Magnus Carlsen’s SG Alpine Warriors, where none of the six grandmasters represents an Alpine nation, and Vishy Anand’s Ganges Grandmasters, where the Chennai legend is the only Indian, were joint leaders after six of the 10 qualifying rounds leading up to Sunday’s final of the franchise-based Tech Mahindra Global Chess League (GCL), but the race remained close.
Carlsen has appeared clean-shaven, assured and vigorous, a contrast to last month at Stavanger where he was hirsute and moody and had one of the worst setbacks of his career. Alpine Warriors include three of India’s best teen talents, and the now former world champion but still world No 1 has slipped easily into the role of mentor, passing on nuggets of high-class advice.
Carlsen’s most successful pupil has been Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, as the 17-year-old stormed to 6.5/7, while in contrast Dommaraju Gukesh, also 17, who had been heading towards the world top, scored his worst result in a long while, as tactical oversights led to a disastrous 1/7.
China’s Wei Yi has been a revelation so far. A decade ago the now 24-year-old seemed a potential world champion as he became the youngest ever, at 15, to reach a 2700 rating. His advance then hit a ceiling, he played little outside China, and he appeared solemn and uncommunicative.
At Dubai, Wei Yi seems to be enjoying chess again. Photos show him joking with his teammates, and he began with 3.5/4, launched by an imaginative attack crowned by an unlikely bishop sacrifice.
The GCL has attracted a galaxy of high-class players, but one name is conspicuously absent. After China’s newly crowned world champion Ding Liren disappointed at Bucharest last month, he withdrew from the Superbet Rapid/Blitz where he would have faced Carlsen. Ding was then announced as one of the top boards for the GCL in Dubai, but was replaced at short notice by Levon Aronian.
Ding will again be absent from next week’s Grand Tour Rapid/Blitz in Zagreb, Croatia, so turning down yet another chance to take on Carlsen, and will also be missing from next month’s 2023 World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan, where he would have been top seeded as reigning world champion with a possible meeting with the Norwegian in the final.
Ding has no tournaments currently listed for his next appearance. However, in the course of a long interview in the just-published issue of New in Chess magazine, he stated: “Argentina wants to organise a rapid and Chess960 match between us [he and Carlsen] at the end of this year. I am interested. Let’s see.”
For the moment, fans are likely to allow Ding some slack as a newly crowned world champion, but the mood could change, especially if a clear rival emerges from the established top 10 players and rising talents.
In the late 1960s, when Tigran Petrosian was a disappointing official world champion while Bobby Fischer, Boris Spassky and Bent Larsen were all performing impressively, opinion quickly turned hostile.
On Tuesday, a Missouri court dismissed Hans Niemann’s $100m lawsuit against Magnus Carlsen and others, but left the door open for the libel and slander part of the case to be renewed elsewhere. It has since been reported that Niemann’s lawyers plan to do exactly that, hence the long-running saga is far from over.
Meanwhile, Niemann has competed in several strong Opens, with performances averaging a little below 2700, the level of the world top 40. At his latest performance, at Las Vegas earlier this month, the 20-year-old American won his first five games, drew the last four, then won a tie-break.
Niemann’s round five win was against an English opponent, GM Dan Fernandez. Black’s final move was Ke6-f7 winning both White’s pawns, and not Ke6-e5 as shown.
England’s Michael Adams is currently competing in the Sparkassen Open at Dortmund, which a decade ago was the scene for one of his best career performances. This week Adams began strongly with impressive second and third round wins. Dortmund, where IM Matthew Wadsworth has a chance of a GM norm, has its final round on Sunday.
3874 1 f4! White follows up by Kf2-e3, g2-g3, then transfers the king to b4 before playing Ne7, after which the black rook at f5 has no escape from capture and White wins easily with rook v bishop.
