Adrian Mikhalchishin / Oleg Stetsko

Fighting Chess with

Magnus Carlsen
EDITION OLMS
Mikhalchishin/Stetsko  ·  Fighting Chess with Magnus Carlsen
Volume 31 of the ongoing series

Editorial board
GM Victor Korchnoi
GM Helmut Pfleger
GM Nigel Short
GM Rudolf Teschner

2011
EDITION OLMS
Adrian Mikhalchishin   Oleg Stetsko

Fighting chess with

magnus carlsen

Translated and edited by Ken Neat

2011
EDITION OLMS
The Authors

Adrian Mikhalchishin (born 1954) has an excellent international reputation, above all as a fine chess trainer.
The Ukrainian-born grandmaster worked from 1980 to 1986 with the 12th world champion Anatoly Karpov,
and he has also assisted Zsuzsa Polgar, Maya Chiburdanidze, Vassily Ivanchuk and Arkady Naiditsch. As
chairman of the FIDE Trainers’ Commission, Mikhalchishin can also call on on his wealth of experience as
an active player. He participated in several USSR national championships, 4th place in 1984 in the 51st
championship in his home city of Lvov being his greatest competitive success. He has also taken part in
four Chess Olympiads, three times for his new homeland of Slovenia (2000, 2002 and 2004).

Oleg Stetsko (born 1936) was a professional airforce pilot and a chess player of Soviet master standard,
who played several times in the strong USSR Armed Forces championships. After his retirement in 1984 he
was appointed to the training staff of the USSR national team, which in 1989 he helped to win the second
World Team Championship in Lucerne. Stetsko then worked as a journalist for the prestigious 64 magazine,
of which Anatoly Karpov was the editor-in-chief. In the 1990s together with the well-known grandmaster
Eduard Gufeld he wrote several books, including The Complete Dragon and Winning with the Torre Attack.

Bibliographical Information published by The Deutsche

Nationalbibliothek

The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in

the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic
data is available on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de.

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Printed in Germany
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Editor: Ken Neat

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Translator: Ken Neat
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ISBN13: 978-3-283-01020-1
 N

Contents

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Magnus Carlsen – Hero of the Computer Era . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
G. Kacheishvili – M. Carlsen  14  M. Maki Uuro – M. Carlsen  14  M. Carlsen – D. Kedik  15
F. Bindrich – M. Carlsen  15  D. Pavasovic – M. Carlsen  16  E. Rozentalis – M. Carlsen  16
M. Carlsen – L. Aronian  17  A. Onischuk – M. Carlsen  17  C. Pedersen – M. Carlsen  18
M. Carlsen – G. Kamsky  18  M. Carlsen – A. Adly  19  M. Carlsen – A. Naiditsch  19
L. Aronian – M. Carlsen  20

1 From Master to Grandmaster. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Game 1  M. Carlsen – H. Harestad  23 Game 2  M. Carlsen – S. Zhigalko  26
Game 3  M. Carlsen – S. Ernst  31 Game 4  M. Carlsen – S. Dolmatov  34
Game 5  M. Carlsen – E. Shaposhnikov  35 M. Carlsen – G. Kasparov  39
Game 6  M. Carlsen – E. Vladimirov  41 Game 7  D. Palo – M. Carlsen  43
Game 8  M. Carlsen – N. Short  46

2 The Way to the Top . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

P. H. Nielsen – M. Carlsen  50 Game 9  M. Carlsen – A. Shirov  51
Game 10  I. Cheparinov – M. Carlsen  55 Game 11  M. Carlsen – P. Nikolic  57
Game 12  M. Carlsen – K. Lie  62 Game 13  B. Jobava – M. Carlsen  66
Game 14  M. Carlsen – F. Amonatov  71 Game 15  M. Carlsen – G. Kamsky  73
Game 16  M. Carlsen – A. Beliavsky  77 M. Carlsen – A. Beliavsky  80
Game 17  M. Carlsen – J. Nunn  81 Game 18  M. Carlsen – M. Adams  84
Game 19  M. Carlsen – A. Morozevich  90 Game 20  A. Morozevich – M. Carlsen  95
M. Carlsen – A. Shirov  99 Game 21  M. Carlsen – A. Morozevich  101
M. Carlsen – V. Topalov  107 Game 22  M. Carlsen – V. Ivanchuk  107
Game 23  M. Carlsen – L. Aronian  112 Game 24  M. Carlsen – L. Aronian  115
Game 25  L. Aronian – M. Carlsen  118 M. Carlsen – L. Aronian  123
M. Carlsen – Y. Pelletier  125 Game 26  M. Carlsen – A. Onischuk  125
Game 27  M. Carlsen – T. Radjabov  129 Game 28  V. Kramnik – M. Carlsen  133
Game 29  D. Jakovenko – M. Carlsen  135 Game 30  M. Carlsen – L. Dominguez  140
Game 31  M. Carlsen – M. Adams  143 Game 32  M. Carlsen – I. Cheparinov  149

5
K

3 Life at the Top. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Game 33  M. Carlsen – P. Eljanov  155 Game 34  V. Kramnik – M. Carlsen  158
Game 35  V. Topalov – M. Carlsen  163 Game 36  M. Carlsen – L. Aronian  166
Game 37  M. Carlsen – V. Topalov  169 Game 38  T. Radjabov – M. Carlsen  174
Game 39  M. Carlsen – V. Ivanchuk  178 Game 40  Y. Pelletier – M. Carlsen  184
Game 41  L. Dominguez – M. Carlsen  187 Game 42  M. Carlsen – T. Radjabov  191
Game 43  L. Aronian – M. Carlsen  195 Game 44  M. Carlsen – L. Aronian  198
Game 45  M. Carlsen – A. Beliavsky  201 Game 46  M. Carlsen – L. Dominguez  205
Game 47  M. Carlsen – V. Anand  208 Game 48  L. Dominguez – M. Carlsen  212
Game 49  M. Carlsen – A. Grischuk  215 Game 50  M. Carlsen – V. Topalov  218
Game 51  M. Carlsen – Wang Yue  221 Game 52  M. Carlsen – D. Jakovenko  226
Game 53  M. Carlsen – P. Leko  230 Game 54  M. Carlsen – V. Topalov  233
Game 55  M. Carlsen – T. Radjabov  237 Game 56  M. Carlsen – V. Anand  240
Game 57  M. Carlsen – R. Ponomariov  244 Game 58  M. Carlsen – V. Kramnik  247
Game 59  S. Karjakin – M. Carlsen  252 L. Aronian – M. Carlsen  256
Game 60  L.-D. Nisipeanu – M. Carlsen  258 Game 61  R. Ponomariov – M. Carlsen  261
Game 62  M. Carlsen – E. Bacrot  265 Game 63  M. Carlsen – H. Nakamura  269
Game 64  M. Carlsen – L.-D. Nisipeanu  271

4 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Tournament and Match Record  274
Index of Carlsen’s Opponents  279
Index of Openings  280

6
 N

7
 1

Preface
4

8 The swift rise of the young Norwegian Mag- for great achievements. Another impor-
9 nus Carlsen to the top levels of chess has tant factor was the boy’s home situation.
10 literally overturned impressions about the Magnus has a secure basis – a wholesome
11 possibilities of teaching talented children. family, in which his sisters virtually idolise
12 Indeed, to progress at a young age from a him, and the attention and support of rela-
13 run-of-the-mill master to a real contender tives and of society. Already at the age of
14 for the chess crown in just five years is ten he had the help of a trainer, and as his
15 something that only an outstanding tal- prowess developed he also acquired the
16 ent is capable of doing. In the history of support of financial bodies, including the
17 chess only Garry Kasparov has achieved Microsoft company.
18 any similar. In this occurrence there is By present-day junior standards, Mag-
19 much that is surprising: both the fact that nus began a serious study of chess rather
20 such an extraordinary talent appeared in late – at the age of eight. The initial motiva-
21 ‘non-chess’ Norway, and the way itself in tion was a promise by his father to include
22 which this chess mastery was acquired. him, if he played well, in the Norwegian
23 For graduates and successors of the So- under-11 championship. This stimulated
24 viet Chess School, nurtured in a ‘chess’ the boy to study chess for 2–3 hours a
25 foundation established over decades, and day over a period of six months. The rest
26 fostered from childhood in clubs at Pio- was accomplished by his all-consuming
27 neers Palaces and then in chess schools interest in the game. Many point to the
28 run by famous mentors, it is hard to imagine prevalence of computer preparation, even
29 a boy grasping the wisdom of chess virtu- calling Magnus a computer boy. He does
30 ally on his own. not deny his enthusiasm for the computer;
31 This is correct only in the sense that indeed it would be strange not to make
32 Magnus likes to study chess on his own. use of it in the age of universal comput-
33 But there were also attendant circumstanc- erisation. For modern children, using a
34 es: Magnus’s father, Henrik Carlsen, was computer does not present any particular
35 well known in Norway as a chess organiser, problems, and a grasp of the accompa-
36 and it was he who noticed his son’s talent, nying programs comes quite naturally to
37 observing that already at the age of five them. As for purely chess preparation,
38 he had good analytical ability. And, not Carlsen uses the computer as an instru-
39 surprisingly, knowing the precedent of the ment, and he relates sceptically to con-
40 famous Hungarian Judit Polgar, from an tentions that it is emasculating live chess.
41 early age the father began assisting his son The main thing for Magnus is improving
42 to become a chess professional, hoping his mastery and achieving results. Here

