Daily Archives: May 14, 2020

This historical article appeared in the magazine Computerschach International in 1983. It was in German and has been translated and edited for republication on our news page.

Imagine that you are travelling by car and have a breakdown. It's the middle of the night and it's completely dark. You are in a rural area, but fortunately you can see a light in the distance. Obviously a house where you can get help or at least make a phone call.

You take the small flashlight that you always have in your car and set off. But you don't get very far, because soon you see a nasty-looking fence in the beam of your torch, two meters high and covered with barbed wire. It blocks your way to the house. Of course you could try to climb over the fence, but you'll probably tear your expensive suit and break your neck. On the other hand, you can't possibly spend the whole night outdoors.

So what do you do? You shine your flashlight to the left and to the right, but everywhere the fence seems to continue. In front of you, you suddenly see a gap in the fence, obviously a passageway through which you can easily get to the house. At least almost without problems. Because directly in front of the gap you can see a big mud puddle in which a pig is wallowing. You have to wade through this puddle if you want to get to the house. That will certainly not do your suit any good, and you will certainly not smell like a rose when you reach the house. But at least it's better than having to climb over the fence.

So hold your nose closed and walk bravely through the mud. You get to the other side and breathe a sigh of relief. That's all over, you can get to the house that will save you. But now you can see in the light of your flashlight that the fence had no passage but only a small indentation.

Unfortunately the passage through the puddle did not help, you have to climb over the fence. Beside the torn suit and possible injuries you have also dirtied yourself with mud, which was completely unnecessary. If you had a better flashlight, this wouldn't have happened. You would have seen for sure that crossing the puddle was useless. And you might have discovered that there's a gate to the left through which you could have simply walked...

I found this nice little story in a book about chess computers (Julio Kaplan: "How to get the most from your chess computer", R.H.M. Press/Pitman, 1980). The author belongs to one of the best connoisseurs of the matter, because he himself has written quite a few programs for chess computers, and he is also an excellent chess player. Born in Argentina, Julio Argentino Kaplan Pera became junior world champion in 1967 (ahead of Hbner and Timman!) and has lived for many years in Oakland, California, where he is part of a software company, Autodesk, that makes software services for the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media, education, and entertainment industries.

Kaplans book belongs in the collection of every computer chess friend. Besides a very well-founded introduction to chess programming you will find many excellent and knowledgeable hints that increase the fun of playing against the computer.But what does the story about the fence and the puddle have to do with computer chess? Well, it illustrates in a catchy way the phenomenon known as the "horizon effect." Even computers get into situations not unlike the one described above.

We want to illustrate the horizon effect with the help of a classic example from the doctoral thesis of Hans Berliner, former correspondence chess world champion and now computer scientist at the Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

[Diagram from the time: White to move]

Any human chess player can immediately see that the white bishop on a4 will be captured by the black pawns on the queenside. But for a chess program that could, in pioneer days, only process a few thousand positions, and look around three half-moves ahead, there were some traps.

Among many other move sequences the computer would find 1.Bb3 c4 2.Bxc4. A static evaluation of the position would give an advantage of one pawn, which would of course be a fatal misjudgement. Most programs therefore performed a so-called "quiescence search at this point, evaluating all capture sequences until the position became "quiet."

During this quiescence search, the computer discovers that further moves will bring an advantage for the opponent (2...bxa4 etc.). But instead of accepting this as inevitable, it develops a foolish plan to "save" the bishop. The computer plays 1.e5? A human being would see at a glance that this does not change the bishop's situation. But for the program, the bishop is effectively saved.

Let us reconstruct the reasoning of a three-ply search. After 1.e5 bxa4 2.exf6, the original material balance is preserved. But what is the situation after 1.e5 dxe5 2.Bb3 for the program? Perfect, because no subsequent capture loses a piece. 2...c4 is not a conspicuous move and is not considered in the quiescence search. For the program, the sacrifice of a pawn to save the bishop is fully justified. After 1.e5 dxe5, it naturally discovers that the threat has not disappeared, and it must again develop a clever plan to save the bishop: 2.Rxd7 Nxd7 3.Bb3. This loses the exchange, but again that apparently saves an entire piece.

As you can see, computers at the time could give away a lot of material to delay the inevitable. It was a problem that every chess program that worked with a search tree (i.e. practically all of them) had to face. Beyond the terminal positions there was complete darkness for the program, just like for the person seeking help in our example above. He can only see as far as the cone of light of his flashlight reaches.

The example of Prof. Berliner was for computers in the very early days of chess programming. Soon they were equipped with more sophisticated search algorithms that made them less short-sighted. But we could easily find examples where even more advanced chess computers fell victim to the horizon effect. Take the following drastic position:

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Black, as you can easily see, wins easily by simply giving up the rook. Todays programs will tell you in a second or two that e.g. 1...f5 results in a mate in 14, and 1...e5 mate in 15. But with the programs at the time you could experience strange things. Many would give away the win in the foolish attempt to save the rook: 1...f6 2.Bxf6 e5 3.Bxe5 d4 4.Bxd4 c3 5.Bxc3 and now the position is a draw.

You know that on the diagram boards on our web page you can move pieces, and in fact I can add an engine to play countermoves. So I had this idea to provide you with the experience of what it was like to play a 1983 chess program. Unfortunately, though, even if I set our JavaScript engine to work for a thousandth of a second per move, it will still win the position easily for Black. So you are going to have to simply imagine what it was like back then.

