2018 CHESS: Carlsen Retains Title By Defeating Caruana In Playoff (After 12 Draws In Standard Play)

World champion Magnus Carlsen will retain his title for another two years after defeating Fabiano Caruana 3-0 in the 2018 World Chess Championship playoffs. After twelve consecutive draws in standard play of 40 moves in 150 minutes Carlsen and Caruana were scheduled to play four games of rapid (25 minutes for each side for the entire game) with the first to 2.5 points to win the title. Carlsen swept the first three games, illustrating his dominance in quicker speed games and cementing his status as the best chess player in the world (again).

Here are the three decisive matches:

Game 1

Game 2   
Game 3   
Congrats, Magnus!

2018 World Chess Championship: Carlsen versus Caruana (London, November 9-28)

The 2018 World Chess championship is being held in London starting today and should last until November 28th or so. It is between the defending world champion 27-year-old Magnus Carlsen of Norway, and 26-year-old Fabiano Caruana of the United States. Carlsen has been the World #1 ranked chess player since 2010, and first won the World Championship by defeating Viswanathan Anand in 2013 at the age of 22.

However, Caruana is the first American player to challenge for the World Chess champion title since Bobby Fischer in 1972. This is a *big* deal and he is the real deal. I didn't know much about him but this article informed me of his bona fides.

Carlsen-Caruana is the matchup that the chess world was hoping for. It’s world No. 1 versus world No. 2—the first World Championship match between the top two since Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov went at it for the fifth and final time in 1990. Caruana only sits three Elo rating points behind Carlsen at 2832 to 2835, both the highest combined rating and the smallest ratings difference in World Championship history. If Caruana wins the match within the 12 classical games, he’ll not only take the title but also the world No. 1 spot that Carlsen has held continuously since July 2011—about which Magnus has said, “I would like to give you some boring, politically correct answer, but the truth is, yeah, it does bother me!”

This should be awesome!

Carlsen Retains World Chess Champion Title By Winning Tiebreak

Wow! On his 26th birthday, Magnus Carlsen was able to defend his world chess championship title over a challenge from Russian Sergey Karjakin by winning the 4-game rapid chess (25 minutes plus 10 seconds per move) match 3-1 today. After two draws, Carlsen won the last two games, finishing the very last game with a flashy Queen sacrifice which forces mate in two moves! (Do you see it?)

2016 World Chess Championship Tied At 6-All; Tiebreaker Games To Be Played Wednesday

The 2016 World Chess Championship is going on right now in New York City. The current champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway, who turns 26 on Wednesday while the challenger is Sergey Karjakin is already 26 and was born in the Ukraine but is representing Russia.

After 12 games (with only 2 decisive games, Karjakin won game 8 with Black while Carlsen won game 10 with white) the two are tied with 6 points each. On Wednesday, they will play in several short tiebreaker games to decide who the new World Champion is. Carlsen is expected to have the slight edge, since he has won the World Rapid Championship twice.

CHESS: Anand Wins Right To Rematch With World Champ Carlsen In 2014

Former World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand showed that he is still a force to be reckoned with by easily winning the 2014 FIDE Candidates tournament (with a  round to spare), earning him the right to a rematch for the World Chess Championship with the man who took his title last year, Magnus Carlsen.

Anand drew his 13th round game, and is currently at +3 (3 more wins than losses) for the tournament while his nearest competitors are at +0, which means there is no way they can exceed his point total regardless of the outcome of the 14th round.

44-year-old Anand will play 23-year-old Carlsen for the World Champion title in November 2014.

2013 CHENNAI WCC: Carlsen Wins Title By Defeating Anand 6.5-3.5!

The King is dead, long live the King! 22-year-old Magnus Carlsen of Norway has won the world chess championship match by defeating Viswanathan Anand 6.5 to 3.5. Carlsen won the 5th, 6th and 9th games in the 10-game match. The 9th game was the most exciting, with Anand apparently building up a huge attack and then suddenly blundering to lose the game.

Chess.com reports:

Magnus Carlsen won the 2013 World Chess Championship inChennai, India to become the 16th Undisputed World Champion of Chess. The 10th and last game of the match ended in a draw, and so the final score is 6.5-3.5 in favour of the Norwegian, who will celebrate his 23rd birthday in eight days from now.

