Malcolm Pein catches up with the action of the New in Chess Classic in today’s Daily Telegraph column, highlighting Wesley So’s risky business as the Grandmaster tried to fight back in his Quarter-final match against Levon Aronian.
Malcolm Pein on…So’s Risky Business
Magnus Carlsen, Levon Aronian, Shak Mamedyarov and Hikaru Nakamura fought their way through to the semifinals of the New in Chess Classic on Chess24.
Carlsen won a tough quarter- final battle with Teimour Radjabov, currently third in the $1.5m Meltwater Tour. The first set saw four draws, before Carlsen won game three of the second set and closed it out with another draw.
Aronian comfortably overcame Wesley So two sets to love. Mamedyarov was too good for the prodigy Alireza Firouzja, refuting his improvised ideas in the opening. Nakamura had to save a double rook and pawn endgame less two pawns to get past Le Quang Liem.
Aronian was 2-1 up and only needed a draw to win the first set, which explains So’s excessively risky play here.
L. Aronian – W. So
NIC Classic KO Q-F Chess24.com
Slav Meran 15+10
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 c6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.Bd3 dxc4 8.Bxc4 b5 9.Be2 0–0 10.0–0 Bb7 11.Rd1 Qc7 12.h3 b4 (I can’t see an objection to the old line: 12…a6 13.e4 e5 14.dxe5 Nxe5 15.Nd4 Ng6 16.Nf5 Bh2+ 17.Kh1 Be5 Ljubojevic- Kramnik Amber Rapid, Monte Carlo 2001) 13.Na4 c5 14.dxc5 Rac8 15.a3 Nxc5 16.Nxc5 a5? (16…Bxc5 17.axb4 Bxb4 18.Qxc7 Rxc7 is completely equal, which is exactly what So was trying to avoid) 17.axb4 axb4 18.Rxd6 Bxf3 (If 18…Qxd6 19.Nxb7 Qd7 20.Qb1 Qxb7 21.Ba6 Qd7 22.Bxc8 with an extra piece and if 22…Qd1+ 23.Kh2 Rxc8 24.Bd2. If 18…Qxd6 19.Nxb7 Rxc2 20.Nxd6 Rxe2 21.Bd2 is equally hopeless for Black) 19.Bxf3 Qxd6 20.Ne4 Rxc2 21.Nxd6 Rd8 22.b3 Kf8 23.Nc4 Rd3 24.Bb2 Rxb3 25.Bxf6 gxf6
Test Your Strength
White to play and win
Semifinal line-up: Carlsen vs Aronian and Nakamura vs Mamedyarov.
Test Your Strength
A chaotic position from Aronian-So, game two, first leg. Black threatens mate with Qc1-g5 and also Qxc4, but it’s White to play and win.
Highlight the space below this line to reveal the answers.
Answer One:
26.Bd1 Rbc3 27.Bxc2 Rxc2 28.Na5 1–0
Answer Two:
33.e8N+! (33.Ne3 Qc8 34.e8N+ Kf8 35.Qxc8 Rxc8 36.Nxf6 a5 cannot be bad for Black) 33…Kh6 34.Qxf6 Rxe8 35.Nd6 Qc7 (pinning the knight) 36.Bb6 (36.Kh4 also works) 36…Qb8 37.Bd4 1–0 There’s no stopping Qg7+ or Qh4#.