Now let us look at another position I used to test the ability of 1980s computers to avoid the horizon trap:

In 1983 I used the position on commercial chess computers and commented my results, ironically:

1.Kxhl is a clear mistake. It leaves the computer no other option but to destroy you: 1...Ke5 2.Kg2 Kd4 3.Bg8 c4 etc. But can you achieve a better result? Not against a human opponent, of course, but against a computer on the lower levels. We have to simply take advantage of the horizon effect and subtly deceive our electronic friend. For example we play against the CC Sensory 9 [one of the most popular computers in 1983] on level 3 and start with1.Kf3!! You probably won't believe it, but only with this nonsensical move do we have a chance to draw.

The computer starts to calculate and first considers 1...Ke5, with which it would win without further ado. But soon it realizes that the opponent can then capture the black knight with 2.Kg2. But it doesn't want to give that up (the fact that we spurned the knight one move before has of course no meaning for the computer) and so it quickly hatches a clever plan to "save" the knight: 1...c4? With this move it has pushed the loss of the knight beyond its calculation horizon. For it the knight remains in play, and for that it gladly gives up a pawn.

Now you can also see why 1.Kf3 was important. Had we captured the knight, 1...Ke5 would have come, of course. And if the king had stayed at g2, the computer would have realized too quickly that it would lose the knight anyway. It wouldn't have bothered about it at all and would have won the game ice cold.

But we have not yet solved all problems: 2.Bxc4 Ke5! Obviously the computer wants to attack the bishop after 3.Kg2 with 3...Kd4 and thus "save" the knight again. Since this also happens to win, we have to play carefully and once again lead the opponent away from the right path: 3.Bg8! Again it wants to continue correctly with 3.Kd4, but then discovers that we are threatening the knight and tries to save it again: 3...b3? The trick worked, we have a draw: 4.Bxb3 Kd4 5.Kg2 etc.

This time I have set the JavaScript engine in the diagram above to a tenth of a second per move for you to experiment with. See if you can trick the computer. I cannot guarantee anything your computer may be too fast for the engine to go astray.

In the next historical installment I will discuss further dirty tricks we were able to use against computers in 1983 and some positions that even today are fairly simple for humans but extremely difficult for chess engines. Interested?

See the original post:

Darkness on the Horizon (1) - Chessbase News

Lets be real. Chess players have it pretty good during these trying times.

Our game can be played without leaving the house, and we are used to spending inordinate amounts of time inside the house, studying and playing hour after hour of bullet. Limited travel and social distancing have affected over-the-board play, and traditional tournaments throughout the world have all been cancelled. But in contrast to games of a more physical natural, ours can be played entirely on the internet.

All the chess sites have been overrun with players, and in fact there have even been issues handling the increased load. The sudden cancellation of the Candidates Tournament, however, meant the status of top-level chess events was in question. And as is often true over the board the World Champion was the first to take the initiative.

The inaugural Magnus Carlsen Invitational was hosted by Chess24 and included eight of the worlds top Grandmasters: Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, Ding Liren, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Anish Giri, Hikaru Nakamura, and Alireza Firouzja. While the more established players have already made names for themselves, I think chess fans were extremely excited to watch the wunderkind Firouzja compete, as the Iranian prodigy recently defeated Carlsen in the final of Chess24s recently completed Banter Blitz Cup. There was a lot more than pride at stake, too. Carlsen put up a whopping $250,000 prize fund, with first prize taking home a cool $70,000.

The tournament, which ran from April 18th to May 3rd, started with a round robin series of mini-matches. Each match consisted of four rapid games followed by an Armageddon blitz game if the series was tied 2-2. Match winners earned 3 points, unless it went to Armageddon, in which case the winner would get 2 points and the loser would get 1. The top four players would move on to the semi-final stage, and while the matches were almost all closely contested, four players clearly stood out above the rest. In place order, they were Nakamura, Ding, Carlsen, and Caruana.

The semifinal matchups were structured similarly to the preliminary phase, except that instead of going to Armageddon right away, players would play two blitz games before heading to Armageddon. The first semifinal between top Americans Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana was an exciting affair. Lets check out a few crucial moments from their battle.

[Event "Magnus Carlsen Invitational"][Site "chess24.com"][Date "2020.05.01"][Round "3.1"][White "Caruana, Fabiano"][Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"][Result "0-1"][ECO "C54"][WhiteElo "2773"][BlackElo "2829"][Annotator "Friedel,Josh"][SetUp "1"][FEN "r4rbk/1p4p1/1bpp1q1p/5B2/Pp1P2R1/3Q2NP/1P3PP1/R5K1 b - - 0 30"][PlyCount "23"][EventDate "2020.??.??"][WhiteTeam "United States"][BlackTeam "United States"][WhiteTeamCountry "USA"][BlackTeamCountry "USA"]{Fabiano seems to have the light squares on lockdown and is ready togo after Black’s king. Unfortunately for him, this is all an illusion, andthis was excellently demonstrated by Hikaru’s next move. What did the currentUS Champion play here?} 30... Ra5 $1 {This sneaky-looking move is truly asilent killer. It attacks the bishop, and after it moves White’s coordinationwill be completely disrupted.} 31. Bg6 {This allows a powerful move for Black,but it was hard to suggest an improvement.} (31. Rg6 Qxd4 {does not helpWhite’s cause in any way.}) 31... Be6 $1 {and the rook is simply without asafe square.} 32. Ne4 {This saves the rook, but cuts off the protection of d4.}(32. Re4 {allows} Qxg6) 32... Qxd4 33. Qxd4 Bxd4 {This endgame is completelyhopeless, as Black’s two bishops and queenside majority dominate the wholeboard. Nakamura went on to win quite easily.} 34. Rd1 Bxb2 35. Rg3 Be5 36. Re3Bd5 37. g3 Rxa4 38. f4 Ra1 39. Red3 Rxd1+ 40. Rxd1 Bc3 41. Nxd6 Rf6 0-1