8
 Preface N

it is appropriate to recall the pithy saying have been countless examples of success- 1

of Mikhail Botvinnik: ‘Chess cannot be ful self-realisation. His way is familiar to 2

taught, one can only learn it!’ It is unlikely me not just by hearsay, since at a mature 3

that Magnus is familiar with the Patriarch’s age I managed to achieve chess master 4

claim, but he has patiently learned, pro- standard and complete a correspondence 5

ceeding with the help of the computer, course at the Aviation Institute. 6

picturesquely speaking, in seven-league By his 19th year Carlsen had completed 7

steps. his chess Academy, he had received high 8

Another very important factor in his im- marks from his examiners by victories in 9

provement has been the reading of chess very strong tournaments, and he was con- 10

literature. In the words of his father, he tinuing to improve. This is indicated by his 11

literally swallowed all Kasparov’s series attainment of the high point 2800 in the 12

My Great Predecessors and from them he world rating list, which allows him to be 13

remembers practically everything. These regarded as the strongest player in the 14

books are a kind of academic course on West. Carlsen has made his ‘way to the 15

the classical heritage of chess. And the top’ in chess high society. One of the many 16

fact that he prefers to work on chess on ways available to a talented young person. 17

his own (‘Magnus is very independent We would like to wish that his ‘life at the 18

as regards preparation, I only help him’, top’ does not collapse, as in the novel of 19

testifies his trainer Simen Agdestein), is the same name by the well-known English 20

merely an indication of his character. In writer John Braine. 21

short, we see an example of the effective In conclusion, we would like to thank 22

study of chess by correspondence, based grandmaster Andrey Devyatkin for help in 23

on fertile ground. In the opinion of one describing the childhood stage of Magnus 24

of the best trainers of the present time, Carlsen’s chess career. 25

grandmaster Yuri Razuaev, the boy pos- 26

sessed the gift of self-instruction. Oleg Stetsko 27

It would be incorrect to talk about the USSR Master of Sport 28

ineffectivness of this type of study, with Senior Trainer of the USSR 29

references to a lack of ‘schooling’. There national team 1985–89 30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

9
 1

Magnus Carlsen – Hero of the

4

Computer Era
6

10 When we begin examining the chess phe- was doing his military service at a College
11 nomenon Magnus Carlsen and his way for Top Athletes, where Agdestein ran the
12 to the top, the first thing that comes to chess section. And within a year he made
13 mind is whether we can compare the tal- incredible progress. This is not surprising:
14 ented Norwegian with the brilliant chess Magnus was literally gripped by chess,
15 geniuses of the second half of the 20th playing in all possible tournaments and
16 century, Robert Fischer and Garry Kasp- reading numerous chess books in English.
17 arov. What is it that unites him with these His first book was Find the Plan by Bent
18 great champions? Above all – a brilliant Larsen. At that time Agdestein correctly
19 memory. His first trainer, grandmaster thought that, for lessons with a boy who
20 Simen Agdestein, told me that he gave was at the stage of mastering the basics
21 the young Magnus an opening book to of chess, a computer was not needed.
22 read, and the next day, as if nothing had And only later, when the opening became
23 happened, he performed the new open- an important element of the play in tour-
24 ing to a high standard. True, a striving for naments, Magnus began working with
25 sharp positions immediately on emerging the analytical modules Fritz and Rybka.
26 from the opening, as possessed by the Agdestein worked with Magnus several
27 young Fischer and Kasparov, was not very times a month, spending two or three hours
28 apparent, but already at the age of fifteen on the analysis of a game. In Agdestein’s
29 he was confidently playing complicated opinion, children cannot be forced to study
30 openings such as the Sveshnikov Variation chess. Of course, it is not easy to teach a
31 and the Botvinnik Variation. youngster to play, but if you can arouse his
32 The greatest influence on the develop- individual interest, miracles occur. This is
33 ment of the young talent was undoubt- how it was with Magnus – motivation was
34 edly made by the Norwegian grandmaster the main key to success!
35 Simen Agdestein. This showed itself not Magnus thought that on the way to
36 only in chess, but also in the fact that Mag- higher achievements he should become
37 nus is a good footballer. After all, his trainer Norwegian champion, but in 2004 and
38 played for his country at both chess and 2005 the road was blocked by his expe-
39 football, and he even scored a goal against rienced teacher, and it was only in 2006
40 Italy! They met when Magnus was 10 years that he managed to surpass him. Surpris-
41 old. Initially the boy studied with the Norwe- ingly, Magnus was also unable to win in
42 gian master Torbjørn Ringdal Hansen, who the young age categories of the European

10
 Magnus Carlsen – Hero of the Computer Era N

Championships. But where now are those by move’, so to speak. Although he was 1

who finished ahead of him? In the history still a long way from the best players of this 2

of chess this has also occurred with other type, such as Fischer and Kasparov, he 3

players. For example, up to the age of 16 was nevertheless notable for his sensible 4

the great Garry Kasparov was twice unable and logical play. True, at times his play 5

to demonstrate his superiority in class. In looked somewhat simplified, sometimes 6

the first stage of his work with Magnus, automated, which was a consequence of 7

Agdestein set the objective of reaching fascination with computer preparation. Not 8

master level of play and he regarded indi- without reason, Garry Kasparov warned 9

vidual tournaments only as stages towards about the pointlessness of such play. This 10

the achievement of this aim. But already is how he describes the essence of the 11

in 2004 he realised that he was unable to play in so-called post-modernism chess: 12

raise the youngster to a higher level, and ‘Nowadays most young players simply 13

the search for a new trainer began. move the pieces in anticipation of a mis- 14

Contact with Garry Kasparov early in take, like an ice-hockey team knocking 15

2005 was not developed any further. But the puck into the opponent’s zone, hoping 16

a mentor was found on Scandinavian soil. that something will come of this. The pure 17

After contacts at a number of joint tourna- pragmatism of the young shows itself in 18

ments in Scandinavia, the strong Danish many games. Carlsen still needs to raise 19

grandmaster Peter Heine Nielsen began his understanding to match up with his 20

working with the youngster. For a long energy and optimism’. 21

time he had been keeping an eye on the But even so, Magnus did not develop 22

young Norwegian and a year earlier he had like a computer player, although the work 23

commented in the press: the West had with Nielsen, who made active use of the 24

not known such a great talent since the computer, seriously developed the ana- 25

time of Fischer, and at such a young age lytical aspect of his talent, which is often 26

Carlsen was not inferior to either Karpov or called playing computer chess. Is this good 27

Kasparov. At that time Nielsen was actively or bad? Nowadays chess has changed, 28

collaborating with Vishwanathan Anand, and the top players are not inclined to phi- 29

and later, when he was having to work with losophise about the position; they need 30

both of them, he would sometimes enlist quickly and efficiently to find not so much 31

Magnus to prepare Vishy for important the best move, as the optimal decision. 32

events, such as, for example, the match This enables them for a lengthy time to 33

for the world championship with Kramnik maintain the tension on the board and to 34

in 2008. set the opponent the maximum discomfort 35

Working with Nielsen, Carlsen substan- in the solving of constant problems. The 36

tially expanded his opening repertoire, plans for conducting the game in this type 37

which had to be greatly modernised. For of chess are far less concrete than during 38

example, with Black he stopped playing the the times of the great world champions, 39

King’s Indian Defence, which did not suit who adhered to the classical style of play, 40

his style. At that time Magnus was most with the possible exception of Mikhail Tal. 41

successful in tense positions, in play ‘move But these plans are based on the inten- 42

11
 K Magnus Carlsen – Hero of the Computer Era
1 sity level of the position and are solved
2 exclusively by concrete measures, not by
3 general reasoning.
4 The well-known trainer Arshak Petro-
5 sian, observing Carlsen’s play at the C
6 Tournament in Wijk aan Zee in 2004, was
7 surprised at how confidently the 13-year-
8 old boy could ‘serve with either hand’, i.e.
9 play both 1. e4 and 1. d4 with equal suc-
10 cess. At so young an age, such a thing was
11 typical only of Boris Spassky, the most uni-
12 versal player of the Soviet Chess School,
13 who (stretching the point somewhat) can
14 be regarded as the forerunner of the mod-
15 ern computer generation. Assessing Mag-
16 nus’s play, Arshak Petrosian quite seriously
17 warned his pupil, Peter Leko: ‘Here is your
18 future rival, you should observe his play
19 very carefully. He is already quite a strong
20 positional player, and he places his pieces
21 correctly – a rare quality for such an age’.
22 A new stage in Carlsen’s chess biogra-
23 phy began quite recently – in the summer
24 of 2009, when he began working with Garry
25 Kasparov. Their first meeting occurred in
26 2004 at the festival in Reykjavik, when the
27 prodigy’s play impressed Kasparov in their
28 rapid game, which the maestro saved only
29 with great difficulty. A year later Magnus
30 was invited by Kasparov to Moscow for
31 lessons with the famous trainers Yuri Ra-
32 zuvaev and Alexander Nikitin. But this work
33 was not continued. Carlsen declined to
34 follow the program developed by the Rus-
35 sian trainers, and decided to improve his
36 chess independently.
37 However, without highly-qualified help
38 it proved beyond Carlsen’s powers to im-
39 prove on the ‘star’ level achieved in 2008
40 (his official rating reached 2776), and the
41 assistance of Kasparov proved most op-
42 portune. For Garry the field of activity was
12
very fruitful. Magnus possesses a natural
gift for correctly evaluating a position, a
very rare quality, one which at a young
age has been possessed by many world
champions. In Kasparov’s opinion, in style
of play the Norwegian youngster is close
to Karpov, Smyslov and Capablanca. But
since Magnus’s style of play is markedly
different from that of Kasparov, his contact
with the famous champion will undoubt-
edly expand his chess views. Usually a
trainer works with his pupil, but it is unlikely
that this is what Kasparov does. His role
is rather that of a mentor; there are things
he can pass on to his protégé. There is no
doubt that Carlsen’s opening repertoire will
be strengthened – this is a strong compo-
nent of Garry. Especially since as yet the
level of the youngster’s opening repertoire
does not correspond to his strength of play.
At the same time it is important to learn a
more productive organisation of the work-
ing process, in order to make maximum
use of his natural talent.
In the opinion of Arshak Petrosian,
working with Kasparov should not so much
change the young Norwegian’s opening
repertoire, so much as shift his motiva-
tion to the maximum level. This is the ap-
proach of real champions to the play in
every game, and the accompanying feeling
of one’s own superiority can be instilled
only by a great champion. This approach
to the fight was displayed in October 2009
at the super-tournament in Nanjing. It was
there that it became apparent what Mag-
nus has in common with the champions
– he began to be feared!
I saw Magnus at many Olympiads and
European Championships during his de-
velopment period. And the first thing that
strikes you (incidentally, this is also the
 Magnus Carlsen – Hero of the Computer Era N

opinion of the well-known manager Silvio Kasparov was an uncompromising fighter. 1