Le roi est mort, vive le roi! Magnus Carlsen is the new World Champion of chess, and follows Viswanathan Anand's reign as undisputed world champion between 2007 and 2013. From the traditional lineage of chess players who won the crown in a match, Carlsen is the 16th champion after Wilhelm Steinitz, Emanuel Lasker, José Capablanca, Alexander Alekhine, Max Euwe, Mikhail Botvinnik, Vassily Smyslov, Mikhail Tal, Tigran Petrosjan, Boris Spassky, Robert Fischer, Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik and Viswanathan Anand. If we include FIDE World Champions Alexander Khalifman, Ruslam Ponomariov, Rustam Kasimdzhanov and Veselin Topalov, Carlsen is the 20th Champion of the game.

Congratulations to Magnus on his victory!

2013 CHENNAI WCC: Carlsen Leads Anand 4-2 At Halfway Point

The Word Chess Championships is currently going on in Chennai, India between Vishy Anand and Magnus Carlsen. The 22-year-old Carlsen is challenging the defending champion who is almost twice his age. The match is at the halfway point, and after beginning with four draws disaster has struck for Anand with two consecutive losses, one with black, and more ominously, one with white. (Generally among elite chess players having white and the right to play first is considered a tangible advantage.)

Here are the two games Anand has lost, starting with Game 6:

and Game 5


It is hard to see how Anand comes back from a 0-2 deficit. There are only 6 games left. Basically he would have to do to Carlsen what what Carlsen did to him. Presumably Carlsen will be trying to draw the remaining games, while Anand will be desperately trying to win (which may lead to another loss.)

It should be noted that Garry Kasparov also won the World Championship when he was 22, and dominated chess for the next decade. We may be seeing history repeat itself....

2013 CHENNAI: Anand-Carlsen World Chess Championship Starts Soon!

The highly anticipated world championship chess match between defending champion Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen is starting soon. 22-year-old Carlsen is the #1 rated player in the world, with an astonishing rating of 2862 while 43-year-old Anand has been at the top of the chess world for well over a decade, considered the world champion since 2007. Anand's current rating is 2779 and he is ranked #9 on the latest world chess rankings.

The 12-game match is happening in Chennai, India (the capital city of the state ofTamil Nadu) where Anand was born and raised. Most people, including former World Champion Garry Kasparov, believe that Carlsen will win, but everyone expects a tough, exciting contest.

CNBC reports:

"We have youthful energy and exuberance from one of the greatest chess prodigies of all time pitted against age and experience. Since I am considerably older than the defending world champion, there is a part of me who wouldn't mind seeing age and experience do OK," said [Wall Street financier Chris] Flowers, who is 56. 

Besides being so far apart in age, the competitors are also far apart in style. [Harvard Economics Professor Kenneth] Rogoff used a tennis analogy to compare the two. 

"Anand has the bigger serve, and Carlsen is more of the baseline, persistent player," he said. "Carlsen in particular just has an indomitable will to win. He aims for quiet positions where nothing seems to be going on and says, 'Well, nothing's going on, but you're going to lose.' Whereas Anand sparkles at everything, but particularly in very complicated positions, and he'll try to steer Carlsen into these messier things, where Carlsen maybe has less of an edge than in simpler positions."

Since I personally know Anand and used to play in similar tournaments with him decades ago I am rooting for him, but I think it will be hard for him to withstand the challenge from his youthful opponent.

You can follow the matches online at chennai2013.fide.com.

Top 10 Chess Players in the World for March 2011

The Top 10 rating list for March 2011 has been released by the World Chess Federation and there are some surprises. Current World Champion Vishy Anand has returned to the top of the list, dethroning Norwegian wunderkind Magnus Carlsen by gaining 7 rating points to Carlsen's 1 since the last list. Rounding out the "super-duper grandmaster" level of 2800 is Levin Aronian of Armenia. Also, American Hikaru Nakamura vaults into the Top 10 for the first time, increasing a  remarkable 23 points, with his recent excellent tournament results.

Here's the list:

Rank	Name	Title	Country	Rating	Games	B-Year
1	Anand, Viswanathan	g	IND	2817	13	1969
2	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2815	13	1990
3	Aronian, Levon	g	ARM	2808	13	1982
4	Kramnik, Vladimir	g	RUS	2785	13	1975
5	Ivanchuk, Vassily	g	UKR	2779	19	1969
6	Karjakin, Sergey	g	RUS	2776	0	1990
7	Topalov, Veselin	g	BUL	2775	0	1975
8	Nakamura, Hikaru	g	USA	2774	13	1987
9	Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar	g	AZE	2772	0	1985
10	Grischuk, Alexander	g	RUS	2747	13	1983

American Chess Player Wins Tourney Ahead of World's Best

GM Hikaru Nakamura, 23, is the world's #10 chess player

American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura has won the prestigious super Grand Master tournament held in Wijk ann Zee, the Netherlands, ahead of the top 4 ranked players in the world:  Magnus Carlsen, Viswanathan Anand, Levon Aronian and Vladimir Kramnik . Carlsen is the world's top-ranked player and Anand and Kramnik have both won the world chess championship.