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[Event "Magnus Carlsen Invitational"][Site "chess24.com"][Date "2020.05.01"][Round "4.1"][White "Nakamura, Hikaru"][Black "Caruana, Fabiano"][Result "0-1"][ECO "E61"][WhiteElo "2829"][BlackElo "2773"][Annotator "Friedel,Josh"][SetUp "1"][FEN "1r6/1P4k1/3p2q1/N1pPp1bp/4P1pP/3Q1pP1/8/5R1K b - h3 0 48"][PlyCount "21"][EventDate "2020.??.??"][WhiteTeam "United States"][BlackTeam "United States"][WhiteTeamCountry "USA"][BlackTeamCountry "USA"]{Needing to win with Black, Fabiano chose a risky King’s Indian structure,and his risk paid off. He’s up a pawn and his kingside pawns look menacing,but how does he finish off the game?} 48... Bxh4 $1 {The time to crash throughhis come. There is no forced mate, but Black’s pawns will simply be too strong.} (48... Bh6 $2 {or a similar retreat would allow White to play a move like}49. Qb1 {and the b-pawn should be strong enough to cause problems.}) 49. gxh4Qf6 50. Kg1 Qxh4 (50... Qf4 $1 {was even more deadly, but this is hard to spotwith little time on the clock. The idea is that with the f-pawn defended, g3can be a threat in addition to Qg3+.} 51. Rf2 (51. Qc2 g3 $1 {is crushing.})51... Qg3+ 52. Kf1 Qxh4 {and White’s king has all sorts of problems.}) 51. Qd2Kg6 $1 {I really like this move by Fabi. He improves his king, guards againstQg5+ type ideas, and demonstrates that White can’t really demonstrate thesethreats.} (51... Qg3+ 52. Kh1 Qh3+ 53. Kg1 {leads nowhere.}) 52. Nc4 Qf6 {Another strong move played under pressure. g3 is again a powerful threat.} 53.Na5 Qh4 (53... g3 {was immediately winning, since after} 54. Nc4 f2+ 55. Kg2Qh4 {White has no real defense to Qh2+ and g2.}) 54. Nc4 Qf6 55. Ne3 {Hikaruvaries, probably because he knows Fabiano will find g3 on the 2nd repetition.}Qf4 56. Qf2 Qxe4 57. Re1 Rxb7 58. Ng2 Qd4 {White resigned, as there are simplytoo many pawns to deal with.} 0-1

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[Event "Magnus Carlsen Invitational"][Site "chess24.com"][Date "2020.05.01"][Round "5.1"][White "Caruana, Fabiano"][Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"][Result "0-1"][ECO "C54"][WhiteElo "2773"][BlackElo "2829"][Annotator "Friedel,Josh"][SetUp "1"][FEN "r3qrk1/1pp3p1/1b2pnnp/3p4/p2PP3/P3BNNP/1PQ2PP1/R3R1K1 w - - 0 18"][PlyCount "68"][EventDate "2020.??.??"][WhiteTeam "United States"][BlackTeam "United States"][WhiteTeamCountry "USA"][BlackTeamCountry "USA"]{In the first blitz game to decide this All-American affair, Fabihas some decisions to make in the center. Would you play e5, take on d5, orkeep the tension?} 18. e5 $6 {The American #1 decides to grab space, but thisdecisions leads to real problems in a few moves.} (18. exd5 Nxd5 19. Qe4 {is certainly nothing special, but I doubt White is worse here.}) (18. Bd2 $1 {is the move l like, improving the bishop and e1 rook at the same time whilealso disrupting potential Ba5 ideas. I might slightly prefer White, but it isvery close to equal.}) 18... Nd7 19. Nd2 $6 {I think White wanted to play forf4-f5, but this is simply too ambitious.} (19. Rac1 {keeping an eye on the c5break was probably to be prefered, though I still prefer Black now.}) 19... Ba5$1 {Hikaru doesn’t miss his chance to disrupt White’s coordination. C5 iscoming now with huge force.} 20. Rec1 c5 $1 21. dxc5 Ngxe5 {White’s center hasbeen decimated, and his pieces lack coordination. Hikaru converted hisadvantage in exemplary fashion, and this win put him once again in theposition of having to draw with White to advance. This time, he took hisopportunity and advanced to the final.} 22. Rf1 Nc6 23. b4 axb3 24. Nxb3 Bc725. Nd4 Be5 26. Nge2 Ra5 27. Nxc6 bxc6 28. Ra2 Qe7 29. Rc1 Rfa8 30. a4 Bf6 31.Ra3 e5 32. Ng3 Qe6 33. Qg6 d4 34. Bd2 Rxa4 35. Rxa4 Rxa4 36. Ne4 Nf8 37. Qg3Kh7 38. Rb1 Ra7 39. Qd3 Kg8 40. Rb8 Be7 41. Qf3 Qf7 42. Qg3 Qe6 43. Re8 Kh7 44.Rb8 Nd7 45. Qd3 Qg6 46. Rc8 Nf8 47. Rxc6 Qxc6 48. Ng5+ Kh8 49. Nf7+ Kg8 50.Nxe5 Qd5 51. Bf4 Bxc5 0-1

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The second semifinal between Carlsen and Ding was no less exciting. The World Champion lost game two and had to fight from behind to overtake the world number three. Game four especially felt like it could have gone either way, but the World Champion escaped by the skin of his teeth.

