Magnus Carlsen has won first prize in the elite Tata Steel tournament at Wijk aan Zee, Holland. Leading scores out of 13 were Carlsen 9, then Giri, So, Ding Liren and Vachier-Lagrave all in hot pursuit half a point behind. This week’s puzzle shows a crucial variation from one of Carlsen’s best wins. The player who made the greatest mark, apart from the world champion, was 20-year-old Anish Giri, who is maturing into a truly dangerous prospect, notching up himself a four-game winning streak. I kick off this week with a Giri victory from London against a former world champion.
Giri-Kramnik: London Classic Rapidplay 2014
In this last example from the Rapidplay, the former world champion Vladimir Kramnik takes opportunism a bridge too far. Spotting a tactical opportunity to win a pawn, he fails to realise that White’s compensating counterplay permits an attacking tsunami which later sweeps away his own kingside fortifications.
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