Malcolm Pein on…Forceful Aronian
Levon Aronian rode his luck to take the first set against Vladislav Artemiev in the final of the Goldmoney Asian Rapid on Chess24. Aronian won the third game, below, after surviving a lost position in game two. He closed the set out with aggressive play as black, forcing his opponent to take a perpetual when […]
Malcolm Pein on…So Close to Carlsen
MAGNUS Carlsen survived an almighty comeback from Wesley So in their quarter-final match at the Goldmoney Asian Rapid on Chess24. Having taken the first set, Carlsen won the opening game of the second as Black, then went 1.5-0.5 ahead, only for So to take the match to a tie-break after winning games three and four. […]
Malcolm Pein on…Brilliant Young Mind
Abhimanyu Mishra from New Jersey has become the youngest grandmaster of all time, at the age of 12 years, 4 months, and 25 days. Mishra broke the record of Sergey Karjakin set back in 2002, when the future world championship challenger was aged 12 years and seven months. Already the youngest ever International Master, Mishra […]
Malcolm Pein on…The 150 Attack
One of my favourite games of all time is Garry Kasparov’s victory over Anatoly Karpov at Linares 1993 when Kasparov, playing black in the King’s Indian, managed to outplay his perennial rival to such an extent that all the white pieces ended up on the first rank. In this encounter, Black mishandles the Modern Defence […]
Malcolm Pein On…Carlsen Thrilled
Malcolm Pein On…Carlsen Thrilled Magnus Carlsen had to battle hard to take the first set of his quarter-final against Wesley So at the Goldmoney Asian Rapid on Chess24. As we will see, Carlsen blundered and should have lost the first game of the match, and he was positionally outplayed in the return. The world champion […]
Malcolm Pein on…Aronian’s Clean Sheet
Malcolm Pein on…Aronian’s Clean Sheet Levon Aronian continued his fine form in the preliminary rounds of the $100,000 (£71,000) Goldmoney Asian Rapid on Chess24 and ended top of the field with an unbeaten 10.5/15. Aronian went into the eight-player knockout phase as top seed, where he faces the 17-year-old Indian prodigy Arjun Erigaisi, who finished […]
Malcolm Pein on…Carlsen’s Struggle
Malcolm Pein on…Carlsen’s Struggle Magnus Carlsen lost his opening games on days one and two of the $100,000 (£71,000) Goldmoney Asian Rapid. On day one, Carlsen was outplayed by the Iranian prodigy Alireza Firouzja in the middlegame and a winning position evaporated. In round six, Carlsen lost to Levon Aronian, who emerged as co-leader going […]
Malcolm Pein on…Shankland’s Success
Malcolm Pein on…Shankland’s Success The Prague International Chess Festival went ahead this month, featuring a 99-player Open and headlined by an eight-player Masters Group. Sam Shankland returned to the 2700 club as he racked up an impressive 5.5/7 for a 2905 performance. Shankland outplayed Jan-Krzysztof Duda, but otherwise the Polish number one shone too as […]
Malcolm Pein on…The Unstoppable So
Malcolm Pein on…The Unstoppable So Wesley So was unstoppable in the Blitz at the Paris Grand Chess Tour, scoring nine wins and nine draws, to win the event at a canter. So lost just one game to Levon Aronian. Only world title contender Ian Nepomniachtchi was able to stay within striking distance, until So secured […]
Malcolm Pein on…Hero Harry
Malcolm Pein on…Hero Harry Harry the h-pawn made an appearance at the Grand Chess Tour’s second leg in Paris which was a 10-player Rapid and Blitz. The Hungarian GM Richard Rapport, known as one of the most uncompromising attacking players in world chess, launched his assault as early as move three. Just a dozen moves […]
Malcolm Pein on…Distance Learning
Malcolm Pein on…Distance Learning Sam Shankland won the Prague Chess Festival Masters and took himself back over the 2700 barrier. Two of Shankland’s opponents put in a bit of overtime and gave the spectators a lesson on the distant opposition. The standard opposition involves placing one square between your king and the enemy king. With […]
Malcolm Pein Says…It’s A Blunderful Life
Malcolm Pein Says…It’s A Blunderful Life Alireza Firouzja dominated the world-class field at the Paris leg of the Grand Chess Tour when the Blitz got under way. The Iranian prodigy, who is resident in France, started with 5.5/6 and ended with 6.5/9 on day one to rise to join fourth overall. Firouzja had a torrid […]