Danailov) is the feigned lack of energy, both They became this with the growth in the 2

in external appearance, and in play. All the confidence and power of their play and, 3

champions, apart from Karpov and Pet- let’s make no secret of the fact, an aware- 4

rosian, looked very energetic, sometimes ness of their mission in the chess world. We 5

even frightening. As for Karpov, he had are also observing this phenomenon with 6

enormous internal energy, which he was the increase in the mastery of the young 7

able to transfer to the chess board. The Norwegian, which is reflected in an ability 8

drive of Kasparov and Fischer was felt as to find the best decisions in any position. 9

soon as their opponent arrived at the chess But Carlsen is inseparable from his 10

board. Carlsen conducts certain parts of era. He is simultaneously also a computer 11

a game as though imperceptibly, in the player – it is all the same to him what he 12

style of Karpov or Adams, but, in contrast plays, as he looks for the best or optimal 13

to them, he not only does not avoid sharp solution on the basis of his own individual 14

variations, but happily goes in for them. algorithm. Carlsen is not a strategist and 15

An indication of the youngster’s thorough not a thinker – he is a performer, like an 16

self-confidence is that he ventures to play engineer finding the solutions to specific 17

very sharp variations, without working out problems. And his play resembles the 18

all their details, which Kasparov always output graph of an atomic power station 19

aimed to do. Yes, there are instances when – constant and high. Although his play 20

he plays superficially, but this is typical of lacks fantastic moves and discoveries, it 21

young players, who do not always under- is staggering in its logic and composure. It 22

stand and sense the dangers associated is as though he has no nerves – the typical 23

with the opponent’s counterplay. As for character of a northerner. But perhaps it 24

Carlsen, he possesses such a feeling, and is not just a question of this? Not without 25

this is very important in high-level play. It reason, at the conclusion of the Nanjing 26

is another matter that his power begins tournament of 2009, the 2nd-placed To- 27

to display itself only from a certain point palov declared: ‘I was the winner among 28

in the game, but here he can already be people, but Carlsen is simply from another 29

irresistible. Again, this is a vivid charac- planet!’ There you have an explanation, 30

teristic, typical of Karpov and to a certain which does not make the Carlsen enigma 31

extent of Fischer. any more understandable. 32

In recent times Magnus has greatly All these best qualities of the young 33

added to his depth of understanding of Norwegian are what we have tried to pre- 34

chess, he has begun to display an abil- sent in his games. Through the chronol- 35

ity to find minimal and latent chances in ogy of the games we wanted to show the 36

the position and he has clearly become development of the most talented player 37

more forceful in his play. That is, he has from the West, and to compare Magnus 38

mastered the transition to total chess, the at the formation stage with the modern 39

readiness to fight to the end. We are seeing Magnus. Of course, there are many as- 40

the development of a fighter. It should be pects to his play and in the framework of 41

said that, in their youth, neither Fischer nor one book it is impossible to encompass 42

13
 K Magnus Carlsen – Hero of the Computer Era

1 the unbounded. Therefore we will restrict G. Kacheishvili – M. Carlsen

2 ourselves to just one component of his Bad Wiessee 2001
3 play, a very important indicator of play- XABCDEFGHY
4 ing strength – the ability to play the end- 8-+-+-+-tR(
5 game, which has invariably distinguished
6 the great champions of the past.
7+-+-+-+-‘
7 It is well known that, especially with 6PzP-+-+-+&
8 the modern strict time control, the end- 5+-mK-+-mk-%
9 game can be difficult for young players, 4-+-+-+-zp$
10 and here they commit far more mistakes 3+-+-+p+-#
11 than in the middlegame. There are vari- 2-+-+-+-+“
12 ous reasons for this: a lack of knowledge 1tr-+-+-+-!
13 of standard positions, a poor mastery of
14 typical manoeuvres and, it goes without
xabcdefghy
15 saying, ignorance of classic examples. 57…¦a5+?
16 These gaps are not easy to eliminate, and
If possible, one should normally begin by
17 here the serious assistance of a trainer
advancing a passed pawn – 57…f2!, and
18 is needed. Therefore it will be interest-
only then decide what to do next. 58. ¦g8+
19 ing for students of chess to see not only
¢h5 59. ¦f8 ¦a5+ 60. ¢d4 ¦×a6 61. b7
20 Magnus’s mistakes when he was a young-
¦b6 would have led to a draw.
21 ster, but also how he was able to correct
22 them, and on what he is still continuing to 58. ¢d4 ¦×a6?
23 work. At the present time his technique of
It was not yet too late for 58…f2.
24 converting an advantage in the endgame
25 resembles that of Fischer, and it rarely 59. b7 ¦b6 60. b8£ ¦×b8 61. ¦×b8
26 misfires – an indication of the serious work ¢f4 62. ¦f8+ ¢g3 63. ¢e3
27 he has done. The defence of inferior posi-
28 tions is another matter – according to the Black resigned.
29 definition of Botvinnik, it is this quality of M. Maki Uuro – M. Carlsen
30 a player that indicates his strength of play Helsinki 2002
31 in the endgame. And here, as was once
32 the case with Fischer, Magnus has had XABCDEFGHY
33 many problems. But, as the examples will 8-+-+-+-+(
34 show, he is well aware of this deficiency 7+-+-+-mk-‘
35 and is working actively to eliminate it. It 6-+-+-+p+&
36 can now be said that, whereas in the initial 5tr-+-+-mK-%
37 stage of Carlsen’s career the endgame
38 was the weak aspect of his play, now we
4-+-+R+-+$
39 can talk about his superiority over other
3+-+-zP-zP-#
40 grandmasters who have crossed the 2700 2-+-+-+-+“
41 rating mark. His latest tournaments have 1+-+-+-+-!
42 demonstrated this. xabcdefghy

14
 Magnus Carlsen – Hero of the Computer Era N

56. ¢f4 ¦a1 57. ¦b4 ¦f1+ 58. ¢g4 It is useful to make use of the ‘desperado’ 1

¦e1 59. e4 ¢f6 60. ¦b6+ ¢g7 61. ¢f4 rook to drive the king away from the pawns. 2

¦f1+? With the king cut off, it is easier to blockade 3

the pawns. 4
Anything, except release the attack on the
5
passed pawn! 61…¢h6 or 61…¢f7 would 56. ¢e8 ¦f4! 57. g5+ ¢h5 58. ¦h7+
6
have enabled Black to fight for a draw. ¢g6 59. ¦h6+ ¢g7 60. h5 ¦e4+
7
61. ¢d7 ¦e5 62. ¦g6+ ¢h7 63. ¢d6
62. ¢g5 ¦f3 63. g4 ¦e3 64. ¦×g6+ 8
¦a5 64. ¢c7 ¦e5 65. ¢d7 ¦a5 66. ¢e6
¢f7 65. ¦f6+ ¢e7 66. ¦f4 ¢e6 67. ¢g6 9
¦a6+ 67. ¢f5 ¦×g6
¢e5 68. ¦f8 ¦a3 69. g5 ¢×e4 70. ¢g7 10

¢e5 71. g6 ¦g3 72. ¢h7 ¦h3+ 73. ¢g8 Draw. 11

¢e6 74. g7 ¦g3 75. ¦f1 ¢e7 76. ¦e1+ 12

¢d7 77. ¦e4 After the lesson in this game, all Magnus 13

could do was to remember for ever the 14

And by constructing a ‘bridge’, White won.
method of ‘hitching’ the rook to the king 15

and the passed pawns. A year later he 16

M. Carlsen – D. Kedik himself saved a similar ending. 17

Norwegian Under-18 Championship 2002 18

XABCDEFGHY 19

8-+-+-+-+( F. Bindrich – M. Carlsen 20

European Under-14 Championship 21

7+-+-+-mk-‘
Budva 2003 22
6R+-+-+-+&
5+r+-+-+-% XABCDEFGHY 23

4-+-+-+-zP$ 8-+-+-+-+( 24

25

3+-+-+KzP-# 7+-+-+-mk-‘ 26

2-+-+-+-+“ 6-+-+-+-+& 27

1+-+-+-+-! 5+-+-+KzPP% 28

xabcdefghy 4-+-+-tR-+$ 29

3+-+-+-+-# 30

48. g4? 2-+-+-+-+“ 31

First the way for the king should have been 1tr-+-+-+-! 32

33
secured – 48. ¦a4. xabcdefghy 34

48…¦b3+ 49. ¢f4 ¦b4+ 50. ¢f5 ¦b5+ 76. ¦f3 ¦h1 77. ¢g4 ¦g1+ 78. ¦g3 ¦a1 35

51. ¢e6 ¦b4! 79. ¦c3 ¦g1+ 80. ¦g3 ¦a1 81. ¦d3 36

¦g1+ 82. ¢f4 ¦f1+ 83. ¢g4 ¦g1+ 37

It is important not to allow the pawns to ad-
84. ¢f3 ¦f1+ 85. ¢g2 ¦f5 86. ¦g3 ¦a5 38
vance! Subsequently Black demonstrates
87. ¢h3 ¦a1 88. ¦b3 ¦h1+ 89. ¢g4 39
the same mechanism.
¦g1+ 90. ¢f4 ¦f1+ 91. ¦f3 ¦h1 92. ¢f5 40

