GM Magnus Carlsen triumphed at Casablanca Chess 2024, clinching first in a dynamic end vs. GM Hikaru Nakamura.
Nakamura himself gained second whereas GM Viswanathan Anand completed third. The fifteenth world champion’s compelling last-round victory vs. GM Bassem Amin is our Recreation of the Day.
Standings – Closing
Spherical 4: Nakamura Prevails in Alekhine’s Winawer
To begin the day, the rivals traveled again to 1935 within the Netherlands into the match between Alexander Alekhine and Max Euwe. Alekhine was identified for his ruthless and imaginative attacking type whereas Euwe’s play was characterised by cold-blooded logic. The defending world champion was thought of a significant favourite, but Euwe shocked the chess world by overcoming Alekhine to develop into the fifth world champion. The beginning place is from sport three of their match. It delves right into a less-traveled variation within the dynamic and imbalanced French Winawer.
Spherical 4 Beginning Place
Discovering himself in Alekhine’s footwear, Anand readied his forces for operations towards Black’s uncastled king. Carlsen countered by searching after White’s queenside weaknesses and responding actively to his opponent’s tactical concepts. In the long run, as each gamers’ items stare daggers on the the enemy kings, a fury of ways result in a uncommon perpetual.
After the sport, Anand and Carlsen shared their guesses on the origin of the place. Although it was initially from Alekhine vs. Euwe, it’s additionally been performed 4 instances between Smyslov and Botvinnik―which Carlsen precisely remembered.
Anand: “That is Keres-Botvinnik, is not this the one sport Keres gained?”
Carlsen: “It was a random Smyslov-Botvinnik sport, I assumed.”
Botvinnik certainly performed the place a number of instances from the black facet towards Smyslov! pic.twitter.com/n04JarRUyE
— chess24 (@chess24com) Might 19, 2024
Contrastingly, Amin and Nakamura steered the sport into an early queen commerce. Regardless of the even ending, Nakamura was capable of construct up his place and a big edge on the clock, in the end producing a mating assault along with his remaining items.
Although he misplaced the match, Alekhine did win this explicit sport―in his attribute dynamic type.
Spherical 5: Carlsen Victorious From Kasparov’s Everest
In spherical 5, the gamers revisited the chronicles of Kasparov vs. Karpov, entering into the rivalry two years later with Kasparov now because the defending champion. The place is from the pivotal remaining sport of the match. Kasparov shared about its significance in his guide, How Life Imitates Chess:
I can look again at my chess profession and pick various disaster factors, however just one Mount Everest. I want to share the story to research the means I utilized in profitable an important sport of my life. … After a troublesome, extended protection I suffered one of many worst hallucinations of my profession and blundered to a loss in sport 23. All of the sudden, Karpov was up by a degree and was solely a draw away from taking again the crown he had misplaced to me two years earlier. The very subsequent day after this disaster, I needed to take the white items right into a must-win sport 24.
… What technique ought to I make use of with the white items on this must-win remaining sport? There was extra to consider than sport 23 and sport 24, in fact. These have been additionally video games 119 and 120 between us, a unprecedented variety of top-level encounters between the identical two gamers, all performed in a span of thirty-nine months. It felt like one lengthy match, with this remaining sport in December, 1987, the climax of what we had began in September 1984. My plan for the ultimate sport needed to think about not solely what I would love finest however what my opponent would love least. And what might be extra annoying for Karpov than my turning the tables and taking part in like Karpov?
I can look again at my chess profession and pick various disaster factors, however just one Mount Everest.
―Garry Kasparov
Spherical 5 Beginning Place
Carlsen’s sport was a primary instance of what GM Daniel Naroditsky describes as his impact on different gamers: “Magnus has a approach of creating you’re feeling such as you’re dropping, even when the place is equal.”
Magnus has a approach of creating you’re feeling such as you’re dropping, even when the place is equal.
―Daniel Naroditsky
With a degree middlegame vs. Amin, Carlsen started placing stress on the queenside and shortly seamlessly altered the place from equal to profitable. But, within the remaining time scramble, Amin neglected an opportunity to save lots of the sport.