[Event "Magnus Carlsen Invitational"][Site "chess24.com"][Date "2020.05.02"][Round "2.2"][White "Ding, Liren"][Black "Carlsen, Magnus"][Result "1-0"][ECO "C54"][WhiteElo "2836"][BlackElo "2881"][Annotator "Friedel,Josh"][SetUp "1"][FEN "6k1/1pq2pp1/p2R1n1p/P3pN2/2r1P3/3Q2PP/5PK1/8 b - - 0 31"][PlyCount "4"][EventDate "2020.??.??"][WhiteTeam "China"][BlackTeam "Norway"][WhiteTeamCountry "CHN"][BlackTeamCountry "NOR"]{Magnus is up a pawn here, but Ding has a menacing knight on f5.Despite this, the position should be roughly equal. Carlsen’s move here,however, proved to be a ghastly oversight.} 31... Kh7 $2 (31... Rc3 32. Qe2 Rc2{with the idea of continuing to chase the queen should result in a draw.} 33.Qf3 Rc3 34. Qe2 $11 (34. Nxh6+ $2 Kh7 {leaves White with no mate and too manypieces hanging.})) (31... Nxe4 {is also playable according to the machine, butallowing Rd8+ and Ne3 is counterintuitive for a human.}) 32. Rxf6 $1 gxf6 33.Qe3 {and just like that, Black is mated! This left Magnus down 1.5-.5 goinginto the final two games of their match.} 1-0

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[Event "Magnus Carlsen Invitational"][Site "chess24.com"][Date "2020.05.02"][Round "3.2"][White "Carlsen, Magnus"][Black "Ding, Liren"][Result "1-0"][ECO "D02"][WhiteElo "2881"][BlackElo "2836"][Annotator "Friedel,Josh"][SetUp "1"][FEN "r4rk1/1p1b2p1/3qpp1p/3p1P2/p2P4/1nPB1NP1/4RP1P/1Q2R1K1 b - - 0 24"][PlyCount "18"][EventDate "2020.??.??"][WhiteTeam "Norway"][BlackTeam "China"][WhiteTeamCountry "NOR"][BlackTeamCountry "CHN"]{Carlsen has sacked a pawn, but in return he has a lot of initiativeon the light squares. How should Ding react to this f5 pawn thrust?} 24... exf5$2 (24... Rae8 {forces White to exchange a pair of rooks, which makes a bigdifference.} 25. fxe6 Rxe6 26. Rxe6 Bxe6 27. Nh4 {and unlike in the game,Black should survive after} Bf7) 25. Nh4 Rae8 $2 {This compounds his problem,and I assume that the Chinese #1 miscalculated something.} (25... Rfd8 {giving the queen the f8 square was likely best, but this is not an easy moveto play, as White can take on f5 and penetrate with Re7 at his leisure.}) 26.Nxf5 Bxf5 {This knight has to be taken, but it allows White to go up theexchange.} (26... Qc7 27. Ne7+ {is even more crushing.}) 27. Rxe8 Nd2 28. Rxf8+Kxf8 29. Qxb7 $1 {One last accurate move, taking advantage of Black’s king toplay for the initiative. Black is lost.} Nf3+ (29... Bxd3 30. Qc8+ {leads tomate.}) 30. Kh1 Nxe1 31. Bxf5 $6 {One small blemish on Carlsen’s fine effort.}(31. Qa8+ Kf7 32. Bxf5 {is more accurate, as now Bh7 is a large threat.}) 31...Nf3 $2 (31... Qe7 32. Qa8+ Qe8 {and somehow it is difficult for White to win,since after} 33. Qxd5 Qe2 {White can only give a perpetual.}) 32. Bg6 Ng5 33.Qc8+ 1-0

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[Event "Magnus Carlsen Invitational"][Site "chess24.com"][Date "2020.05.02"][Round "4.2"][White "Ding, Liren"][Black "Carlsen, Magnus"][Result "0-1"][ECO "D45"][WhiteElo "2836"][BlackElo "2881"][Annotator "Friedel,Josh"][SetUp "1"][FEN "1b1q1r2/3r2pk/1pbPp2p/p1p1Pp2/P1P2N2/4P2R/1B3QPP/3B2K1 b - - 0 40"][PlyCount "11"][EventDate "2020.??.??"][WhiteTeam "China"][BlackTeam "Norway"][WhiteTeamCountry "CHN"][BlackTeamCountry "NOR"]{The winner-takes-all game of their match has been a madhouse. At firstMagnus was better, but Ding convincingly outplayed him and how has the upperhand. Carlsen finds the only way to stay in the game.} 40... Bxd6 $8 {Otherwise he’s positionally dominated and will soon be crushed on the kingside.} 41. Nxe6 $2 {Ding gets too tricky.} (41. exd6 Rxd6 42. Be2 {is simple andstrong. White’s two pieces are far stronger than the rook here, and thatbishop on b2 is an absolute monster. Black will probably have to shieldagainst it with a move like Rf6, but after that White should surely have theadvantage.}) 41... Qe8 (41... Bxe5 $1 {discovering on the d1 bishop was evenstronger.}) 42. Nxf8+ Bxf8 43. Qxf5+ g6 {White’s position might be salvageableafter a move like Qb1, but with little time this is nearly impossible todefend, and Black collapses quickly.} 44. Qf1 Bg7 45. Bc2 Rd2 {This crazy winhanded Carlsen the match win, and propelled him into the final againstNakamura.} 0-1

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The final between Carlsen and Nakamura also went down to the wire. It may be Magnus own tournament, and he may even have won it, but Carlsens competitors didnt make life easy for him at any point.