52. ¦a7+ ¢h6 53. ¢f5 ¦b5+ 54. ¢f6 ¦×h5 93. ¦a3 ¦h1 94. ¦a7+ ¢f8 41

¦b6+ 55. ¢f7 ¦f6+! 95. ¢g6 ¦g1 96. ¦a8+ ¢e7 97. ¢h6?! 42

15
 K Magnus Carlsen – Hero of the Computer Era

1 There was a win by 97. ¦g8!, intending ¢h7 58. ¢d6 ¢b6 59. ¦f5

2 and g5–g6, a manoeuvre which is useful
Black resigned.
3 to remember.
4 Bindrich did not in fact find this ma-
5 noeuvre (although the possibility presented E. Rozentalis – M. Carlsen
6 itself several times), and the game ended Malmö/Copenhagen 2004
7 in a draw on the 115th move. XABCDEFGHY
8

9
8-+-+-tr-+(
10
7zp-+-tR-mk-‘
D. Pavasovic – M. Carlsen
11 6-+-+-zpp+&
Wijk aan Zee C 2004
12 5+-zp-+-+-%
13
XABCDEFGHY 4-+-zp-+pzP$
14 8-+-+-+-+( 3zP-+P+P+-#
15 7+-+-+-+-‘ 2-+P+-+K+“
16 6-+-+-+p+& 1+-+-+-+-!
17 5+k+-+-+-% xabcdefghy
18
4-+-+R+-zP$
19
3mKP+-+-tr-# 29…¢h6?
20

21
2-+-+-+-+“ The offer to exchange rooks – 29…¦f7!
22
1+-+-+-+-! 30.  ¦×f7+ ¢×f7 31.  f×g4 – would have
23 xabcdefghy enabled Black to hold the position. Mag-
24 nus did not work out the elementary pawn
44…¦g2? ending: 31…¢e6!? 32. ¢g3 f5 33. h5 f×g4
25

26 Surely it was obvious that Black should aim 34. h×g6 ¢f6, since in the event of 34. h6?
27 for the exchange of the kingside pawns. ¢f7 35. ¢×g4 ¢g8 it is Black who wins.
28 The simple 44…¢c6! 45. ¢b4 g5 would 30. f×g4 c4 31. ¢f3 c×d3 32. c×d3 ¦c8
29 have enabled him to draw. 33. ¢f4 g5+ 34. h×g5+ f×g5+ 35. ¢e4
30
45. ¦e5+ ¢b6 46. ¦g5 ¦h2 ¦c1 36. ¢×d4 ¦g1 37. ¦e4 ¦a1
31
38. ¢c5 ¦×a3 39. d4 ¢g6
32
The exchange of rooks leads to a lost pawn
33
ending. Things would not have been changed by
34 39…a5 40. d5 ¦c3+ 41. ¢b6 ¦d3 42. ¢c6
35 46…¦h2 47. ¦×g6+ ¢b5 48. ¦g5+ ¢b6 ¦c3+ 43. ¢d7.
36 49. ¦h5 ¦g2 50. ¢a4 ¦f2 51. ¦h6+
¢b7 52. b4 40. d5 ¦c3+ 41. ¢b5 ¢f6 42. d6 ¦d3
37
43. ¢c6 a5 44. d7 ¦c3+ 45. ¢b7 ¦b3+
38
The winning technique is simple and in- 46. ¢c7 ¦c3+ 47. ¢d8 ¢f7 48. ¦e7+
39
structive. ¢f8 49. ¦e5
40

41 52…¦f5 53. h5 ¦e5 54. b5 ¦e1 55. ¦f6 Black resigned. He has no defence against
42 ¦a1+ 56. ¢b4 ¦b1+ 57. ¢c5 ¦c1+ the check on f5 and then ¢e7.

16
 Magnus Carlsen – Hero of the Computer Era N

M. Carlsen – L. Aronian ¦b3+ 71. ¢h2 or immediately 69. ¢g3 ¦h8 1

FIDE World Championship 70. ¢h2. 2

Tripoli 2004 3
67…¢f7 68. ¦h5 ¢e6 69. ¦h8 ¦c3
XABCDEFGHY 70. ¢f4 ¢f7 (70…¦c2!) 71. ¢g4 ¢g6
4

8-+-+-+-+( 72. ¢f4 ¦c2!

5

7+-+-+-+-‘ 6

The conversion technique is instructive. 7

6-+-+-zpk+& Since 73. ¦×h3 ¦f4+ leads to the exchange 8
5tR-+-+-+-% of rooks, the pawn continues its advance, 9
4-+-+-+-zp$ and the king makes an outflanking ma- 10

3+r+-+K+-# noeuvre. 11

2-+-+-+-+“ 73. ¢g3 h2 74. ¢f3 ¢f5 75. ¦h5+

12

1+-+-+-+-! ¢e6 76. ¦h8 ¢e5 77. ¦e8+ ¢d4

13

xabcdefghy 78. ¦d8+ ¢c3 79. ¦h8 ¦d2

14

15
80. ¢g3 ¢d3 81. ¢f3 ¢c2 82. ¢g3
This position occurred in the first game of 16
¢d1
the tie-break. It is well known that rook end- 17

ings with f- and h-pawns offer the weaker White resigned. 18

side real saving chances. And the fact that 19

this was a rapid-play game is no excuse for 20

Carlsen being unable to save the game. A A. Onischuk – M. Carlsen 21

top-class grandmaster is obliged to know Olympiad, Calvia 2004 22

key endgame positions. XABCDEFGHY 23

In endings of this type the best squares 8-+-+-+k+( 24

for the king are considered to be f2 and

7+-+-+pzp-‘ 25

g2. Here 66. ¢g2 suggests itself, aiming 26

to block the h-pawn, and leaving the rook

6-+-+-+-zp& 27

the option of checking along the rank and 5+R+P+-+-% 28

along the file (the best square for it is a8). 4-+-+-+P+$ 29

But there followed: 3+-+-+PmK-# 30

66. ¢g4?! h3
2-+-+-+-zP“ 31

1+-+r+-+-! 32

and it transpired that, since the win of

xabcdefghy 33

the h3-pawn leads to a lost pawn end- 34

ing, it has become more difficult to hold Black should be able to hold such an end- 35

the position. ing a pawn down, but Magnus has no clear 36

impression of how to defend. 37

67. ¦g5+?
38
44…¢f8 45. h4 g6 46. ¢f4 f6?
This trick, based on stalemate – 67…f×g5? 39

– leads to defeat. 67. ¦a2 f5+ 68. ¢f4 would Such a move is simply inconceivable for a 40

have held the position, intending after grandmaster. An obvious gap in Magnus’s 41

68…¦b8 to play 69. ¦a6+ ¢h5 70. ¢g3 ‘schooling’. 46…¢e7 47. g5 h×g5+ 48. h×g5 42

17
 K Magnus Carlsen – Hero of the Computer Era

1 f6!, reducing the number of pawns, was M. Carlsen – G. Kamsky

2 correct. World Cup, Khanty-Mansiysk 2005
3
47. h5! XABCDEFGHY
4
8-+-+-+-+(
Now holes appear in Black’s position.
5
7+-+-+-+p‘
6

7
47…¢f7 48. ¦b7+ ¢g8 49. ¢e4 g×h5 6-+-+-mk-+&
50. g×h5 ¢f8 51. ¦h7 ¦e1+ 52. ¢f5 5tR-+-+-sn-%
8
¢g8 53. ¦d7 ¦f1 54. f4 ¢f8 55. d6 4Pzp-+r+-+$
9
¢e8 56. ¦h7 ¦d1 57. ¢e6
10 3+P+-sNp+-#
11 Black resigned. 2-+P+-mK-zP“
12
1+-+-+-+-!
13
xabcdefghy
14 C. Pedersen – M. Carlsen
15 Gausdal 2005 White is a pawn up with a winning position.
16 XABCDEFGHY All that is required is a certain accuracy.
17
8-+R+-+-+( 41. ¦a6+ ¢e5 42. ¦h6 ¦d4 43. ¤c4+
18
7+-+-+-+-‘ ¢f5 44. h4 ¤f7 45. ¦b6?!
19