A nervy ending in time bother for Carlsen, however in the long run he is victorious! pic.twitter.com/Tc9YbeEdUF
— chess24 (@chess24com) Might 19, 2024
On this spherical, Nakamura did not must journey again in time so far as the opposite rivals. He reached this place in considered one of his personal video games simply two years in the past vs. GM Oleksandr Bortnyk in a Titled Tuesday sport, which he went on to win. As GM Jan Gustafsson noticed “They made positive that none of those positions are from Carlsen or Anand matches, however nobody scanned Nakamura’s Titled Tuesday video games!
Nobody scanned Nakamura’s Titled Tuesday video games!
―Jan Gustafsson
Together with his solely white of the day, Nakamura performed ambitiously for victory, launching his all of kingside pawns in the direction of Anand’s monarch. But, on the vital second, Nakamura missed a profitable alternative. Given the prospect, the fifteenth world champion countered with precision, sacrificing a pawn to neutralize Nakamura’s attacking probabilities.
Kasparov did certainly achieve profitable on demand, grinding Karpov down with a mix of strategic and dynamic play to retain his crown. This victory additional cemented the legend’s place in historical past.
Spherical 6: Anand Relights Xie’s Fireworks
Within the final spherical, the gamers had the chance to decide on the place themselves. Coincidentally, they selected a place from the very same match because the day earlier than: GM Xie Jun vs. IM Alisa Galliamova in 1999. The place at hand is from the penultimate sport of their girls’s world championship match―and it is the ultimate victory.
Spherical 6 Beginning Place
Carlsen, Nakamura, and Anand all selected this from the three choices. Nakamura shared his perspective:
I selected this place as a result of, though I believe it is simpler for White to play, and I truly suppose White is slightly bit higher right here, Black has some benefits. Black in the long term has two bishops right here on e7 and d7. There’s some choices to attempt to assault on the queenside. If White will not be tremendous exact, I believe Black will likely be higher.
The primary routes for White to proceed are the zealous 15.g4, which was performed by Xie within the unique sport, and the positional 15.Ne2. We get the uncommon deal with of exploring each potentialities over the board. Carlsen adopted the seventh girls’s world champion’s footsteps whereas Anand selected 15.Ne2.
A dynamic battle ensued between Carlsen and Nakamura as they battled for the destiny of the event. Afterwards, Carlsen shared: “I felt like I needed to play fairly dynamically from the get-go.”
This sport secured Carlsen’s event victory with a full-point lead.
When Amin superior his queen too far into enemy place, Anand launched a lethal tactical strike. GM Rafael Leitao annotates Anand’s victory as our Recreation of the Day under.
Xie prevailed in her sport too, setting off attacking fireworks of her personal.
Although he excelled over-the-board, Carlsen discovered sport recollection to be more difficult on day two: “I’m fairly ashamed that I didn’t instantly acknowledge Kasparov-Karpov. To begin with, I used to be considering: What sort of fool places the knight on d7? … My thoughts raced to: That is most likely not such good gamers. How incorrect can one be?”
To begin with, I used to be considering: What sort of fool places the knight on d7?
―Magnus Carlsen
Nakamura mirrored on the occasion general in his YouTube recap:
I loved myself immensely. I believe this variant truly is my present favourite. Far surpassing Fischer Random in the meanwhile, just because though we ended up with contemporary positions, it is nonetheless classical chess. It is nonetheless primarily based on the historical past of what chess has been for the final 600+ years. And admittedly, the video games have been simply actually, actually inventive.
I believe this variant truly is my present favourite.
―Hikaru Nakamura
Whereas this 12 months’s Casablanca Chess celebrated the historical past of the sport, the organizers shared that subsequent 12 months they intend to discover fully novel floor―Gamers will attempt their hand at AI-generated “by no means performed earlier than” positions.
You may watch Casablanca Chess 2024 on Chess.com/TV. It’s also possible to benefit from the present on Twitch and catch reside broadcasts on YouTube. Video games from the occasion will be considered on our occasions web page.
Casablanca Chess is an occasion the place 4 star gamers play out well-known chess positions in a sequence of fast video games. The 4 invited gamers compete in a double round-robin with a 15+10 time management. Every spherical is performed with a distinct beginning place primarily based on well-known chess video games, totaling six totally different positions. Positions one, two, 4, and 5 are pre-selected by the organizers, whereas positions three and 6 are decided by spectators’ votes.
Earlier protection:
