.Qg3

Position after 22.Qg3

Karjakan may have underestimated this retreat. Despite having all his kingside pawns on dark squares, Black is weak on the dark squares thanks to White having the only dark-square bishop.
22...Nb4?
The engines give 22...h5 but much prefer White.
23.Bxh6 Nxc2
There is no defence.
24.Ne5 fxe5
Tantamount to resigning, which Karjakin might well have done at a slower time control.
25.Rxf7 Rxf7 26.Qg6 Bxa2 27.Bg5 Rff8 28.Rh7 Rf7 29.Bf6 1-0

Ideas Behind The Jobava-Prié (part three)

AFTER 1.d4 d5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bf4 a6!? 4.e3 Bf5, White's main alternative to 5.f3 is 5.Bd3, which has been played by Magnus Carlsen and Baadur Jobava, the Georgian grandmaster after whom the opening is partly named.
The idea is firstly to swop off Black's well-placed light-square bishop, but at the same time, at least as played by Carlsen and Jobava, to strengthen White's centre.
Magnus Carlsen (GM 2832) - Hikaru Nakamura (GM 2785)
Norway Masters Blitz (Stavanger) 2017
5...Bxd3
5...Bg6 and 5...e6!? are playable alternatives.
6.cxd3
Quick development with 6.Qxd3 has been played by a 2557, but presumably Carlsen and Jobava feel it is a position in which strengthening the centre is more important.
6...e6 7.Nf3 Bd6 8.Bg5!?
Stockfish10's choice.
Jobava last year chose 8.0-0 against a player rated more than 400 points below him, but could only draw.
8...Nbd7 9.0-0
Stockfish10 much prefers 9.e4!?, but Komodo10 is unsure.
9...h6 10.Bh4 0-0 11.e4
White starts to mobilise his central pawn-majority, which seems his main trump in the position.
11.Be7 12.Qb3 Nb6 13.Rac1 c6 14.Rfe1 Rc8 15.h3 Nfd7
Seeking an exchange of bishops to relieve the cramp in Black's position.
16.Bg3 Re8 17.a3 Bf8 18.Qa2 Nf6 19.b4
Starting a Minority Attack with the aim of giving Black a queenside pawn weakness.
19...Ra8
Black cannot really prevent a4 followed by b5, but if they come he will meet the latter with ...axb5, opening the a file for his repositioned queen's rook.
20.Qb2 Nh5 21.Bh2 Nf6 22.Red1 Qe7
The engines reckon 22...a5 gives Black a good game.
23.Nd2 Rec8 24.Nb3 Nfd7 25.Re1 Qd8 26.Nc5 Ra7 27.a4
After some cat-and-mouse manoeuvring, Carlsen proceeds with his Minority Attack.
27...Nxc5 28.dxc5!?
The engines prefer leaving Black with a backward b pawn on a half-open file after 28.bxc5.
28...Nd7 29.exd5 exd5 30.d4 b6!?
Nakamura immediately seeks to undermine White's queenside space advantage.
31.b5!?
The engines prefer a less-sharp move, such as 31.a5.

How should Black proceed?

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31...axb5
Black is slightly better after 31...cxb5!?, according to the engines, eg 32.axb5 (32.c6!?) bxc5 33.bxa6 Nf6 34.Qb5 cxd4 35.Ne2 Qe8 36.Nxd4 Qxb5 37.Nxb5 Rxc1 38.Rxc1 Rxa6, when Black is a pawn up but his pieces are a little uncoordinated.
32.axb5 bxc5 33.bxc6 Rxc6 34.Nxd5 (½–½, 67 moves)

New Year - New Championship

THE top division of the Battersea club championship got underway last night, with me paired against reigning champion Paul Stokes.
Stokes (158) - Spanton (168)
Catalan/Dutch Stonewall
1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 e6 3.g3 c6
Not liked by Stockfish10 or Komodo10, it is a viable option and has been chosen by grandmasters. The main moves are 3...Nf6 and 3...c5.
4.Bg2 f5 5.0-0 Nf6 6.c4 Be7
Magnus Carlsen has played the much more popular 6...Bd6.
7.b3 0-0 8.Ba3!?
Exchanging dark-square bishops is the main plan, but is strongly disliked by the engines. I guess they regard it as too time-consuming.
8...Bxa3 9.Nxa3 Qe7 10.Nb1
More popular are 10.Nc2 and 10.Qc1!?
10...Ne4 11.Nfd2!?
The main line goes 11.Qc2 Nd7 12.Nbd2, when Black is at least equal, according to the engines.
11...e5!?
Probably a new move. The engines prefer the known 11...Nd7.
12.Nxe4 fxe4?
An 'automatic' move played much too quickly. Black seems fine after 12...dxe4, when the engines continue 13.Nc3 Rd8 14.d5 with an unclear but roughly equal position.
13.cxd5?!
White poses more problems with 13.Nc3 according to the engines. They continue 13...Be6 14.dxe5 Rd8 15.Qd4 dxc4!? 16.Qxe4, giving White the upper hand.
13...cxd5 14.Nc3 Be6?
Better is 14...Rd8 15.dxe5 Nc6 (not 15...Qxe5?? 16.Nxe4) 16.Rc1 Qxe5.
15.dxe5 Rd8 16.Rc1
Not 16.f4?? Qc5+.
16...Nc6 17.Nb5
Also strong is 17.f4.
17...Nxe5 18.Nc7 Rac8?
Black had to play the modest 18...Rab8.