Former world champion Garry Kasparov called it "maybe the best performance by an American in  100 years." The New York Times Gambit blogger disputed this remark, but did call it "one of the best results by an American in decades."

Nakamura won the Tata Steel Chess with 6 wins, 6 draws and 1 loss (to Carlsen), or 9 points, half a point ahead of Anand, with World #3 Aronian and World #4 back at 8 points.

Congrats to Hikaru!

Hat/tip to Susan Polgar.

Anand Regains World #1 Chess Rating

Despite finishing second in the latest super grandmaster tournament in Bilbao, Spain, world champion Viswanathan Anand has regained the World #1 ranking he had previously lost to Norweggian wunderkind Magnus Carlsen.


Former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik finished first, with Anand second, Carlsen 3rd and Shirov fourth, at the 2010 Bilbao Masters Final; the chess tournament had the highest average participant rating of all time.

Carlsen has had a bit of a dip lately, losing rating points to fall to 2802, while Anand's rating is now at 2803. They are the only active players to be above 2800 rating. A Super grandmaster (unofficial title) rating is considered to be around 2650.

Carlsen Reaches 2nd Highest Chess Rating Ever At 2830

Magnus Carlsen, the World's #1 returned to tournament action after a three month lay-off during which Viswanathan Anand defended his World Chess Championship and crushed the competition at the King's Tournament in Romania by winning 5 and drawing 5 games for a ridonculous 2918 performance rating. The result will extend Carlsen's already top-ranked rating to 2830.

That is the second highest rating in history. Only former World Champion (and Carlsen mentor) Garry Kasparov has ever been ranked higher, at 2851 (back in 1999). Carlsen is only 19 and still improving. Some commentators believe his actual rating may end up exceeding 2900.

Anand-Topalov World Championship Tied 1.5-1.5

The world chess championship between 35-year-old Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria and defending champion Viswanathan Anand of India, 40, began on Sunday in Sofia and surprisingly the first two games have ended decisively (most super-grandmaster matches are draws). You can see Game 1, Game 2 and Game 3 online.

Both players have been ranked World #1 and achieved stratospheric ratings of above 2800 (most super grandmasters have ratings around 2650-2750 and only 5 people have ever exceeded 2800) but Norwegian phenom Magnus Carlsen has recently become the youngest player to top the rankings.

The match is taking place in Topalov's home town and he is currently slightly higher rated (2805 to 2787) with a +1 advantage in the forty-four games they have played against each other (23 draws). Most expect Topalov to win, but I have my money on Anand.

Go, Vishy!

Carlsen Tops World Chess Ratings With 2810

1	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2810	16	1990
2	Topalov, Veselin	g	BUL	2805	4	1975
3	Anand, Viswanathan	g	IND	2790	9	1969
4	Kramnik, Vladimir	g	RUS	2788	16	1975
5	Aronian, Levon	g	ARM	2781	17	1982
6	Gelfand, Boris	g	ISR	2761	25	1968
7	Gashimov, Vugar	g	AZE	2759	21	1986
8	Ivanchuk, Vassily	g	UKR	2749	13	1969
9	Wang, Yue	g	CHN	2749	8	1987
10	Svidler, Peter	g	RUS	2744	27	1976

The January 1, 2010 FIDE rating list is out and chess wunderkind Magnus Carlsen is at the #1 position with 2810 points ahead of former World Champion Veselin Topalov
at 2805 and current World Champion Visnwanathan Anand at 2790. Only 5 players in history have ever broken the 2800 rating barrier (Carlsen, Topalov, Anand, Kramnik and Garry Kasparov.) The top American player is Hikaru Nakamura at #28.

Happy 19th Birthday to World's #1 Chess Player, Magnus Carlsen!

Today, November 30th, is Magnus Carlsen's 19th birthday. Carlsen, the teen grandmaster from Norway is currently the World's highest rated chess player, and is also the youngest person to reach that mark.

From The New York Times:

Mr. Carlsen, who turns 19 on Nov. 30, is only the seventh No. 1-ranked player since the ranking system began in 1970. Garry Kasparov, the Russian former world champion, became No. 1 in January 1984, when he was 20 years and 9 months old. He held the spot for 18 months, lost it, and then regained it and held it for 20 consecutive years before retiring in March 2005.

