In training

In my column of 26 April I suggested that the new world champion Magnus Carlsen was in need of some stiff opposition in preparation for his title defence, scheduled for later this year. Since winning the championship six months ago, Carlsen has been indulging himself with a series of PR events and victories against (by his standards) minor opponents. With a resurgent Anand having qualified to challenge for the title he lost last year, it was high time Carlsen sharpened his wits to ready himself for his next encounter with an opponent who seems even more dangerous than before.
 
Carlsen duly agreed to compete in the memorial tournament for Vugar Gashimov, whose life and achievements were being celebrated posthumously in Shamkir, Azerbaijan. The interesting thing about this tournament was that two players, Karjakin and Mamedyarov, who had done well in the world qualifier were in the lists. So were Caruana and Nakamura, whom many experts believed should have been included in the Candidates tournament that determined Carlsen’s challenger.
 
As it was, the Gashimov Memorial became a fascinating test of strength. Carlsen emerged triumphant, the final scores (out of 10) being Carlsen 6½; Caruana 5½; Radjabov, Karjakin and Nakamura 5; Mamedyarov 3. Carlsen got off to a flying start, defeating Nakamura and Mamedyarov and coming close to victory against Karjakin. Then, just before the mid-point of the tournament, the world champion appeared to succumb to a bout of overconfidence and lost in succession to Caruana and Radjabov.
 
He pulled himself together to score 4 points from the last 5 rounds, finishing a point clear of his closest rival.
 
Nakamura-Carlsen; Gashimov Memorial, Shamkir 2014
 
We join this tense situation from Carlsen’s second game against Nakamura where Black has a powerful passed b-pawn but White is threatening both Black’s advanced rook and the pawn itself, which can be rounded up by the manoeuvre Ra2 followed by capturing on b2. 42 … Rd2 Black has two alternatives. 42 … b3 is the best since 43 Nxc2 bxc2 is a disaster for White while 43 Nc6, which both players had considered an adequate defence, is refuted by the ingenious variation 43 … Nf3+ 44 Kg3 Nd2 45 Rxb2 Re8 46 Rxc2 bxc2 47 Ra1 Nb1 when Black wins. Another idea, proposed to me by the Devon chess enthusiast Peter Wylie, is 42 … Rbc8 43 Nxc2 Rxc2 44 Ra2 Nd3. This looks terrifying for White but he has the resource 45 e5 dxe5 46 Ra8+ Kg7 47 d6 when White is winning. 43 Nc6 Re8 44 Ra4 Nd3 45 Nxb4 Nf2 46 Ra2 Nd1 47 Rxd1 Rxd1 48 Rxb2 Rxe4 The rest is just mopping up. 49 Nc6 Kg7 50 f6+ Kxf6 51 Rf2+ Kg6 52 Nd8 Re8 White resigns
 
Ultimately, Carlsen won the Gashimov Memorial with 70 per cent decisive games. Undoubtedly chess fans will welcome the new mood of bellicosity at the top.