Latest news with #JobavaLondonSystem
News18
20-07-2025
- Sport
- News18
Koneru Humpy Makes History! Becomes First Indian Woman To...
Having won the first game with the white pieces, Humpy needed only a draw in the second to move forward—and she delivered under pressure, navigating a complex battle to wrap up the match 1.5–0.5. Humpy One Step from Candidates Qualification By reaching the semifinals, Humpy is now guaranteed at least a fourth-place finish. That gives her two opportunities to secure a top-three spot, which would qualify her for the next Women's Candidates Tournament—a key step on the road to the World Championship. The all-Indian quarterfinal between Grandmaster D Harika and International Master Divya Deshmukh ended in a draw on Sunday, meaning the match will be decided via rapid and blitz tie-break games scheduled for Monday. Like their first encounter, Sunday's game reached a drawn rook-and-pawn endgame after Harika opted for a solid approach with the white pieces. The balanced result sets the stage for an intense final showdown to decide who joins Humpy in the semifinals. Grandmaster R Vaishali's campaign came to an end as she lost to former Women's World Champion Tan Zhongyi of China. Vaishali had drawn the first game but suffered defeat in the second, thus losing the match 0.5–1.5. Although Vaishali managed to reach a promising position in the middlegame, a single misstep gave Tan the initiative. Despite some late chances, Vaishali was unable to find the precise moves needed to save the game. China's top seed Tingjie Lei also advanced to the semifinals with a clean 2–0 win over Nana Dzagnidze of Georgia, joining compatriot Tan and Humpy in the final four. Yuxin Song needed a win to stay in contention and chose the Jobava London System, a modern and aggressive opening favored by many top players. Humpy calmly neutralized the early initiative and then boldly sacrificed two pawns to shift the momentum. Despite having some positional hopes, Song's compromised pawn structure—three pawns stacked on one file—left her vulnerable. Humpy counterattacked effectively in the center, regained the sacrificed material, and steered the game into a balanced rook-and-pawn endgame. Song pressed for 53 moves but could not break through, eventually accepting the draw that sealed her elimination. Quarterfinal Results
Hindustan Times
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Magnus Carlsen edges Gukesh in thrilling Norway Chess 2025 encounter: The Mozart of chess strikes again!
In a nail-biting encounter at the prestigious Norway Chess 2025 tournament, Magnus Carlsen once again demonstrated why he's considered the "Mozart of Chess," converting a seemingly drawn position into a dramatic victory against the formidable 18-year-old World Champion D. Gukesh. The game, played under the rules - no draws before move 30, Armageddon tie-breaks and a 700,000 NOK prize for the winner, captivated audiences as both players battled fiercely down to the wire. The game kicked off with Carlsen's preferred 1.d4, met by Gukesh's Carlsen quickly transitioned into a Jobava London System setup with Nc3 and Bf4, aiming for a flexible setup and potential attacks on Black's c7 pawn. Gukesh, showing early maturity, responded with c5, directly challenging White's central control and preventing any immediate knight infiltrations. As chess wisdom dictates, control of the center is paramount, and both players were keen to establish their dominance. Carlsen's e3 solidified his central pawn structure, while Gukesh developed his light-squared bishop to Bg4, a standard move in such positions. While engines might have suggested f3 to kick the bishop, Carlsen opted for the seemingly modest Be2, initiating a trade that puzzled many. "I just realised I don't know anything," Carlsen later confessed regarding Gukesh's Bg4 move, admitting he played a "wussiest way possible" by trading bishops. This early decision revealed Carlsen's willingness to step out of comfortable theory and create a complex game where his superior intuition and endgame prowess could shine. The mid-game saw both players complete their minor piece development and castle (or prepare to, in Carlsen's case). Carlsen's Qe2 kept his options open for castling kingside or queenside, hinting at a potential pawn storm on the kingside. Gukesh, meanwhile, adopted a more passive stance with h6, prompting Carlsen to ponder between an aggressive h4 or a solid Rd1. Magnus Carlsen's candid admissions from the "Confession Room" provided a fascinating glimpse into his thought process. Before playing Rd1, he revealed his deep calculations, exploring multiple lines and considering various tactical and strategic possibilities. His assessment of the position and Gukesh's ideas showcased his legendary ability to "see" many moves ahead, even if he often downplays his calculative prowess. This internal monologue highlighted his mastery of positional understanding and his constant search for hidden potential, even in seemingly "quiet and dull" positions. As the game progressed, Carlsen's patience paid off. He unleashed the much-anticipated h4, signaling his intent to launch a kingside attack. Gukesh, unfazed, continued his queenside aspirations with Qa4, aiming to create counterplay. The tension escalated as Carlsen centralized his knight with Ne5, leading to an exchange of knights and then bishops, simplifying the position. However, Carlsen's refusal to trade queens with Qf3 underscored his determination to keep the game complex and avoid an early draw. A chess principal, "you don't do what your opponent wants you to do." This decision proved crucial, as it prevented Gukesh from simplifying to a comfortable endgame. The endgame arrived with Carlsen sacrificing his bishop to recapture on f4 with his queen, further simplifying the material but maintaining a dynamic position. Gukesh, under pressure, made a crucial error by pushing e5 first instead of taking on d4, allowing Carlsen to slide his queen to g3 and threaten mate. While Gukesh averted immediate disaster by trading queens, the resulting endgame heavily favored Carlsen. With queens off the board, the game transitioned into a Rook and Knight endgame. Carlsen's superior pawn structure and the activity of his pieces slowly but surely gave him an advantage. He masterfully doubled his rooks on the a-file, creating threats and forcing Gukesh to react. In a heart-stopping finale, with both players down to their last minutes, Gukesh, under immense time pressure, blundered with Qh6 instead of the drawing Rg2. Carlsen, with mere seconds on his clock, seized the opportunity with incredible precision, delivering a decisive blow with Re6+. Gukesh, realizing the hopeless position, resigned. This victory is a testament to Carlsen's unyielding spirit and his ability to conjure wins from the faintest of advantages. Even when engines declared the position a draw, Carlsen continued to press, pushing his opponent to the brink and ultimately capitalizing on their mistakes. His relentless pursuit of victory, combined with his supreme endgame technique and icy nerves under pressure, once again cemented his status as the undisputed King of Chess. The "Mozart of Chess" truly orchestrated a masterpiece yesterday.