The other players to be No. 1 are all former world champions, including Bobby Fischer, Anatoly Karpov, Vladimir Kramnik and Viswanathan Anand.

Rankings are based on cumulative performances, measured by something called a rating. Mr. Carlsen’s rating is now 2,806, and Mr. Topalov’s is 2,805. Mr. Anand, 39, the current world champion, finished in a tie for fourth in Moscow and is now No. 3, with a rating of 2,790.

Although he is the world's highest rated player, Carlsen can not become World Champion for a few years. In April, Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria and defending champion Viswanathan Anand of India will play a world championship match of several games in Sofia, Bulgaria to determine the next World Champion. Carlsen is expected by many to become World Champion in the next few years.

18-year-old Becomes 5th Chess Player Over 2800 Rating

Teen chess sensation Magnus Carlsen of Norway blew away the field in Nanjing, China by winning 6 games and drawing the rest for an amazing 8 points out of 10, a full 2 1/2 points ahead of the top-ranked player in the world, Veselin Topalov. Most tournaments at this level are won by a 1/2 point or 1 point.

Carlsen's victory gives him an insane performance rating of 3002 and an actual rating of 2801, which is only the fifth time in history anyone will have had a published rating above 2800. At 18, Carlsen is far younger than Garry Kasparov, Viswanathan Anand, Topalov and Vladimir Kramnik who have achieved this feat (and all of these players have been World Champion, with Anand currently scheduled to defend his title against Topalov in a match scheduled for next year).

Already most chess columnists are speculating on when, not if, Carlsen will become the first Western chess champion since Bobby Fischer. Interestingly, Kasparov, who retired in March 2005 from chess to focus on politics in Russia has recently been coaching Carlsen and the Norwegian's results have been spectacular ever since.

Topalov Wins Super GM Tournament and Regains #1 Ranking

Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria placed first at the Grand Slam Final Masters tournament in Bilbao, Spain, winning 150,000 Euros (over US$200,000) by winning 4 games, drawing 5 and losing only once (+3). World Champion Viswanahan Anand had one of his worst tournament in years, placing last with 8 draws and two losses (-2) in a field of six super Grand Masters. Danish wunderkind, 17(!)-year-old Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian tied for second place, with Carlsen having beaten Aronian both times they played in the double round-robin tournament. The other competitors were Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine and Teimour Radjabov of Azerbaijan.

By winning the tournament, Topalov will return to the top of the World Chess Federation rankings, which he had previously led from April 2006 until March of last year, when Anand reached #1 for the first time. Prior to March 2005, Garry Kasparov had been World #1 for nearly a decade.

Anand's poor performance may be due to the fact he was trying to hide whatever he has been preparing for his World Championship title bout with Vladimir Kramnik next month in Bonn, Germany with 1.5 million Euros at stake. Interestingly, Kramnik and Anand have played 125 times with Anand winning 19 games, losing 15 and drawing 91(!) times.

Anand Wins Linares-Morelia for 2nd Consecutive Year

This news came out a few weeks ago, but I think it's important to post here as well.

GM Viswanathan Anand of India, won the 25th edition of the Morelia/Linares super grandmaster tournament. The current World Champion, one of the two top-ranked players in the world, finished a half point (+4-1=9) ahead of GM Magnus Carlsen (Norway, +5-3=6). Carlsen, 17 years old, finished a half point ahead of GMs Levon Aronian (Armenia, +3-2=9) and Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria, +5-4=5).

Anand Leads Linares-Morelia 2008

World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand is currently leading the famous Linares-Morelia super-tournament at the halfway point by a half point with a score of 4.5/7. Last year, Anand became the world's highest rated player after he won Linares XXIV by a full point with a score of 8.5/14.

Linares is a tournament where the eight strongest players in the world are invited to compete in a double round-robin tournament (where everyone plays each other twice, once with Light pieces, and another with Dark pieces). The first seven games are played in Linares, Spain and the second half is played in Morelia, Mexico.

This year's tournament has World #3 Veselin Topalov, 17-year-old phenom World #13 Magnus Carlsen of Norway, World #9 Vassily Ivanchuk, World #10 Levon Arounian, World #8 Peter Leko, World #12 Teimour Radjabov and World #7 Alexei Shirov. Curiously, former World Champion and World #2 Vladimir Kramnik has skipped Linares for the second year in a row.

The New York Times chess blog Gambit has excellent coverage of the tournament as well as a very cool plug-in which allows one to view the games with annotations. Years ago Mad Professah used to be a chess player on the international circuit as a teenager and attended a few of the same junior tournaments as Anand "back in the day." We were usually the only two non-white people in the room.