[Event "Magnus Carlsen Invitational"][Site "chess24.com"][Date "2020.05.03"][Round "10.1"][White "Carlsen, Magnus"][Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"][Result "1-0"][ECO "A29"][WhiteElo "2881"][BlackElo "2829"][Annotator "Friedel,Josh"][SetUp "1"][FEN "8/8/1R2pb2/7p/3pN1kP/3P2P1/5K2/3r4 b - - 0 63"][PlyCount "42"][EventDate "2020.??.??"][WhiteTeam "Norway"][BlackTeam "United States"][WhiteTeamCountry "NOR"][BlackTeamCountry "USA"]{This first game of the final was fought tooth and nail, with the USChampion defending an unpleasant endgame for all he’s worth. Up until now he’sdone an excellent job and resisting the World Champion’s pressure, but at thismoment he finally made a slip.} 63... Be5 $2 (63... Kf5 64. Rb5+ e5 {looksscary, but it seems to allow Black to hold on.}) 64. Rxe6 {The hanging bishopmeans there is no time to capture the d-pawn.} Kf5 65. Ke2 $1 {Perhaps it wasthis intermezzo that Naka missed, allowing Carlsen to save the d-pawn.} Rg1 {Whether this is completely lost is unclear, but for someone to defend thiswith little time is nearly impossible. Magnus won in his typical smoothfashion.} (65... Rxd3 $2 66. Rxe5+ {wins immediately for White.}) 66. Rh6 Bxg367. Rxh5+ Kf4 68. Rh8 Re1+ 69. Kd2 Re3 70. h5 Be1+ 71. Kc2 Rh3 72. h6 Kf5 73.h7 Kg6 74. Rg8+ Kxh7 75. Nf6+ Kh6 76. Rh8+ Kg6 77. Rxh3 Kxf6 78. Kb3 Ke5 79.Kc4 Bf2 80. Rf3 Be3 81. Rf8 Ke6 82. Kc5 Bg1 83. Kc6 Be3 84. Re8+ 1-0

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[Event "Magnus Carlsen Invitational"][Site "chess24.com"][Date "2020.05.03"][Round "11.1"][White "Nakamura, Hikaru"][Black "Carlsen, Magnus"][Result "1-0"][ECO "D37"][WhiteElo "2829"][BlackElo "2881"][Annotator "Friedel,Josh"][SetUp "1"][FEN "8/3n4/2p1k1p1/2Pp1p1p/3P3P/4KNP1/5P2/8 w - - 0 41"][PlyCount "33"][EventDate "2020.??.??"][WhiteTeam "United States"][BlackTeam "Norway"][WhiteTeamCountry "USA"][BlackTeamCountry "NOR"]{Magnus seemed to be fine out of the opening, but he wasconvincingly outplayed by Hikaru in this endgame, one which the Americantypically plays on the Black side. Here White finds one final maneuver inorder to seal the deal.} 41. Ne1 $1 {Hikaru aims to bring his knight to e5,but he needs f4 to be available.} Nb8 42. Nd3 Kf6 43. f4 $1 (43. Ne5 $6 {allows counterplay with} g5) 43... Nd7 44. Ne5 {Well-calculated by Naka.} Nf8 (44... Nxe5 45. fxe5+ Kf7 (45... Kg7 46. Kf4 Kh6 47. e6 {wins easily.}) 46. Kf4Kg7 47. Kg5 Kf7 48. Kh6 {and Black can resign.}) (44... Nb8 45. Kd3 {andHikaru will win by bringing his king to the queenside, while Black’s king istied to the defense of g6.}) 45. Nxc6 {Magnus parts with his c-pawn, but thisonly puts off the eventual defeat. This win put Hikaru back on even footing.}Ke6 46. Ne5 Ke7 47. Kd3 Kd8 48. Kc3 Kc7 49. Nd3 Nd7 50. Nb4 Nf6 51. Kb3 Kb7 52.Ka4 Ne4 53. Nxd5 Nxg3 54. Kb5 Ne4 55. c6+ Kc8 56. Kb6 Nd6 57. Ne7+ 1-0

