I had a tricky decision to make this week, again.

There were some tremendous games played in the Opera Euro Rapid event, not least in the final where Magnus Carlsen missed chance after chance against Wesley So. A shame for Magnus of course but good to know that even a World Champion still makes mistakes.

Anyway I have decided to show a game from the Thanet All Play All.

Two games stood out this week, firstly we had pm5 v Ferrarifan. A very exciting game where both players certainly had chances to win. Here is the position with White to move, there is a forced mate in 3. The mate was missed and incredibly this game ended in a draw just a few moves short of 100

Our Game of The Week is also exciting, once again both players had a nice advantage at different times in the game and the result could have gone any of three ways.

The main reason I have picked this game is the excellent endgame play and an unusual situation of King and Queen v King and 3 connected pawns. I have only included a few notes as the actions of both players tell the tale and the swings of the game far better than a few words

 White:  RichardDavies       Black:  CliveLeBaigue

Thanet All Play All

   1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4   4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 Nc6 7. Be3 g6 {not sure if this is a Najdorf or   Dragondorf? But we have a level and interesting position} 8. Qd2 Bg7 9. f3 O-O   10. O-O {Still level and with both players castling kingside we are less   likely to see huge pawn storms} Bd7 11. Nb3 b5 12. a3 Rc8 13. Rad1 Ne5 14. Kh1   Nc4 15. Bxc4 bxc4 16. Nd4 Nh5 17. Bh6 Qb6 18. Bxg7 Nxg7 19. Nd5 Qd8 20. c3 {   both sides are solid, it is interesting to see how the pawn on c4 effectively   hinders White's queenside majority} Ne6 21. Nxe6 fxe6 {The Black pawns look   ugly but they do control most of the important central squares} 22. Ne3 Ba4 23.   Rde1 Qa5 24. Nc2 Qc5 25. Nd4 Bd7 26. f4 e5 27. fxe5 Qxe5 28. Qe2 Rxf1+ 29. Rxf1   Kg7 30. Kg1 h5 31. h3 Qg5 32. Kh1 {a little strange to move the King back into   the corner, Qf3 looked good taking control of the only open file} Qh4 33. Kg1   Qg5 34. Qf3 Kh6 35. Kh2 Qe5+ 36. Kh1 Qg5 {I wonder if either player was   looking to draw with a three times repetition of the position?} 37. Qf7 Qe5 {   White has built some pressure however he should keep Queens on the board} 38.   Qd5 Qxd5 39. exd5 Kg7 {Now Black has an edge although there is plenty of play   left in this game} 40. Kh2 {A mistake as the d5 pawn cannot be defended,   better was Re1} Rc5 41. Ne6+ Bxe6 42. dxe6 Rf5 {nice play, Black doesn't have   to rush to win the pawn on e6} 43. Rxf5 gxf5 44. Kg3 Kg6 45. h4 Kf6 46. Kf4 {   again we can see how important the pawn on c4 is!} Kxe6 {d5 first was even   better} 47. Kg5 f4 48. Kxf4 Kf6 {patient play from Black, trusting that his   central pawns will roll forward} 49. Ke4 e6 50. a4 d5+ 51. Kd4 Kf5 52. Ke3 e5   53. Kf3 a5 54. g3 e4+ 55. Kf2 Kg4 {lovely play White is in zugzwang} 56. Kg2 e3   57. Kf1 Kxg3 {obviously still winning but much easier was Kf3 and the e pawn   queens} 58. Ke2 Kxh4 {again Kf4 was much more simple} 59. Kxe3 Kg3 60. Kd4 Kg2   61. Kxd5 h4 62. Kxc4 h3 63. Kb5 h2 64. Kxa5 h1=Q {Black is winning but how   often do we see this endgame?} 65. Kb4 Kf2 66. c4 Qb7+ 67. Kc3 Ke3 68. b4 Ke4   69. a5 Ke5 70. b5 Kd6 71. Kb4 Qc7 72. a6 Qc5+ 73. Kc3 Kc7 74. Kb3 Kb6 75. Kc3   Ka5 {A very interesting game, both players had chances and the endgame was   played very well by Black} 0-1     

So, the Opera Euro Rapid champion is Wesley So who defeated Magnus Carlsen in the final of the event. In truth Magnus had enough chances to do much better, having winning positions in the final 2 games, but only taking a half point from the two on offer.

BIG Congratulations to Wesley So, who played superbly throughout the event, and once again beat Carlsen on a special day. Last time it was on Carlsen’s birthday and this victory came on Valentine’s Day. Magnus must be pleased that Wesley did not qualify for the Candidates, and thus can not be his opponent in the next World Championship match!

Talking about the Candidates, the major talking point was the ‘withdrawal’ of Teimour Radjabov because of his concerns over Covid. For which he has been proven to be right. FIDE removed him and immediately gave the vacant spot to Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.

MVL is currently co-leader of the Candidates so there was some irony that the play-off for 3rd spot at the Opera was played between Teimour and Maxime.

As it happened Teimour won the match very easily and has certainly made a statement regarding the fact that he should be playing in the Candidates!

This position is from last week’s Opera Euro Rapid event

The featured game is between Carlsen (White) v Vachier-Lagrave (Black)

Carlsen has his opponent trapped in the corner, he played Bd4+ and eventually won,

Can you find the best move missed by the World Champion?

White to Play

Magnus played Bxg6 attacking the Black Queen and defending the f2 square

After an exciting week of chess we have reached the Final of the Opera Euro Rapid competition. World Champion Magnus Carlsen defeated MVL in a very thrilling and topsy turvy semi-final. Magnus showed both extremes of live rapid chess by playing brilliantly one game and dropping pieces in the next.

In the position below it is Magnus (White) to move, most of us would play Re1 or Rf3 protecting the Bishop on e3. Magnus actually played Qd3?? and resigned on the spot. At least we can be assured that no engines are being used in this competition!

His opponent in the Final is Wesley So, who played excellent chess to beat Teimour Radjabov. Wesley’s play is well suited to rapid chess as he can switch between ultra solid and very aggressive, a perfect combination when playing Carlsen.

Interestingly in the very first game of the Opera Tournament a week ago, Wesley So defeated Magnus Carlsen. Will history repeat itself in the final?