20
6-+-+-+-+& 45. ¦×h7? was not possible because of
21
5+-+-+-+-% the loss of the rook after 45…¢g6!, but by
22 4-+-+K+-mk$ playing 45. ¤e3+ ¢e4 (45…¢e5 46. ¦×h7)
23 3+-+-+-+-# 46. ¦e6+ ¤e5 47. ¤c4 White would have
24 2-+-vl-+-+“ won easily.
25
1+-+-+-+-! 45…¦×h4 46. ¦×b4
26
xabcdefghy
27 And here 46. ¢g3! ¦h1 47. ¢×f3 would
28 This is a theoretically drawn endgame, but have led to the win of the f3-pawn.
29 you have to know the defensive procedure.
46…¦h3 47. a5 ¤g5 48. a6??
30
91. ¦c2 ¥b4 92. ¦c4 ¥e7 93. ¢f4 ¢h5
31 This elementary oversight changes the
32 It is correct to head for the corner of the picture. Now White is losing, although
33 opposite colour to the bishop – 93…¢h3. a simple knight manoeuvre – 48.  ¤e3+
34 and 49. ¤g4 – would have enabled him
94. ¢f5 ¥d8??
35 to queen his a-pawn in comfort.
36 If chess notation allowed it, this move
48…¤e4+ 49. ¢e3 f2+ 50. ¢e2 ¦c3?
37 would deserve a greater number of ques-
38 tion marks. The simple 94…¢h6 would 50…¦f3! would have won immediately.
39 have enabled Black to draw.
51. ¤d2?
40
95. ¦c8
41 The comedy of errors continues. After
42 Black resigned. 51.  ¢f1! White would again have won:

18
 Magnus Carlsen – Hero of the Computer Era N

51…¦f3 52. ¤d6+ ¤×d6 53. a7. By attacking the pawn, Black releases his 1

rook. White is short of one move, which 2

51…¦×c2 52. ¦d4 ¤×d2 53. ¦d5+ ¢e6
could have been provided by the far-sight- 3

White resigned. ed 55. ¢d3. 4

5
58. ¦a6?
6

M. Carlsen – A. Adly White should have exchanged rooks, after 7

Reykjavik 2006 which his knight blockades the pawn pair, 8

XABCDEFGHY guaranteeing a draw. Now the black pawns 9

become dangerous. 10
8-+-vl-+-tr( 11
7+-+-+-+-‘ 58…¦f8 59. ¤d2 e4+! 60. ¤×e4 ¦f3+
12
6RzPP+k+-+& 61. ¢c2 ¢×e4 62. ¦a8 ¦c3+ 63. ¢d1
13

5+-+-zp-+-% ¦b3 64. ¢c2

14

4-+-zpN+-+$ After 64. ¦c8 Black casts a mating net 15

3+-+-+-+-# around the enemy king: 64…¥f4 65. c7 16

2-+-+K+-+“ ¦×b7 66. ¦e8+ ¢d3. 17

18
1+-+-+-+-! 64…¦b6 65. ¦c8 d3+ 66. ¢d1 ¥f4 19
xabcdefghy 67. ¦e8+ ¢f3 68. b8£ ¦×b8 20

White’s pair of passed pawns is obvi- White resigned. 21

ously more promising than Black’s. But 22

with which pawn should he begin? It is not 23

hard to calculate that in the event of 55. c7 M. Carlsen – A. Naiditsch 24

¥×c7 56. b×c7+ ¢d7 57. ¦a7 ¢c6 58. ¢d3 Sarajevo 2006 25

¢b6 White loses his pawns, and it will be XABCDEFGHY 26

a draw. Therefore Magnus begins with the 27

8-+-+-trk+(
other pawn, but he reaches an impasse. 28

The truth is revealed within three moves.

7tR-+-+n+p‘ 29

6p+-+p+-+& 30
55. b7?! 5zP-+-+p+-% 31

This advance should have been prepared 4-+-+-+-+$ 32

by bringing up the king – 55. ¢d3!. Now, 3+r+-zP-+P# 33

34
however, Black succeeds in neutralising 2-+-+LmKP+“ 35
the pawn pair. 1+-tR-+-+-! 36
55…¥c7 56. ¦a8 ¦b8 57. ¢d3 xabcdefghy 37

38
After 57. ¤c5+ ¢d5 58. ¤a6 White loses White’s position is close to winning,
39
his passed pawns: 58…¢×c6! 59. ¤×b8+ but he still has to make a few accurate
40
¢×b7 and the result is a draw. moves.
41

57…¢d5 29.¦cc7?! 42

19
 K Magnus Carlsen – Hero of the Computer Era

1 Material would have been won by 29. ¦×a6 37…¦×g2+ 38. ¦×g2 ¦×b7 39. ¦a2
2 ¤g5 30. ¥c4 ¤e4+ 31. ¢f3 ¤d2+ 32. ¢e2
3 ¦b2 (after the exchange of the minor pieces 39. h6 ¦a7 40. ¦g7 ¦×a5 41. ¦×h7 ¢h5
4 White has a won rook ending) 33. ¥×e6+ also leads to a draw.
5 ¢h8 34. ¦b6.
6
39…¢×h5 40. a6 ¦a7 41. ¢f2 ¢g4
29…¦b2 30. h4?! 42. ¦a4+ ¢g5 43. ¢f3 e5 44. ¦a5 ¢f6
7

8 A pointless move. The king should have 45. ¢g3 ¢e6 46. ¢h4 ¢f6
9 been brought into play: 30.  ¢e1 ¦b1+ Draw.
10 31. ¢d2 ¦b2+ 32. ¦c2, retaining winning
11 chances. Now Black succeeds in begin-
12 ning counterplay.
L. Aronian – M. Carlsen
13
30…¢g7! Tal Memorial Tournament
14
Moscow 2006
15 Before the second rook is activated, the
16 king must be moved out of the danger XABCDEFGHY
17 zone. In the event of 30…¦d8 31. ¦×f7 8-+-tR-+-+(
18 ¦dd2 32.¦fd7 a linear mate is threatened, 7+-+-+-mk-‘
19 and Black cannot play 32…¦×e2+ 33. ¢f1 6-+-+K+-+&
20 ¦f2+ 34. ¢e1 ¦fe2+ 35. ¢d1. 5+-+-zP-+-%
21

22
31. ¦×a6 ¦d8 32.¦aa7 ¦dd2 33. ¦×f7+ 4-+-+-+-+$
23
¢g6 34. h5+ 3+-+-+-+-#
24 The consequences of 34.  ¢f3 ¦×e2 2-+-+-+-+“
25 35. ¢f4 ¦b4+ 36.  ¢e5 ¦×e3+ 37.  ¢d6 1+-+-tr-+-!
26 ¦d4+ 38. ¢e7 ¦×h4 are unclear. xabcdefghy
27
34…¢g5 35. ¦g7+ ¢h4! 36. ¢g1?! A theoretically drawn position. Magnus
28

29 In rook endings, king activity is of great knew – and had employed earlier in simi-
30 importance, but it would appear that the lar positions – the method of keeping the
31 black rooks are already fully operational. pawn under fire: 69…¦e2!. Instead of this
32 If 36. ¢f3 there can follow 36…¦×e2 (not he prefers another plan of defence: attack-
33 36…e5? 37. g4! with advantage to White) ing with the rook from the long side, which
34 37. ¢f4 ¦b5! and Black holds the position. proves to be more complicated.
35 The exchange of rooks 37…¦×g2 38. ¦×g2 69…¦a1 70. ¢e7 ¦a5 71. e6 ¦a7+
36 ¦×g2 39. ¢e5 would merely complicate 72. ¦d7 ¦a8 73. ¦d6 ¦a7+?
37 his defence.
38 In the flank attack one must not give up the
36…¦×e2 37.¦ab7? 8th rank. 73…¢g6 was the only defence.
39

40 As a result, after being a pawn up, White

74. ¢e8
41 loses two. But also after 37.¦ad7 ¦a2! he
42 cannot hope for anything. Black resigned.

20
 Magnus Carlsen – Hero of the Computer Era N

It has to be said that Carlsen drew the con- converting the advantage of the two bish- 1

clusions from the deficiencies of his play in ops in a complicated multi-piece endgame. 2

endings, and the consequences of the work Also instructive is the finish to the game 3

he put it soon became apparent. Already with Cheparinov (No. 32), where literally 4

at the Olympiad in Turin (2006) he dem- by nuances Carlsen was able to outplay 5

onstrated endgame play on a grand scale an active rook with his bishop and knight. 6

against Adams (No. 18), where he converted Also impressive were some masterpiec- 7

the advantage of the two bishops. es by Carlsen early in 2008. In Wijk aan Zee 8

The year 2007 proved exceptionally pro- there was a nice finish to his game with El- 9

ductive. There was the impressive conver- janov (No. 33), where he subtly coordinated 10

sion of an extra pawn in an endgame with his rooks and knight. A special place goes 11

rooks and opposite-colour bishops in a to his win over the world champion Kramnik 12

game with Morozevich (No. 21). There was (No. 34) – Magnus was able to construct 13

an admirable depth of ideas in the endings another ‘box’ for the king. At the end of the 14

from the 3rd and 5th games of his Candi- year in Bilbao he added to the textbook 15

dates match with Aronian (Nos. 23 and 24), collection of heavy-piece endings: he was 16

in which with subtle manoeuvres Magnus able to convert an outside passed pawn 17

was able to confine the enemy king in a in a heavy piece endgame with Aronian 18

‘box’. The finish to his game with Onischuk (No. 43). Of the games from 2009 mention 19

(No. 26), where his knights restricted the should be made of his subtle handling of 20

mobility of a rook, also invites inclusion in the endgame against Jakovenko (No. 52), 21

the books. At the World Cup in Khanty- in which Magnus was able to exploit some 22

Mansiysk, in his game with Adams (No. 31) imperceptible errors by the opponent in an 23

Magnus again showed brilliant technique in equal position. 24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