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[Event "Magnus Carlsen Invitational"][Site "chess24.com"][Date "2020.05.03"][Round "12.1"][White "Carlsen, Magnus"][Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"][Result "1-0"][ECO "D37"][WhiteElo "2881"][BlackElo "2829"][Annotator "Friedel,Josh"][SetUp "1"][FEN "r1bq1rk1/3n1ppp/p3pn2/1pb3N1/2B2B2/2N1P3/PP3PPP/R2Q1RK1 w - - 0 12"][PlyCount "81"][EventDate "2020.??.??"][WhiteTeam "Norway"][BlackTeam "United States"][WhiteTeamCountry "NOR"][BlackTeamCountry "USA"]{In what appears to be a standard Queen’s Gambit Accepted structure,the World Champion decides to mix up the game.} 12. Bxe6 $1 fxe6 13. Nxe6 {Black has quite a few options here, but they all lead to a similar pieceimbalance.} Qe7 14. Nxf8 Qxf8 15. Ne4 $1 {A cute way to snag the dark-squaredbishop.} Bb7 (15... Be7 16. Nd6 {looks very unpleasant.}) (15... Nxe4 $2 16.Qd5+ {loses the a8 rook.}) 16. Nxc5 Qxc5 {At first I was unsure about thisposition, but the more I looked at it the more I liked White. The f3-e4 ideawill blunt the bishop on b7 while restricting the the knight on f6. White’srooks also enjoy the two open files which Black will struggle to fight for.}17. Rc1 Qd5 18. f3 Qxa2 {Hikaru gets a pawn for his trouble, but Magnuscorrectly estimates that keeping Black’s pieces restricted is more important.}19. e4 Nf8 20. Rf2 Rc8 21. Rxc8 Bxc8 22. Qd8 Qe6 23. Bd6 Qe8 24. Qxe8 Nxe8 25.Bb4 {Hikaru has done well to survive to the endgame. While perhaps he couldsurvive with best play, it is incredible difficult to play, and Carlsen won itin very straightforward fashion.} Ne6 26. Rd2 Kf7 27. Kf2 Nf6 28. Ke3 g5 29.Rd6 Nd7 30. g3 Ne5 31. b3 h5 32. h4 gxh4 33. gxh4 Ng6 34. Be1 a5 35. Rd5 a4 36.Rxh5 Nef4 37. Rg5 axb3 38. h5 Nf8 39. Bc3 b4 40. Bb2 N8e6 41. Rf5+ Kg8 42. Rxf4Nxf4 43. Kxf4 Ba6 44. Kg5 Bd3 45. Kg6 Bb5 46. f4 Be8+ 47. Kg5 Bc6 48. e5 Bd549. f5 Kh7 50. e6 Bc4 51. Kf6 Be2 52. Ke7 {This win put the World Championback in the lead, and after a hard-fought draw in the 4th game, he clinchedthe title in fine fashion.} 1-0

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Will elite online events continue to take place after this is all over? Thats hard to answer for now. All I know is that it was extremely fun to watch, and I think the players and fans alike would love seeing such events continue to have their place.

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Living up to his Name: Carlsen Wins Carlsen Invitational - uschess.org

To raise funds for background dancers in Bollywood, who have had no means to earn money for two months now due to the lockdown, rapper and singer Raftaar has come up with the second edition of 'Chess for Charity', a fund-raising live-stream event. He has joined hands with comedian and amateur chess player Samay Raina for the initiative. The event will feature international masters and national grandmasters such as Vidith Gujrathi, Alexandra Botez and Tania Sachdeva and comedians Tanmay Bhat, Vaibhav Sethia, Kenny Sebastian and Biswa K Rath, cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal, dancer Raghav Juyal and VJ Varun Sood.Recently a group of dancers came together to appeal to the entertainment fraternity for financial assistance as their savings are running out. The video featured a number of background dancers narrating how difficult it has become for them to survive with no income during the lockdown. The video also pointed out how most of the background dancers seek to earn a living through television, reality shows and performances. With all shoots on halt and no alternate means of a livelihood, most of these dancers do not have money to even retain a roof over their heads. Raftaar says, "The COVID-19 outbreak has proved to be a major setback to millions financially, emotionally and mentally. I've been a part of the dance community and very well understand the problems they might be facing due to this lockdown. I wanted to help in whatever way I could and give back to the community that gave me my identity. One of my buddies, Shamshad from the Cine Dancers Association, contacted me and voiced all the concerns and setbacks they were facing. Immediately, the name Samay Raina popped up in my mind and he didnt think twice before saying yes to planning this initiative. All of us are in this crisis together and it is only humane to lend a helping hand wherever needed. Now is the time to stand together."

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Raftaar joins hands with a charity chess event to raise funds for background dancers - Times of India

By: Editorial | Published: May 15, 2020 1:27:59 am For several years, players with promise emerged from China but entering the top 10 proved difficult.

Last October, Chinas World No 3 Ding Liren defeated world champion Magnus Carlsen in a dramatic play-off to capture the prestigious Sinquefield Cup in St Louis, strengthening the growing impression that the 26-year-old can challenge the Norwegians global crown in 2020. The pandemic has put the prospect on hold, but by claiming the FIDE Online Nations Cup, China has asserted its credentials as a global superpower in chess, a game it had ironically banned in the incipient years of communist rule. The victory was a reflection of Chinas real depth and quality, a triumph of the long-term strategy, Big Dragon, designed to make the country one of the leading chess powers by 2010.

Barring the mens world crown, they have conquered vast areas of the 64-square board for the last decade. Hou Yifan, just the second woman after Judit Polgar to crack the list of the worlds top 100 players and the youngest ever world champion, has been sitting atop the womens grid for the better part of the last five years. In the top 15, she has four compatriots for company. Like in badminton and table tennis, womens chess has become a field of Chinese expertise. And unlike several western countries, China has thrived on home-grown and not assembled talent, by investing in people and spreading opportunity across the country. Yifan grew up in a remote county town in Jiangsu Province; Ding in a small town in Chinas eastern province of Zhejiang.