How should White proceed?

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19.Nxe6?
19.Nxd5 wins substantial material, eg 19...Qf7 (or 19...Rxd5 20.Rxc8+) 20.Rxc8 Bxc8 21.Bxe4.
19...Qxe6 20.Qd2 Nc6 21.Qe3 Re8 22.f3 Rcd8 23.fxe4 d4!?
23...dxe4 24.Rc4.
24.Qd2 Ne5 25.Qg5 d3?!
The engines prefer 25...h6 26.Qf5 Qe7 with reasonable, if not complete, compensation for a pawn.
26.exd3 Nxd3 27.Rc2 Qb6+ 28.Kh1 Re5 29.Qg4 Ree8 30.Qe2 Ne5
Black's threats are over.
31.Rd1 Qa5?!
Almost certainly better is 31...Rxd1+ 32.Qxd1 h6, asking White how he will break the blockade.
32.Rd5 Qb6 33.Rxd8
Activating the bishop with 33.Bh3 is natural, but White is also much better after the text.
33...Rxd8 34.Rd2 Rc8 35.Bh3 Rc1+ 36.Rd1 Rc3?
Missing White's reply. After 36...Rxd1+ 37.Qxd1 Qc6 Black still has defensive chances.
37.Qh5 Nf7
Not 37...Ng6? 38.Qd5+ Kf8 39.Rf1+.
38.Qd5 Qc6?
But 38...Rc5 39.Qe6 Qxe6 40.Bxe6 Kf8 41.Rf1 Rc7 42.Kg2 also wins.
39.Be6 Qxd5 40.exd5 Kf8 41.Rf1 1-0

Ponzing About (part six)

WE come to the final one of the six 'world champions' who have played the Ponziani.
Magnus Carlsen - Pentala Harikrishna
Tata Steel 2013
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 Nf6
Four years earlier, in his only other known Ponziani, Harikrishna played the sharper 3...d5, although that was in a rapidplay game.
4.d4 d5!?
Not a popular choice, but Hariskrishna is not the only GM to have played it. The main moves are 4...exd4 and 4...Nxe4.
5.Bb5 exd4 6.e5 Ne4 7.Nxd4 Bd7 8.Bxc6 bxc6 9.0-0 Be7 10.Be3 0-0

Who stands better out of the opening?

