3 weeks ago
The world No 1, Magnus Carlsen, making a uncommon return to classical chess this week astatine nan yearly TePe Sigeman tourney successful Malmö, Sweden, squeezed done to a blitz playoff successful Thursday’s last information aft Turkey’s 14-year-old talent Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus blundered fatally successful nan precocious stages aft reaching a drawn position.
Carlsen tied connected 5/7 pinch India’s Arjun Erigaisi and won nan blitz playoff 2-1. This was nan final abrupt decease game.
Earlier, Carlsen was defeated successful Monday’s 4th information successful a fluctuating marathon 88-move game by nan Netherlands GM Jorden van Foreest, whose predatory rook yet trapped a Carlsen knight which had wandered excessively acold from base. It was a grind of a type which Carlsen himself has won galore times successful his career.
This was Carlsen’s first classical nonaccomplishment since his conclusion against India’s reigning world champion, Gukesh Dommaraju, astatine Norway 2025, erstwhile he famously banged nan array in frustration.
Carlsen antecedently played successful Malmö arsenic a 13-year-old successful 2004. His return successful 2026 was sparked by a desire to get into style earlier Norway Chess astatine Oslo, which starts successful 2 weeks and which he has won for six of nan past 7 years.
Carlsen was taking a risk, for 7 rounds was a sprint wherever dangers lurked. He played conservatively against his 2 top-12 opponents successful nan first 3 rounds, but chose nan fierce King’s Indian, Benoni and Najdorf Sicilian pinch Black against nan little rated players.
His reasoning was that, pinch a accelerated classical clip limit, location would beryllium a play of 20 moves aliases truthful earlier nan move 40 timepiece power wherever nan crippled would efficaciously beryllium accelerated chess, a genre astatine which Carlsen is supreme.
Carlsen called his triumph pinch nan Benoni “a nosy game” arsenic nan Swede Nils Grandelius went strategically incorrect pinch 13 f4? aft which his pawn centre became fixed while nan world No 1 mobilised his queen’s helping by 17…b5! There was a thematic extremity to nan crippled arsenic nan achromatic a pawn marched correct down nan committee to a2 and White resigned successful nan look of imminent queening.
Final Malmö scores were Carlsen and Erigaisi 5, Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan) and Erdogmus 4, Van Foreest 3.5. Andy Woodward (US) 3, Zhu Jiner (China) 2, Grandelius 1.5.
Wood Green triumph British convention pinch 100% score
The Four Nations Chess League (4NCL) is Britain’s premier squad chess competition. Launched successful 1993, nan twelvemonth of Nigel Short’s world title situation to Garry Kasparov, it has been dominated by 2 powerful squads: Guildford, who won 10 times earlier retiring, and Wood Green, whose triumph successful nan conscionable ended play was their eighth. The northbound Londoners won each 1 of their 11 matches, a feat they antecedently achieved successful 2011-12.
Wood Green outclassed nan opposition, pinch their superiority based connected precocious scores by GMs Jonathan Speelman (9/11), Matthew Turner (8.5/10), Matthew Wadsworth (8/11), Shreyas Royal (7/9) and IM Marcus Harvey (8/11). Speelman is now 69, but nan erstwhile world title semi-finalist continues to defy nan years pinch his imaginative attacks. Turner, Scotland’s highest rated player, who presently useful for chess.com, antecedently taught chess astatine Millfield and was runner-up successful Countdown.
Harvey’s triumph against nan uncommon defence 1 d4 d5 2 c4 Nc6 3 Nf3 Bg4 was entertaining and convincing. Just to make sure, Wood Green besides brought successful nan nine-time reigning British champion Michael Adams for nan last weekend. He won doubly and drew pinch chap elite GM Gawain Maroroa Jones.
Wood Green’s accordant occurrence is down to its main sponsor, Brian Smith, a retired financial trader who keeps a debased floor plan but who has backed winning Wood Green squads successful nan 4NCL and nan London Chess League. In caller years he has been supported by Bjørn Tiller, a erstwhile Norwegian champion who utilized to play for Wood Green teams, and by Loz Cooper, an world maestro and erstwhile English Chess Federation inferior head who manages Wood Green Youth, which vanished a beardown 3rd successful nan conscionable concluded season.
CSC/Kingston were second, a good consequence for a young squad pinch an mean property successful nan early 20s, and a tribute to their manager, Kate Cooke, who is besides responsible for nan club’s 2 teams successful little divisions. Cooke is aided by a well-known Guardian journalist who prefers to stay anonymous.
Two players, Sergey Korshunov of Fide/Russia and Lorenzo Fava of Italy, scored IM norms, but location could person been a 3rd from England. Supratit Banerjee already had 4.5/6 astatine nan commencement of nan last weekend, and nan Kingston 12-year-old looked nailed connected for his 2nd IM norm and a further measurement to breaking Shreyas Royal’s IM property record.
However, an invitation came for him to subordinate a Kasparov Chess Foundation training campy for elite juniors successful Munich that play and Banerjee chose nan camp. It proved a wise decision, arsenic he still has astir 18 months to break nan record, while astatine Munich he qualified for a further training campy successful Croatia astatine which Kasparov himself will beryllium present. The Sutton Grammar pupil requires different 2 2450+ performances positive a published 2400 standing for nan IM property record.
Most of nan 12 Division 1 teams are semi-professional, pinch a fewer GMs and IMs being paid. The 4NCL utilized to beryllium stronger still, but Germany’s Bundesliga now has much resources for attracting elite grandmasters.
The Division Two champions, who secured automatic promotion, were She Plays to Win Lionesses, who fielded world players from nan Netherlands and France, arsenic good arsenic 11-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan, who is presently England’s highest classed female subordinate pinch a standing of 2374.
The 4NCL, whose long-standing chair, Mike Truran, has besides doubled arsenic ECF President, takes spot complete 5 weekends astatine cardinal Midlands venues, and presently includes astir 80 teams successful respective divisions. New entrants are welcome.
4023: 1 Re8+ Bf8 2 Ne4 Rdxc2 (other moves besides lose) 3 Nf6+! gxf6 4 Rg1+ Kh8 5 Rxf8 mate.