21
 1

2 Chapter 1
3

From Master to Grandmaster

4

8 Gifted young players have always drawn the attention of both admirers of the ancient
9 game and of recognised experts. During the active development of chess over the last
10 century and a half, young talents who have gone on to achieve an outstanding level of
11 play can be counted literally in single figures. As for recent times, the record belongs
12 to the Ukraine-born Sergey Karjakin, who became a grandmaster at the age of 12.
13 Such is the trend of the times, the age of technical progress. Universal computerisation
14 has become a kind of accelerator in the development of the new chess generation.
15 Chess databases and modern analytical modules enable young talents to acquire the
16 necessary knowledge far more quickly, and lack of experience in the development of
17 tactical and strategic understanding is compensated by a computer-like calculation
18 of variations. Whereas 30 years ago, according to the picturesque expression of Ti-
19 gran Petrosian, young players emerging into the chess arena were called ‘children of
20 Informator’, now they are called ‘children of the computer’. Therefore rumours about
21 the young Norwegian boy Magnus Carlsen, who displayed outstanding chess talent
22 at an equally early age as Sergey Karjakin, quickly spread around the chess world.
23 But in 2002 it was the Ukrainian youngster who reigned supreme. The height of
24 his fame came at a tournament of the Grand Prix series, held in Moscow, where one
25 of the authors of this book participated in the capacity of arbiter. The spectators who
26 arrived at the Mezhdunarodnaya Hotel were able to observe a curious picture. On an
27 empty stage the last pair were continuing to battle: literally impending over a frail lad
28 with his touching little quiff was a bearded hunk of a man. The experienced Ilya Smirin
29 needed 140 (!) moves to overcome the resistance of the 12-year-old Seryozha Karjakin.
30 This was their second game with the classical time control; in the first the grandmaster
31 had managed to save a hopeless position a rook down by means of perpetual check.
32 At that time Seryozha’s contemporary – Magnus – was still at the start of his career,
33 although at the age of eleven he was able to share 1st–2nd places in the Norwegian
34 Under-18 Championship. However, he did not distinguish himself at the European
35 Under-12 Championship in Spain, where he finished only sixth. But in the world cham-
36 pionship among his contemporaries in Greece, Carlsen displayed his character and
37 shared 1st–2nd places with Ian Nepomniachtchi, who on the tie-break was proclaimed
38 world champion. Junior events at such a tender age do not usually cause much of
39 a stir. This makes the almost improbable episode with Nepomniachtchi all the more
40 curious. The emergence of the 12-year-old world champion made such an impres-
41 sion on one of the major Russian Newspapers Izvestiya, that it decided to sponsor
42 him, overlooking that he was merely the best player among his contemporaries. True,

22
 M. Carlsen – H. Harestad N

soon the sponsorship came to nothing, since Ian Nepomniachtchi disappeared into 1

the general mass of Russian players. 2

It is possible, therefore, that in post-Soviet chess they learned about the Norwegian 3

prodigy only in 2003, when the magazine 64 – Shakhmatnoe obozrenie reported that in 4

Scandinavia there was a shining new 12-year-old master by the name of Carlsen. First 5

he shared 3rd–7th places in the Norwegian Championship, and then he distinguished 6

himself in the Politiken Cup tournament in Copenhagen. This was the first prestigious 7

tournament in the world chess calendar in which Carlsen took part. The influential 8

Danish Politiken newspaper has already staged it 25 times, traditionally providing a 9

solid prize fund. This attracts strong players, and it is sufficient to recall that among 10

the winners have been such famous names as Smyslov, Korchnoi and Vaganian. The 11

young Norwegian also distinguished himself in Copenhagen, scoring 8 points out of 11 12

games and finishing only a point behind the winner Krishnan Sasikiran. Starting with 13

a rating of 2385, Carlsen demonstrated a strength of play corresponding to a perfor- 14

mance of 2500 (it should be mentioned that Karjakin already had this official rating). 15

In that period the foundation was laid of the mastery that Magnus demonstrated both 16

in attack on the king, and in positional play. 17

Carlsen’s ‘visiting card’ in Copenhagen was a spectacular mating attack in his 18

game with Harestad. 19

20

21

Game 1 b2–b4 is possible. 22

M. Carlsen – H. Harestad
XABCDEFGHY 23

Copenhagen 2003 24

Ruy Lopez [ C98 ]

8-+lsn-trk+( 25
7tr-wq-vlp+p‘ 26
1. e4 e5 2. ¤f3 ¤c6 3. ¥b5 a6 4. ¥a4 6p+-zp-snp+& 27
¤f6 5. 0–0 b5 6. ¥b3 ¥e7 7. ¦e1 d6
8. c3 0–0 9. h3 ¤a5 10. ¥c2 c5 11. d4
5+pzpPzp-+-% 28

£c7
4P+-+P+-+$ 29

3+-zP-+N+P# 30

The classical Chigorin Variation of the Ruy

2-zPL+-zPP+“ 31

Lopez. 32
1tR-vLQtRNmK-! 33
12. ¤bd2 ¤c6 13. d5 ¤d8 14. a4 ¦a7 xabcdefghy 34

Black does not want to concede the a-file. 35

16. ¥h6
However, the presence of the rook on a7 36

allows White to play b2–b4 in a more fa- 16. b4!? c×b4 17. c×b4 ¥d7 18. ¥e3 ¦b7 37

vourable situation. The main continuation 19. a×b5 ¥×b5 20. £d2 is more in the spirit 38

here is 14…¦b8. of the position, with the better game for 39

15. ¤f1 g6 White. 40

41

If 15…h6, then 16. ¥e3 with the idea of 16…¦e8 17. ¤g3 42

23
 K Chapter 1  ·  From Master to Grandmaster

1 The preparatory 17. g4 should have been hopes involving ¤h6 and transferring his
2 included. own knight to c5.
3
17…¤d7 18. ¤h2 29. ¦f1 ¤c5
4

5 And here 18. b4 ¥f8 19. ¥e3 was more XABCDEFGHY

6 logical, maintaining the pawn tension. 8r+-+-+-+(
7
18…f6 19. ¥e3 ¤b6 20. a×b5 a×b5 7+-+lvlnmkp‘
8

9
21. ¥d3 ¥d7 22. £d2 6q+-zp-zpp+&
10 XABCDEFGHY 5+psnPzp-+-%
11
8-+-snr+k+( 4-+p+P+N+$
12
7tr-wqlvl-+p‘ 3+-zP-wQ-sNP#
13
6-sn-zp-zpp+& 2-zPL+-zPP+“
14
5+pzpPzp-+-% 1+-vL-+RmK-!
15
4-+-+P+-+$ xabcdefghy
16

17 3+-zPLvL-sNP# Somehow imperceptibly Carlsen has

18 2-zP-wQ-zPPsN“ aimed his pieces at the kingside, but Black
19
1tR-+-tR-mK-! does not sense the danger. He continues
to ignore the move 29…h5, although after
20
xabcdefghy
21 it the black king would have been more
22 At the young age of 12 it is not easy to stay safely placed than in the game. In the event
23 patient and engage in strategic manoeu- of 30. ¤h6 ¤g5 31. f4 e×f4 32. £×f4 ¢×h6
24 vring, trying to find a vulnerable point in (not 32…¥×h3? because of 33. ¤×h5+!
25 Black’s solid defensive lines. But Magnus g×h5 34. e5! ¦f8 35. ¤f5+ ¥×f5 36. £×f5
26 patiently bides his time. and White wins) 33. h4 ¦f8 Black safely
27 withdraws his king.
22…¤f7 23. ¦×a7 £×a7 24. £e2 £a6
28
25. ¤g4 ¢g7 30. ¤h6! ¤g5
29

30 Black is not tempted by the provoca- Black should have restricted himself to
31 tive 25…h5?!, after which there can the cool-headed exchange 30…¤×h6
32 follow 26.  ¤×h5! g×h5 27.  ¤h6+ ¤×h6 31.  £×h6+ ¢g8, with the intention of
33 28. ¥×h6 ¥f8 29. £×h5 ¥×h6 30. £×h6 switching his bishop to g7.
34 ¦e7 31. ¦e3 ¦g7 32. £×f6, when White
31. f4! e×f4 32. £×f4 ¥×h3?
35 has three pawns for the piece and a con-
36 tinuing attack. Black is tempted by the win of a pawn,
37 underestimating White’s latent attacking
26. ¥c1 ¤a4 27. ¥c2 ¦a8 28. £e3 c4
38 resources. It was better to simplify the
39 Black could have continued his waiting position: 32…¢×h6 33. h4 ¦f8 34. h×g5+
40 strategy – 28…¤b6 29.  ¥d3 £a4, but f×g5 35.  £h4+ ¢g7 36.  ¥×g5 ¦×f1+
41 28…¥×g4!? 29. h×g4 c4 also came into 37. ¤×f1 ¥×g5 38. £×g5, although here
42 consideration, nipping in the bud White’s too White’s chances are preferable. Now,

24
 M. Carlsen – H. Harestad N

however, Magnus succeeds in demon- XABCDEFGHY 1

strating the latent energy of his pieces 8r+-+-+-+( 2

in all its glory. 7+-+lvl-mkp‘ 3

4
6q+-zp-zppsN&
33. £h4 ¥d7 5
5+psnP+-sn-% 6
4-+p+P+-wQ$ 7
(see next diagram)
3+-zP-+-sN-# 8

2-zPL+-+P+“ 9
34. e5! d×e5 35. ¤h5+! g×h5
1+-vL-+RmK-! 10

Now White announces mate in 3 moves.

xabcdefghy 11

12

But Black would also have lost after 36. £×g5+! f×g5 37. ¦f7+ ¢×h6 13

35…¢h8 36. ¥×g5 f×g5 37. £g3!. 38. ¦×h7 mate 14

15

16

Carlsen’s successful performance in the Politiken Cup tournament greatly raised his 17

self-esteem, and he was also noticed by the organisers of other tournaments. True, 18

his performances in the ‘compulsary program’ among his contemporaries were not 19

so successful. Competitive fatigue made itself felt. Especially vexing was the set-back 20

at the European Under-14 Championship in Budva (Montenegro). When Magnus won 21

against his main rival Sergey Zhigalko and took the lead with 6½ points after the 7th 22

round, it appeared that the question of the champion was decided. But he contrived 23

to lose both his last two games, in which he was winning, and finished only third. 24

