Magnus Carlsen suffered a rare double defeat in classical chess this week at Wijk aan Zee, the “chess Wimbledon”. On Tuesday the 32-year-old Norwegian resigned to the Netherlands No 1 and world No 5, Anish Giri, whose only previous win against the world No 1 in classical chess was 12 years ago to the day, also at Wijk.
Two days later, after Wednesday’s rest day, Carlsen lost again, beaten by the fast rising 18-year-old from Uzbekistan, Nodirbek Abdusattorov. It was the first time for more than seven years that Carlsen had lost two classical games in a row, and it took him down to 10th place out of the 13 grandmasters at Wijk.
The Giri v Carlsen opening was a Queen’s Indian 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 b6 where Giri succeeded in reaching a position as White where Carlsen himself had won as White in a 2008 game. In a complex position without queens the Norwegian’s fatal error was 23…Rxd7? when Ne5! would have held. After that error Black’s game went downhill until Carlsen resigned faced with losing material after 35…Rd7 36 Bb6.
Carlsen said later: “All in all, Giri played well. The worst thing is that I didn’t feel unwell today, so I have no excuses. It was just a risky choice and something I overlooked that he exploited. It’s not too much of a crisis. I just have to pull myself together, play well and there’s still a long way to go. But obviously, today was not good.”
After Wednesday’s rest day, round five on Thursday provided another stunning defeat when Carlsen resigned his marathon queen and pawn ending to Abdusattorov after 60 moves. The fast rising 18-year-old, who won the 2021 World Rapid ahead of Carlsen, led Uzbekistan to Olympiad gold last year, and has been rewarded for his exploits with a car and a flat by an appreciative government, is a serious and dedicated young man whose personality is reminiscent of the Soviet chess patriarch and world champion Mikhail Botvinnik.
Carlsen had not lost two classical games in succession since Stavanger 2015 and the double defeat will raise questions about the wisdom of his controversial decision to opt out of defending his world classical crown. There are seven rounds to go at Wijk, one of his favourite tournaments, so a comeback is still mathematically possible even if psychologically and practically unlikely.
Two rounds before beating Carlsen, Giri had demonstrated extraordinarily deep preparation against Dommaraju Gukesh, the 16-year-old Olympiad gold medallist. The key move was 13 Rc1-c2! preparing to double rooks on the e file, followed by the knight sacrifice 18 Neg5! (still in homework), the rook sacrifice 19 Rxe6! and the quiet 22 Qf5! This did not end the game but reached a position where White’s queen and bishop could outplay Black’s two rooks, bishop and knight.
Giri’s reputation has hitherto been as a draw specialist but this brilliancy reminded commentators of Mikhail Tal, widely regarded as the most spectacular player of all time. In particular, Giri v Gukesh has a resemblance to Tal’s win over Oscar Panno at Portoroz 1958, where Tal’s queen also triumphed against the Argentine grandmaster’s rook, bishop and knight. Giri’s game makes the bigger impression, for he not only won against two rooks rather than one, but also scored faster and more elegantly.
Friday’s sixth round was quieter and five of the seven games were drawn, including Carlsen’s Sicilian Defence against his aide and 2021 Wijk winner, Jorden van Foreest. The two winners were the US champion, Fabiano Caruana, and his US countryman Wesley So, who both defeated teenage opponents and joined the frontrunners.
After six of the 13 rounds, the leaders at Wijk were Abdusattorov (Uzb) 4.5/6, Giri (Neth) and Caruana (US) 4/6, So and Levon Aronian (both US) and Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa (Ind) 3.5/6. Carlsen was back in 10th place with 2.5/6. Abdusattorov, 18, and Praggnanandhaa, 17, are spearheading the advance of the new teenage generation.
Astana, Kazakhstan, will host the 14-game Ding Liren v Ian Nepomniachtchi world championship match from 7 April to 1 May. Carlsen has renounced his title, citing his increasing distaste for the months of preparation beforehand. According to Fide, the other contenders to host the match were Argentina, Mexico, and China. Kazakhstan has a proven record in staging Fide events, including last month’s World Rapid and World Blitz. The prize fund is €2m, the same as 2021, split 60-40, or 55-45 if it goes to rapid tie-breaks.
Fide describes the match sponsor as “Nasdaq-listed firm Freedom Holding Corp, a US-based corporation with Kazakh roots that provides financial services”. FHC’s founder, the Moscow-born billionaire Timur Turlov, 35, has been a Kazakh resident since 2011. He gave up his Russian citizenship after the invasion of Ukraine, and is now the head of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation. Freedom Holding Corp was the major sponsor of last month’s World Rapid and Blitz, both won by Carlsen. A normal afternoon local time start to the playing sessions would translate to 10am in London and the small hours in the US, so the games may take place in the evenings.
3851: 1 Rxd5+! exd5 (1…Ke8 avoids mate, but White wins easily with his extra piece) 2 Bf5+ Ke8 3 Re1+ Be2 4 Rxe2 mate.