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The game has reached a position with interesting imbalances: White has the better pawn-structure, and attacking chances thanks to his kingside majority; Black has the bishop-pair. For what it is worth, Stockfish10 and Komodo10 reckon chances are equal.
11.Nbd2 Nc5!?
Andreas Dückstein - Wolfgang Unzicker, 1970 Olympiad, saw 11...Nxd2 12.Qxd2 c5 with a draw in 29 moves.
12.b4 Nb7
Mihail Marin in ChessBase suggests 12...Nd3!? As he says, it looks provocative, but one point is that 13.N2f3 can be met by 13...Nb2, intending ...Nc4. More promising for White is to ignore the knight for the moment and get on with 13.f4.
13.f4 a5
Black almost certainly cannot just try to defend on the kingside; he must create queenside counterplay.
14.f5!
The Ponziani is for attacking spirits, and this pawn sac is very much in line with that.
14...axb4 15.cxb4 Bxb4 16.Qg4!?
16.f6!? was a major alternative, with the engines divided as to which they prefer.
16...Bc3
The engines suggest 16...Qe8!?, but Stockfish10 gives one possible answer in 17.Ne6!? Bxe6 (this seems better than 17...fxe6 18.f6 Rf7 19.Qxb4 Nd8, when Black is a pawn up but White still has a strong kingside attack) 18.Qxb4 Bc8 19.f6 with continuing complications. Having been shown the game move and given enough time to consider it, the engines come to like it.
17.Rac1 Bxd4 18.Bxd4 Rxa2
Black's bishop-pair has gone while White's kingside majority remains. But Black is two pawns up, although opposite-coloured bishops in the middlegame favour the attacker.
19.e6 f6 20.Nb3
Not just saving the knight from capture, but heading for the c5 outpost.
20...Be8 21.Nc5 Nd6
21...Nxc5?? costs the exchange.
22.Qf3 Qe7 23.Rf2
Trying to swop off Black's most-active piece.
23...Ra5?!
But perhaps simplifying was the way to go. After 23...Rxf2 24.Qxf2 Black is two pawns up but can never break the blockade of his queenside. On the other hand, it is not easy to see how White makes progress either.
24.Nb3 Rb5 25.Bc5 Bh5 26.Qc3 Qe8 27.Qe3
Marin reckons 27.Nd4 gives White the upper hand. He does not give any analysis, but one exciting line runs 27...Ne4 28.Nxb5! Nxc3 29.e7 Rf7 30.Nxc7 Qxe7 31.Bxe7 Rxe7 32.Rxc3 Rxc7, when Black has two pawns for the exchange, but the engines prefer White.
27...Qa8 28.Nd4 Rxc5!?
The engines' choice as they reckon a line such as 28...Ra5 29.Bxd6 cxd6 30.Nxc6 is very good for White who, although a pawn down, has much-better coordinated pieces and a protected passed pawn, while Black's extra pawn is one of a pair of doubled isolanis.
29.Rxc5 Ne4?!
Black regains the exchange but gets a virtually lost position. The engines prefer 29...Nc4!?, although White will win one of the c pawns and so be up the exchange for a pawn.
30.Nxc6 Nxf2 31.Kxf2 Qa2+ 32.Kg3 Re8 33.h3!
The king will be safe on h2, should the need arise, and Carlsen has seen that such a quiet move is possible as Black can undertake nothing active.
33...Qa6 34.Qc3
Care is still required. Most unfortunate would be 34.Nb4?? Qd6+.
34...Be2 35.Rxd5 Bb5 36.Nb4 Qb7 37.Qc5 Ba4 38.Rd7 Qe4 39.Rxc7?
A slip that could have cost him half a point. The engines give 39.Rd4, there being no rush to pick up the c pawn.
39...h5 40.Kh2

Black to play and draw

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40...Kh7?
Missing a difficult chance. 40...Qf4+ seems better than the text, but the engines point out 40...Bb3!!, when the game's 41.Qf2?? simply drops the knight. The first point of the engines' move is to clear the a file so the black rook has two files from which to invade White's position; the second, deeper point, will become clear later. White's best, according to the engines, is 41.Rd7 Qf4+ 42.Kg1 Ra8 43.Qd4 (covering a1 and supporting the white rook so the e pawn can be pushed) Qxf5 44.e7 Re8 45.Rd8 Bf7. This is the second point of 40...Bb3! - White seemingly cannot make progress.
41.Qf2!
Harikrishna must have missed that his move meant White's queen is no longer tied to the knight.
41...Rg8
Or 41...Qxb4 42.Qg3 Qf8 (42..Re7 43.Qg6+ Kg8 44.Rc8+ Re8 45.Rxe8+ Bxe8 46.Qxe8+ Kh7 47.Qxh5+ gives White an easily won queen-and-pawn ending) 43.Rf7 Qh8 44.Qg6+ Kg8 45.Ra7 Bc6 46.Qf7+ Kh7 47.Qh5+ Kg8 48.Qf7+ Kh7 49.Qg6+ Kg8 50.Rc7 Bb5 51.Qf7+ Kh7 52.Rc4! Bxc4 53.Qh5+ Kg8 54.Qxe8+ Kh7 55.Qg6+ Kg8 56.e7 Bb5 57.e8=Q+ Bxe8 58.Qxe8+ Kh7 59.Qxh8+ Kxh8, and the pawn-ending is winning for White, who has more space and lots of reserve tempi. This is a very long line given by the engines, but the vast majority of it is forced. Both players would, I am sure, be capable of calculating it, but they may well have concluded White was winning without getting to the very end.
42.Na6?!
Possibly better is 42.Qf3 Qe5+ 43.g3 Rf8 (43...Qc7?? Qxh5#), when the engines are enthusiastic about 44.Rc4 and 44.Nd5, but in each case White's advantage shrinks, according to the engines, as the lines get deeper.
42...Be8?
Better drawing chances were to be had with 42...Bb5, when the engines cannot decide whether White should play 43.Qg3 or 43.Nc5. In neither case do they come up with a convincing winning line for White.
43.Rc5 Qd3 44.Nb4 Qd6+ 45.Kh1 Qd1+ 46.Qg1 Qd6 47.Nd5 Rf8 48.Qd4 Kh8 49.Rc8 Bc6
Harikrishna resigned without waiting for 50.Nxf6.
In the same tournament, five rounds later, Yifan Hou played the Ponziani against Carlsen. The opening of that game went 3...Nf6 4.d4 exd4 (varying from Harikrishna's 4...d5!?) 5.e5 Nd5 6.Bc4 Nb6 7.Bb3 d5 (7...dxc3!? has been played, but White gets a lot of open lines for his pawn) 8.cxd4 Bg4. Marin, again in ChessBase, says of this position: "[It is] no less consistent than those arising from more popular openings. White has the centre, Black intends to undermine it. Just play according to the basic rules. Maybe the Ponziani should be tried more often?" Carlsen won in 66 moves.