Magnus also started confidently at the world championship in Halkidiki (Greece), 25

scoring 3½ points in the first 4 rounds. But unforeseen circumstances prevented him 26

from becoming champion. As Agdestein, who was accompanying him, described it, the 27

air was literally buzzing with bacteria and Magnus became ill (his temperature reached 28

40 degrees). He nevertheless kept in the leading group until the 9th round, but on this 29

occasion he lost to Zhigalko and had to be satisfied with a share of 9th-13th places 30

(7½ out of 11). These set-backs were not accidental: a child’s organism is still delicate, 31

and since the ‘compulsary program’ for the year was over-generously combined with 32

the ‘free’ one, by the end of the twelve months Magnus was very tired. This is not 33

surprising – he had played about 150 games! 34

It is well known that in Norway since long ago they have long shown a great respect 35

for their heroes, and they try to create the best conditions for the disclosure of their tal- 36

ent. Carlsen was no exception. At the age of ten he drew the attention of the Norwegian 37

grandmaster Simen Agdestein, who in 2002 began working with the prodigy. Despite 38

the comparative shortness of their lessons – twice a month spending 2–3 hours on 39

the analysis of games played – their collaboration produced results. In 2003 Carlsen 40

three times achieved the international master norm (the last time at the Politiken Cup 41

tournament) and by the end of the year he had raised his rating to 2450. 42

25
 K Chapter 1  ·  From Master to Grandmaster

1 Game 2 XABCDEFGHY
2 M. Carlsen – S. Zhigalko 8r+-wqk+-tr(
European Under-14 Championship
3
7+-+-snpvlp‘
4 Budva 2003
5 Sicilian Defence [ B33 ]
6p+-zp-+-+&
6
5+p+Pzpp+-%
1. e4 c5 2. ¤f3 ¤c6 3. d4 c×d4 4-+-+-+-+$
7
4. ¤×d4 ¤f6 5. ¤c3 e5
8 3sN-zPL+-+-#
9 Despite its apparently anti-positional na- 2PzP-+-zPPzP“
10 ture, the Chelyabinsk Variation is still alive 1tR-+Q+RmK-!
and has not been refuted. Among the elite
11
xabcdefghy
12 players it is constantly employed, for ex-
13 ample, by Radjabov and Shirov. 15…e4 16. ¥c2 £c8 17. ¦ae1 0–0
14 18. ¥b3
6. ¤db5 d6 7. ¥g5 a6 8. ¤a3 b5
15
9. ¥×f6 XABCDEFGHY
16

17 At the present time White more often turns 8r+q+-trk+(

18 to the quieter line 9. ¤d5 ¥e7 10. ¥×f6 7+-+-snpvlp‘
19 ¥×f6, and here 11. c3 or 11. c4. 6p+-zp-+-+&
20
9…g×f6 10. ¤d5 f5 11. ¥d3 5+p+P+p+Q%
21

The alternative is 11. c3, to which Black

4-+-+p+-+$
22

23 should reply 11…¥g7, since the capture

3sNLzP-+-+-#
24 on e4 is bad in view of 11…f×e4 12. ¥×b5! 2PzP-+-zPPzP“
25 a×b5 13. ¤×b5, and against the threat of 1+-+-tRRmK-!
26 14. ¤bc7+ ¢d7 15. £g4+ there is no sat- xabcdefghy
27 isfactory defence, while 11…¥e6? is point- In his commentary for ChessBase, Do-
28 less in view of 12. e×f5 ¥×f5 13. £f3. rian Rogozenko rightly remarked that it is
29 hard to think of a more natural move – the
11…¥e6 12. 0–0 ¥×d5 13. e×d5 ¤e7
30 d5-pawn is defended and the manoeu-
14. c3
31 vre ¤a3–c2 prepared. The direct 18. f3
32 The capture 14. ¤×b5 ¥g7 15. ¤c3 e4 gives gives Black the opportunity for rather easy
33 Black good compensation for the pawn. equality: 18…b4 19. ¤b1 b×c3 20. ¤×c3
34 ¥×c3 21.  b×c3 £×c3 22.  ¥b1 ¤g6
14…¥g7
35 23.  £×f5 e×f3 24.  £×f3 £×f3 25.  ¦×f3
36 (see next diagram) ¦ae8 with a drawn endgame, as in Karen
37 Asrian’s game with Wang Yue (Khanty-
15. £h5
38 Mansiysk 2005). However, for quite a long
39 Theory has gradually come to the conclu- time the main continuation was consid-
40 sion that from the standpoint of fighting ered to be 18.  ¢h1 – until at the tour-
41 for an advantage 15. ¦e1 0–0 16. £h5 e4 nament in Dortmund (2002), in his game
42 17. ¥f1 is more promising. with Topalov, Leko employed the strong

26
 M. Carlsen – S. Zhigalko N

novelty 18…¦b8!, aimed at creating quick 20. f4 (planning ¤e3 and g2–g4) or even 1

counterplay on the queenside. It remains 19. f3!? was more logical. 2

to add that after the immediate 18…b4 3

White has the unpleasant reply 19. c×b4 19…¤g6 20. ¤c2 ¤f4 21. £h4 4

¥×b2 20. ¦e3!. 5

In general, the character of the position

XABCDEFGHY 6

is such that if both sides make the critical 8r+q+-tr-mk( 7

moves (which normally can be achieved 7+-+-+pvlp‘ 8

only with the help of deep home prepa- 6p+-zp-+-+& 9

ration), the game most often concludes 5+p+P+p+-% 10

with the mutual elimination of the forces 4-+-+psn-wQ$ 11

and a draw. 3+LzP-+-+-# 12

13
18…¢h8?! 2PzPN+-zPPzP“ 14

Black has confused something – here this 1+-+-tRR+K! 15

move is pointless. Let us briefly exam- xabcdefghy 16

ine the other possibilities. Tournament 17

21…¥e5?!
practice has shown that after the quiet 18

18…¤g6 19.  ¤c2 White’s chances are It is strange that Black did not in fact carry 19

preferable (if 19…¤f4 there is a danger- out that for which he was obviously aiming: 20

ous exchange sacrifice: 20.  £g5 ¤d3 21…¤d3, after which White would prob- 21

21. ¤e3!). After 18…¦b8 White has time ably have had to give up a rook for the pow- 22

to consolidate his queenside – 19. ¤c2 a5 erful knight. However, his compensation 23

20. a3! after which he can calmly mount would have been sufficient: 22. ¦e3 £d8! 24

an offensive on the opposite side of the 23. £h3 £g5 24. ¦×d3 e×d3 25. £×d3 f4!, 25

board. and the position is unclear. 26

The only way to equalise is by the ener- 27

getic 18…a5!, which occurred a few days 22. ¤e3 28

later in the game Carlsen – McShane, which 29

Now, as if by schedule, the white pieces
continued 19. ¤×b5 a4 20. ¥d1 £c5 21. ¤d4 30
arrive at the necessary posts.
£×d5 22. ¦e3 £e5 23. ¦h3 h6 24. f4 £f6 31

with dynamic equilibrium. If 19. £g5 the best 22…¦g8 23. ¥c2! b4 24. g3 ¤d3 32

is apparently 19…£d7! 20. f3 ¤g6! 21. f×e4 33

f4 with excellent play for Black (Fernandez The opponent’s initiative after 24…¤g6!? 34

Romero – Eljanov, Andorra 2003). 25.  £h5 b×c3 26.  b×c3 (or 26.  b3!? f4 35

27. ¤f5) 26…¥×c3 27. ¦d1 seemed too 36

19. ¢h1?!
dangerous to Zhigalko, and so he decided 37

On the emergence from the opening, both to give up a pawn. 38

players have made decisions that are hard 39

to understand, which, however, is easily 25. ¥×d3 e×d3 26. £×b4 40

explained in view of their youth and the 41

complexity of the position. 19. ¤c2 ¤g6 (see next diagram) 42

27
 K Chapter 1  ·  From Master to Grandmaster

1 XABCDEFGHY retained the advantage. Now, however,

2
8r+q+-+rmk( Carlsen retains the d5-pawn with the help
of a ‘little combination’.
3
7+-+-+p+p‘
4

5
6p+-zp-+-+& 34. c4! ¢g7
6
5+-+Pvlp+-% If 34…¥×b2 there follows 35. ¦e8+.
7 4-wQ-+-+-+$
35. b3
8 3+-zPpsN-zP-#
9 2PzP-+-zP-zP“ XABCDEFGHY
10
1+-+-tRR+K! 8-tr-+-+-+(
11
xabcdefghy 7+-+-+pmkp‘
12

13 White is still a long way from a trouble-

6p+-zp-vl-+&
14 free conversion of his advantage – it is 5+-trP+-+-%
15 no easy matter to suppress the typical 4-+P+RzP-+$
16 ‘Chelyabinsk’ activity of the enemy pieces. 3+P+p+-+-#
17 However, from this moment Magnus begins 2P+-+-+-zP“
18 demonstrating mature technique beyond 1+-+NtR-+K!
his years.
19
xabcdefghy
20
26…¦b8 27. £c4!
21 White has set up a seemingly indestructible
22 27. £a3? would have lost to 27…f4 28. ¤g2 monolith, but, strangely enough, Black still
23 f×g3 29. f×g3 ¥×g3!. has some drawing chances.
24
27…f4! 35…¦a5
25