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First Post
27-05-2025
- Sport
- First Post
Magnus Carlsen declares himself 'king' of chess, drops masterclass to outshine world champion D Gukesh: 'You best not miss'
After winning his match against chess world champions D Gukesh, Magnus Carlsen didn't hold back in saying that it would take much more than winning the world championship to beat him. read more World No.1 Magnus Carlsen declared himself the 'king' of chess after beating world champion D Gukesh in their first classical meeting since the Indian Grandmaster ascended to the top of the chess world. Gukesh had become the youngest chess world champion of all time last December after beating Ding Liren of China. Since then, a match between Gukesh and five-time world champion Carlsen in classical format was highly anticipated and it finally took place on Monday at the Norway Chess 2025 in Stavanger. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In the first match of the tournament, Carlsen had the white pieces advantage, but he opted for a Jobava London System (1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Bf4), which surprised one and all. Calsen pulls off surprise at start With Carlsen choosing one of the relatively easiest openings, Gukesh found himself with an advantage, but the match moved at snail's pace. 'I tried to surprise him. But I was surprised myself. I responded with the most squeamish move', Carlsen said in the confessional box early in the game. He also admitted in the box that the match was 'boring'. Despite enjoying an early edge, Gukesh struggled to control the game and by move 18, Carlsen was ahead on the evaluation bar. Gukesh, who hails from Chennai, however, did well to bring himself back before the end game. But the time pressure had its say on Gukesh's game as he blundered on move 46. He opted to check with his queen (46…Qh6+) instead of the more accurate rook check (46…Rg2+). After move 51, Gukesh had no place to hide. Carlsen's king and rook coordinated a series of checks, and with no escape in sight, the reigning world champion was forced to resign. Carlsen celebrates win over Gukesh with famous quote Carlsen had questioned Gukesh's world championship win and using the classical format to decide the world champion in December, but he surely enjoyed the victory over the reigning world champion. He was quick to share a post on X, which included a famous quote from an HBO series, The Wire. It read: 'You come at the king, you best not miss.' A great quote from The Wire — Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) May 26, 2025 STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Talking to Take Take Take after the match, Carlsen said he was happy to come out as a winner after a frantic end game. 'I don't know if you should call it old school or more new because there were very little theories and by no means better, but I think we both wanted to fight. Eventually, I wasn't too happy to get into the end game because there's a little bit of imbalance there, but I think he did well for a while, we got into a position where both have passed pawns and then anything can happen,' Carlsen said. Discussing Gukesh's blunder on move 46, he said: 'When he played that, I wasn't sure if he was losing or not, but I thought he needed to give me a check with his rook and have an easier perpetual check." Carlsen also had a good reason for picking a 'random' first move, as he wanted to force Gukesh into trying out something new, away from traditional openings. 'These are no good openings to be played with white these days especially against someone who has prepared for the World Championship match. You just got to play something and that was my choice for today but I was surprised and honestly I just wanted to play a random first move because it's not going to be better. But this worked out decently well,' Carlsen added. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In an interview with Norwegian TV2, Carlsen also said that he did not expect to win the match and felt it was heading for a draw. Well, it didn't end in a draw as the world No.1 secured a famous win, highlighting his chess prowess and the need for Gukesh to keep developing his game.