The mens circuit, though, was more difficult to crack. For several years, players with promise emerged from China but entering the top 10 proved difficult. Then came Ding, whose rise to World No 3 was as meteoric as it was spectacular. Barely a passing mention till 2017, he improved rapidly in the last three years, beguiling his adversaries and friends with a smile and an incredibly attacking game. If Ding manages to dethrone Carlsen, Chinas emergence in the game it had once banned would be complete.

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A meteor called Ding - The Indian Express

Former world champion and legend of the game GMVishy Anand speaks to David Cox about competing with the elite at the age of 50, the impact of technology on the chess world, and the irritations of having an entirely new generation of players discover his most embarrassing moment.

Having become Indias first grandmaster back in 1988, Anand has been mixing it with the games very best for more than three decades. It is remarkable longevity in a sport that has increasingly become a young mans game at the elite level.

Dubbed "Lightning Kid" for his rapid playing speed as a teenager in the 1980s, Anand has continuously evolved as a player. This has been most evident in his willingness to embrace new technology as the game began to change through the advancing computer power available in the 2000s and beyond.

It helped him crush his great rival Vladimir Kramnik in their 2008 world championship match, and enabled him to compete in world championship encounters nearly two decades apartagainst Garry Kasparov in 1995 and Magnus Carlsen in 2014.

Even at the age of 50, Anand is still ranked in the worlds top 20, with his victory in the 2017 World Rapid Championships showing that he is still capable of mixing it with the very best.

The interview was conducted via phone. Text may have been edited for clarity or length.

Chess.com: Many people have said how remarkable it is that youre still competing at the top level at 50. So many of your rivals from the 1990s and 2000s have either retired or slipped down the rankings. What keeps you going?

Vishy Anand: Like everyone, I think it comes as a shock to realize that people suddenly see you as the veteran. One day youre 20, and the next day youre 50. I remember being surrounded by [Jan]Timman, Kasparov, [Anatoly]Karpov and they were all older. Then you dont notice, and one day you realize everyones younger than you. And then, you realize everyones much younger than you.

Even now, when I met [Alireza]Firouzja, I was shocked to find he was born three years after Id been world champion for the first time in 2000, and now we are competing. I understand that cuts me some slack, and I also try to be a little more forgiving of myself if I dont have a good event. But you cant take that too far. Either you play as if it matters or you dont.

Either you play as if it matters or you dont.

Last year I interviewed Anish Giri, who put your longevity in the game as down to being "truly young at heart," and said: "Vishy is the kind of guy who I am sure updates all the apps on his phone." Is this true?

I actually read that, and I laughed my head off. I couldnt think what exactly updating your apps had to do with youth, but he hit the nail on the head. I do obsessively update my apps and software. I have no idea why, sometimes its just boredom! But it was a very cute way of expressing it. After I read the interview, I showed him my phone and said: "See, all the apps are updated!"

I remember looking at your progression as a teenager. You became an IM at the age of 15, a national champion at 16. Was a professional chess career always the only option for you?

I drifted into chess as a career. It was an emotional decision based on what I love, and I realize Im very lucky it was that smooth for me. In India, theres a couple of inflection points in 10th grade and then in 12th grade where people who compete at sports hesitate and think: Am I really getting anywhere? Should I look at options?

I drifted into chess as a career.

But I won the national championships when I was in 10th grade, I became a GM in 12th, and when I finished university I was ranked five in the world. That was very nice because it meant that I never had this difficult conversation with myself. I wanted to do chess, and nobody ever showed me a reason why I shouldnt

What did your parents make of it all? Did they or you ever worry about the security of life as a chess player?

My parents may have had doubts because my father worked on the railways. They had no idea what this chess was. But they went with the flow, they knew I loved it, so they held back from saying anything.

As for job security, I feel that in the end, chess is no more or no less risky than any other career. Nowadays I tell people, in which career do you have any sort of job security? These days we have to be on our feet a lot. And I can invariably pose this question back to the journalist asking me. What does job security look like in your profession?

Touch Vishy, touch. Going back to your early career, theres a now-famous game from Biel 1988 where you lost to Alonso Zapata in six moves.

Its gone down in legend that youd seen a previous game Christiansen-Miles in which Black made the same losing mistake on move six, but you didnt know it was a pre-arranged draw? Tell us the back story behind that game?

I was quite impulsive and fast at that point, and I remember that I bashed out 5...Bf5 after all of a few seconds. And then I went cold because I suddenly realized I couldnt see a response to 6.Qe2.

I was sweating, and my opponent was so stunned he kept staring at the board. He probably sat there for one or two minutes in disbelief rather than anything else, which felt to me like an eternity. Finally, he played 6.Qe2, I resigned and disappeared quickly before people realized what had happened because I was feeling really embarrassed.

My explanation was Id either seen a variation where white plays c4 and Nc3, and then I play ...Bf5, and Id confused this. Or I may have seen that Christiansen-Miles game. I honestly have no idea which it was. Who can tell, it all happened in seconds.

But I kind of rescued the tournament. It didnt go too badly, I think I finished in the middle somewhere, and I thought that was the end of that. But this game bugged me for many years afterward, and I couldnt see why. Id be like: It was one bad day, can you leave me alone? And then it was very irritating when a whole new generation of players discovered this game, and I had to remember it all over again!

I guess at least back in 1988, there was no internet broadcast of the game.

Exactly, in those days, open tournaments had only a few demonstration boards operated by volunteers. So most of the participants looked at me disappearing after a few minutes and thought I must have agreed on a quick draw. Back then no one could follow the results in real-time, so most people didnt realize that I had in fact lost in this embarrassing way until a month or two later which was a relief for me.