26 It is not possible to regain the material: 35…a5 36.¦4e3 d2 37.¦1e2 was hopeless
27 27…¦×b2 28. £×d3, or 27…d2 28. ¦b1. for Black.
28
28. £×c8 ¦g×c8 29. ¤d1! ¦c5 30. g×f4 36. ¦g1+ ¢f8 37. ¦g2 ¦a3!
29

30 30. ¦e4! was more accurate: 30…¦×d5 (or The two players are as though competing
31 30…f×g3 31. f×g3 with the same idea of in inventiveness. Zhigalko persistently tries
32 soon surrounding the d3-pawn) 31. g×f4. to break through the obstructive barriers,
33 skilfully erected by Carlsen in the path of
30…¥×f4 31. ¦e4 ¥e5 32. f4 ¥g7!
34 the black pieces.
35 Better than 32…¥f6.
38. ¦e3 ¦e8
36
33. ¦fe1
37 If 38…a5, then 39. ¦×d3 a4 40. ¦dg3 ¢e7
38 Or 33. ¦f3 ¦×d5 34. ¦ee3 ¥h6!. 41. b×a4 ¦×a4 42. ¦b3!, and White should
39 gradually convert his two extra pawns.
33…¥f6
40
39. ¦d2!
41 33…h5 was possible, although after
42 34. ¢g2 ¦×d5 35. ¢f3 White would have An accurate move, enabling the knight to be

28
 M. Carlsen – S. Zhigalko N

activated with gain of tempo. 39. ¦×e8+?! ¦×h6 50. ¤×h6+ ¢f8 51. ¤f5 a5 1

¢×e8 40. ¦d2 a5 41. ¤f2 a4 was weaker. 2

XABCDEFGHY 3
39…¦×e3 40. ¤×e3 ¥d4 41. ¤f5
8-+-+-mk-+( 4

After 41. ¦×d3 ¥×e3 42. ¦×e3 ¦×a2 the 7+-+-+p+p‘ 5

win for White is in question, since his king 6-+-+-+-+& 6

is badly placed. 5zp-vlP+N+-% 7

8
41…¥c5 42. ¦×d3 4-+P+KzP-+$ 9

42. ¢g2! ¥b4 43. ¦×d3 ¦×a2+ 44. ¢g3

3+-+-+-+-# 10

was more methodical, bringing the king 2-+-+-+-zP“ 11

into play. 1+-+-+-+-! 12

42…¦×a2 43. ¦h3
xabcdefghy 13

14
52. d6!
XABCDEFGHY 15

8-+-+-mk-+( The timid 52. ¢d3? a4 53. ¢c3 ¢e8 would

16

17
7+-+-+p+p‘ have delayed the win, although probably
18
6p+-zp-+-+& would not have thrown it away.
19
5+-vlP+N+-% 52…a4 53. ¢d5 ¥b4 20
4-+P+-zP-+$ 21

3+P+-+-+R# If 53…a3, then 54.  ¢×c5 ¢e8 (54…a2 22

2r+-+-+-zP“ 55. d7) 55. ¤d4 a2 56. ¤b3. 23

1+-+-+-+K! 54. c5 ¢e8 55. c6 ¥a5 56. ¢c4

24

25
xabcdefghy
Of course, there was no point in playing 26

43…¢g8? 56. c7? ¥×c7 57. d×c7 ¢d7, since a knight 27

Black should have played 43…¦f2! is bad at combatting a passed rook’s pawn. 28

44. ¦×h7 (44. ¦h6? ¦×f4 45. ¤×d6? ¢g7) Now Black is in zugzwang. 29

30
44…¢g8 45.  ¦h3 ¦×f4 46.  ¤e7+ ¢g7 56…¢d8 57. ¤e7 h5 58. f5 h4 59. h3 f6 31
(46…¢f8 47. ¤c6) 47. ¢g2 (or 47. ¤c6), 60. ¤d5 a3 61. ¢b3 32
and although with best play White should
33
win, he would have to overcome technical Black resigned.
34
difficulties.
35

44. ¦h6! This far from faultless but entertaining 36

game is a good illustration of Magnus’s 37

With the fall of the d6-pawn, Black’s entire
ability from his youngest years to create 38
position collapses. However, accurate cal-
positions in which mistakes are practi- 39
culation is still required of White.
cally inevitable. In so doing, he normally 40

44…¦a1+ 45. ¢g2 ¦a2+ 46. ¢f3 ¦a3 makes fewer mistakes in them than his 41

47. ¤×d6 ¦×b3+ 48. ¢e4 ¦b6 49. ¤f5 opponents. 42

29
 Schach
„Ich habe schon früh angefangen, die besten Schachzüge
aller Top-Spieler in mein Spiel aufzunehmen.“ Magnus Carlsen
Elementare Kenntnisse zum Schach in Übungsbüchern
Edmar Mednis
SPiele gute
erÖFFNuNgSZÜge!
Die elementaren Kenntnisse in
einem übungsbuch. Deutsche
übersetzung und Bearbeitung
durch rudof teschner. 94 seiten
mit 51 Diagrammen.
isBn 978-3-283-00250-3
€ (D) 9,95/€ (A) 10,30 / sFr.14.90
7. Auflage erscheint im März
2012
Der Us-Bestseller-Autor und
schachlehrer mednis hat ein Werk
vorgelegt, aus dem jeder spieler
im selbststudium entnehmen
kann, welche Züge gut sind und
warum. Wer sein Gedächtnis also
nicht unnötig mit ungezählten
Varianten belasten will, der ist mit
16 diesem Buch gut beraten.
93951_VS_Edition_OLMS_FJ2012_Weidemann_02.indd 16
Adrian Michaltschischin
und Oleg Stetsko
kÄMPFeN uND SiegeN
Mit MagNuS carlSeN
seine besten schachpartien kommentiert
von Adrian michaltschischin and Oleg
stetsko. Deutsche übersetzung von Dirk
Poldauf. 312 seiten mit zahlreichen Dia-
grammen.
isBn 978-3-283-01021-8
€ (D) 24,95/€ (A) 25,70 / sFr. 35.90
£ 19,99/$ 29,95
Lieferbar!
Adrian Mikhalchishin
and Oleg Stetsko
FightiNg cheSS
With MagNuS carlSeN
His Best Games annotated by Adrian
mikhalchishin and Oleg stetsko.
translated and edited by Ken neat.
280 pp with many diagrams.
isBn 978-3-283-01020-1
€ (D) 24,95 / € (A) 25,70 / sFr. 35.90
£ 19,99/$ 29,95
Available!
Mark Dworetski/Artur
Jussupow
POStiONelleS Schach
Wie man sein stellungsgefühl
trainiert. lektionen und materi-
alienaus der Dworetski-Jussu-
pow-schachschule. 230 seiten
mit 250 Diagrammen.
isBn 978-3-283-00322-7
€ (D) 19,95/€ (A) 20,60/sFr.28.90
6. Auflage erscheint im
März 2012
Wie trainiert man sein Positionsge-
fühl? Woran erkennt man typische
stellungen und die dazugehörigen
Pläne? selten war ein anspruchs-
volles lehrwerk so nahe an der
Praxis. – Die schachschule des
trainerteams Dworetski/Jussupow
gilt vielen schachfreunden als die
weltweit beste.
 mittlerweile fest in der Weltelite etabliert, stellte der
norweger magnus Carlsen in seiner schachkarriere einen
rekord nach dem anderen auf. im Alter von nur dreizehn
Jahren wurde er Großmeister und 2010 avancierte er zur
jüngsten nr. 1 der Welt aller Zeiten.
 Dieses Buch präsentiert detaillierte Kommentare zu
64 der besten Partien Carlsens sowie eine Beschreibung
seiner Karriere. Untersucht werden auch die Defizite, an
denen er als junger spieler litt und wie er diese auf dem
Weg in die Weltspitze überwand.
 now firmly established among the world’s elite, the
norwegian magnus Carlsen has been setting records ever
since he embarked on his chess career. He became a grand-
master at the age of just 13, and in 2010 he became the
youngest player to be ranked no.1 in the world.
 this book presents detailed annotations to 64 of
Carlsen’s best games, together with a description of his
career. Also examined are the deficiencies from which he
suffered as a young player, and how he overcame these on
his way to the top.
Mark Dworetski Mark Dworetski
MODerNe Schachtaktik geheiMNiSSe Der
lektionen von russlands SchachStrategie
spitzentrainer. erweiterte und lektionen von russlands spit-
übersetzte Ausgabe aus dem zentrainer. 248 seiten mit 268
russischen vonn Bernd Feustel, Diagrammen.
durchgesehen von rudolf isBn 978-3-283-00362-3
teschner. € (D) 19,95/€ (A) 20,60/sFr.28.90
isBn 978-3-283-00278-7 3. Auflage erscheint im
€ (D) 19,95/€ (A) 20,60/sFr.28.90 März 2012
6. Auflage erscheint im
März 2012 mark Dworetski versteht es wie
kein anderer, allgemeine Wahr-
in diesem Buch entfaltet Dworetski heiten und lehrsätze mit leben
seine methode, mit der er talen- zu füllen. Doch dabei bleibt er
tierte spieler auf Großmeisterklas- nicht stehen. er prüft sie im licht
se bringt. Der erstaunliche erfolg konkreter Beispiele und bietet dem
beweist eindrucksvoll die Qualität leser ein reichhaltiges Arsenal
der trainingsmethodik. Die Haupt- instruktiver übungsstellungen an.
themen sind die Kombination, der
Angriff und die Verteidigung. Auch
für Gruppenunterricht geeignet.
08.12.11 17:59