Indian Express
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Magnus Carlsen after beating Gukesh at Norway Chess: ‘You come at the king, you best not miss'
'You come at the king, you best not miss' That was the message Magnus Carlsen, who abdicated the world champion's throne two years back, posted on his X account after he forced the reigning world champion Gukesh to resign in 55 moves on Monday in the first round of the Norway Chess tournament. Carlsen's quote — invoking the memorable fictional character Omar Little (played by the actor Michael Kenneth Williams) on the HBO show The Wire — was an unsubtle message for the teenager from India who currently wears the world champion's crown. The game had seen Gukesh's queen and his rook try and ambush Carlsen's king for a few moves before a single-move blunder from Gukesh had turned the tables. When it was Carlsen's turn to have a go at Gukesh's king, he did not miss. One of the most keenly anticipated clashes of the year — the first time world champion Gukesh was playing world no 1 Carlsen in classical chess after his ascent to the throne — ended as a win for the Norwegian. It was a spicy culmination to a day that started with Carlsen trying to catch Gukesh off guard more than once right at the start. For one, the game started with a 'Magnus Gambit' from the Norwegian. It's an informal name given to Carlsen's tactic to play mind games with the opponent by occasionally turning up late for his games. It's a maneuver that Garry Kasparov once tried against Carlsen when the Norwegian was just 13 — and not even a grandmaster. On Monday, the former world champion from Norway power walked his way a little later than he should have into the playing hall. In fact, while all of the other five games had already had their ceremonial first moves from guests, Carlsen was still getting wanded by the tournament's fairplay team. Then, when he did make it to the board and the clock was started by Gukesh, Carlsen again took a minute adjusting his pieces, taking a swig of water, and scribbling on the scoresheet. Gukesh, in sharp contrast to his opponent, was the first player to take his seat on the board on Monday among the 12 players in the open and the women's sections. After some Nadal-esque tinkering by millimetres of the paraphernalia in front of him — the chess pieces, his accreditation card, and with the scoresheet — Gukesh sat there for a long time, his stare transfixed on the board. The gathered audience jostled for photos of the world champion at the board. Players sauntered past him and took their spots. Ju Wenjun and Lei Tingjie were overcome with a bout of very audible giggles as both their chairs comically plummeted while they fiddled with their adjustment levers. Amidst all this, Gukesh sat there, his facade as wooden as the pieces he was staring at. Carlsen wasn't done trying to catch Gukesh off guard though. He pulled out the aggressive Jobava London System (1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Bf4) against his young quarry. 'I'm a bit surprised to see him play it in classical format, but Magnus can play anything,' said Arjun Erigaisi in the confessional room where players can share their unfiltered thoughts in the middle of a game. 'It has become quite famous, but not necessarily in classical chess.' 'These are no good openings to be played with white these days,' Carlsen later said while explaining his opening choice in an interview with Take Take Take app after the win, '…especially against someone who has prepared for the World Championship match. You might as well play a random first move because it's not going to be better. But this worked out decently well.' In the middle of the game, Carlsen made a pit-stop into the confessional booth to declare that the game had been 'quite dull'. But by the end, the action had significantly un-dulled itself. The end came right after there was a frantic race between Carlsen's f pawn and Gukesh's h pawn to promote to queens. There were critical game-saving moves to be made with the time trickling down to 10 seconds at times. In the end, the game swung with a blunder from Gukesh on move 46. By the 43rd move, Gukesh was down a knight but he still had the game under control. But on move 46, with just 10 seconds left on his clock, he blundered by delivering a check with his queen rather than his rook (playing 46… Qh6+ rather than 46… Rg2+). 'When he played that, I wasn't sure if he was losing or not, but I thought he needed to give me a check with his rook and have an easier perpetual check (when you keep endlessly giving checks to your opponent's king),' Carlsen added. By the 51st move, checkmate was unavoidable for Gukesh. Carlsen's king and his rook took turns to harass Gukesh's king with checks for a few moves before the reigning world champion threw in the towel. Carlsen admitted that it 'felt a bit random' that he won the game. Talking to TV2 in Norwegian after his win, Carlsen said something to the effect of, 'I don't know how I won this game. At some point I thought it was going to be a draw.' READ MORE: Before Magnus Carlsen, Norway had Simen Agdestein who played Kasparov and Anand in chess and battled Maldini on football pitch For Gukesh, it's been a long five months since he became the youngest world champion in the history of chess. There has been plenty of admiration about the 18-year-old rising to be a world champion. But there have also been the comments from some of his predecessors like Carlsen and Kasparov about how the world champion is not really the best player in the world. Before Norway Chess, Carlsen was asked in an interview by Take Take Take if Gukesh was a worthy world chess champion in his opinion. Carlsen said: 'He won the Candidates ahead of a field of world-beaters and he's done incredibly well in classical chess over the last couple of years including giving one of the all-time best performances at the Olympiad. Is he the best player in the world? Remains to be seen! But is he a worthy world champion? By what they measure that by I think he certainly is!' Even Garry Kasparov had weighed in on who was the best player in the world: the teenage world champion from India or the world no 1 from Norway. Kasparov has remarked that Carlsen is 'widely considered, by all metrics, as a better player' than the reigning world champion from India. Gukesh's army on the chess board will have another shot at Carlsen's king on June 1. This time Gukesh will have white pieces at his disposal. He best not miss.