Scotch Drubbing

Simon Wilks (2065) - Spanton (1900)
South Wales International Round Three
Scotch Opening
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Nb3
This was very much the mainline, at least at club level, before Kasparov revitalised 5.Be3 and 5.Nxc6.
5...Bb6
5...Bb4+!?, a favourite of former European junior champion Oleg Romanishin, scores best in ChessBase's 2019 Mega database.
6.Nc3 Nf6 7.Bg5
More popular is 7.Qe2, but both moves have been played by Carlsen.
7...h6 8.Bh4 g5?!
This has been played by some strong players, and is second in popularity to 8...d6, but it is very committal. The problem for Black is not just that the move to all intents and purposes rules out kingside castling, but it creates numerous weaknesses, especially the squares f5 and f6.
9.Bg3 d6 10.Qe2!?
Not liked by my main analysis engines, Stockfish10 and Komodo9, who prefer 10.Qd2, 10.h4 or 10.Bb5.
10...Be6
Played with my (faulty) next move in mind. The mainline runs 10...Qe7 11.0-0-0 Bd7 12.f3 with a position clearly better for White (Stockfish10) or equal (Komodo9).
11.0-0-0 Bxb3?!
Smyslov, and everyone else in Mega19 who reached this position, played 11...Qe7. I rejected it because of 12.Nd5 Bxd5 13.cxd5 Qxe2 14.Bxe2, when White has the bishop-pair, as in the game, but without doubled b pawns. However, this was wrong thinking on at least two counts: a) the doubled pawns are not weak, b) with queens off, Black is not in danger of being mated, and his kingside weaknesses are not so exploitable. Nevertheless, the text is for a time the second choice of both engines..
12.axb3 Qe7 13.f3 Nh5?
I get to chase White's pieces around with my knight but, as SW pointed out in the postmortem, nothing much is accomplished by this, not least because White's dark-square bishop is not doing much anyway, at least in the short-medium term. Probably best was 13...0-0-0.
14.Bf2
Even better, it seems, was 14.Nd5! I thought it was bad because of 14...Nxg3, but the engines point out the simple 15.hxg3, when Black has a major headache over where to put his queen. 15...Qe5 makes it a target for White's pawns, while 15...Qe6 is met by 16.Qe1! (allowing White's bishop access to c4, and at the same time covering g3). Even worse is 15...Qd8? as Black's king gets trapped in the middle of the board, while 15...Qd7?? loses instantly to 16.Nf6+.
14...Nf4 15.Qd2 Bxf2 16.Qxf2 0-0-0

Who, if anyone, stands better, and why?

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I was quite pleased at having got rid of White's bishop-pair, leaving him with a bishop that is semi-bad. But actually this position is very good for White - my f4 knight will be driven back, his knight will occupy a great post at d5, and his bishop will have plenty of scope, either at b5 or at g2, in either case with latent pressure against Black's queenside.
17.g3 Ne6 18.Nd5 Qf8 19.b4 Kb8 20.Bg2 Qg7

Just four moves have passed between the two diagrams, but White's position has dramatically improved just as Black's has clearly worsened

21.c3
Somewhat cautious. I was more worried about 21.Rd3, which is Stockfish10's choice, while Komodo9's 21.f4 also looks strong.
21...Rhf8?
I never get to play ...f5, so the text just wastes time. An obvious try was 21...Ne5, which turns out to be the engines' choice, but White can ignore the move, if he wants, and complete development with 22.Rhe1, the point being that 22...Nc4 would just be a pretty gesture, rather like …Nh5-f4, as the knight cannot stay on c4 after 23.Bf1 or 23.Qe2.
22.Qc2 Ne5 23.Rhe1 g4?
A mistake - the result of wanting to "do something." More sensible was the calmer 23...h5, when White remains better, but the game continues.
24.f4 Nf3!?
Giving up a pawn to get rid of White's soon-to-be-powerful bishop. Not much better, if at all (Stockfish10 prefers my move, at least for a while), is the retreat 24...Nd7, when White has gained space and can slowly ratchet up the pressure on Black's queenside.
25.Bxf3 gxf3 26.Qf2 Qg4?
The pawn cannot be held, so this is pointless, but it is hard to come up with any active plan for Black.
27.Ne3
I now collapsed horribly. The remaining moves were:
27...Qh5? 28.Rd5 Qh3 29.Qxf3 c6?? 30.Rh5 1-0