When youre young, you come the next day. Lifes optimistic, and you just go on. But if it happened nowadays, can you imagine the number of silly tweets that Id have to answer.

Anish would be all over it!

Yeah!

Speaking of how the world has changed, you competed in those two world championship matches nearly twenty years apart in 1995 and 2014. In what ways were those two experiences most different?

For me, its quite striking that some of the work that took us one or two weeks back in 1995 with a team of four people working full time, the computer finds in exactly two seconds. Some of the moves Im most proud of from the 1995 match preparation are just suggested instantly. I could spend a lot of time trying to explain to the juniors of today that once upon a time it was very difficult to find these moves, but you feel like one of these old fogies so you just give up!

Some of the work that took us one or two weeks back in 1995 with a team of four people working full time, the computer finds in exactly two seconds.

Nowadays the challenge is really managing the flow of information. Keeping a birds eye view of whats happening because you can generate a lot of material with the computer, but unless it makes sense to you at the board it doesnt help. You need to be able to still figure out your way if youre dropped into a position that you may not remember.

Its a bit like how we can generate maps of the whole world today. But if I drop you in a place without a map, can you still find your way? Thats the key to top-level chess these days.

The new means of preparation particularly benefited you when you faced Kramnik in your world championship match in 2008, arguably your most convincing victory. Tell us about that?

Youre right, we were able to do some very advanced preparation because we had access to some very good hardware. But crucially my attitude and the technology were in sync. I was in the mood to take risks, and I was really eager to learn and do something new. And then suddenly the technology to do it with was available. So both coincided beautifully, and I think thats a big part of the explanation for why I did well in that match.

But crucially my attitude and the technology were in sync. I was in the mood to take risks, and I was really eager to learn and do something new.

I actually feel my attitude was very similar to Kramniks when he challenged Kasparov in 2000. Back then he was ready to do anything in that match, try new things, old things, and you could see the effect it had on him.

That 2008 victory must have been particularly satisfying for you because while you had won the FIDE title in 2000 and became the undisputed champion in Mexico City in 2007, that match in 2008 was in many ways the end to all the politics which had dominated chess for many years.

I was extremely proud of my performance in New Delhi in 2000, even if the FIDE title was somewhat bittersweet because there was always someone saying that if you have two champions, you actually have none. Which is quite correct because it doesnt make sense. It was a ridiculous situation for the sport, but it wasnt my fault, or Kramniks fault, or anyones fault in particular.

It was huge that I was able to win the title in 2007, and for the first time, I didnt have this monkey on my back. I didnt have to answer silly questions about which title it was. However, there were still lingering issues with the format, because some people would say: "Yes, but it wasnt really in a match." And that was annoying.

So Bonn was where all the silly noise died down. I remember coming back to my hotel room after the event and just feeling, now I dont have to say anything to anyone. I just have to say: "I am world champion." That was liberating. As soon as I got to my room I told [my wife] Aruna: "I just dont have to deal with idiots anymore." And she laughed because she understood what I meant.

I remember coming back to my hotel room after the event and just feeling, now I dont have to say anything to anyone. I just have to say: "I am world champion."

When you lost the title five years later to Magnus in 2013, did it ease the blow somewhat as you knew you were passing on the mantle to a player who would go on to become a great of the sport?

Partially yes. I felt annoyed that I was unable to put up a better fight though. I particularly hated the fact that it happened in Chennai. Of all the matches I played, it had to be this one that I lose in my home town. But I understood that certainly, he would carry the mantle of being world champion very well. I felt that, OK, now its not my problem anymore, what has happened has happened, and I should deal with it.

I particularly hated the fact that it happened in Chennai. Of all the matches I played, it had to be this one that I lose in my home town.

You were in the Candidates in 2016, and you finished in joint second place at the age of 46. Do you feel you could one day contest another world championship match or maybe become champion again?

I dont rule it out, but the journey is getting longer! I first have to qualify for the Candidates, then I have to win the Candidates, and then I have to go there and win the match. The more steps you have, the harder it is. You can hope for one miracle somewhere, and Im still capable of benefiting from a miracle so Im not that far off. But it looks like Ill need two or three.

So I dont fret about it a lot. If I find myself in the Candidates, then great Ill take that chance. And then if I find myself in the world championship match, well deal with it. But I would be as surprised as anyone. Ill continue to play and try to compete, and well leave it at that.

Finally, you mentioned Firouzja earlier, and were now seeing the rise of the next generation of talents in their teenage years or early 20s. Do you feel that chess has become progressively more of a younger mans sport over the course of your career?

Very much so. I once had a look at the world ranking list in the early 1980s, and the average age of the top 10 was in the mid-30s. There were a couple of 60-year-olds in there. And then for comparison, I did the same thing in 2015-2016, and the average age had dropped to mid-20s, with two forty-year-old outliers.

So yes, the overwhelming evidence is that chess is getting aggressively younger, and theres a simple explanation. Technology has reduced the value of experience. It has put experience in a sort of silo, where its valuable only in certain conditions.

All experience gives now is some kind of wisdom of having faced a certain situation before, understanding the complexities of making certain decisions, but it doesnt benefit you as much. I think thats simply why youngsters get much better, because they calculate better.

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Vishy Anand Interview: It comes as a shock that people suddenly see you as the veteran - Chess.com