<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/547264baecad04713acefe59-1000-667/carslen game 11 win.jpeg" border="0" alt="Carslen Game 11 Win"><p class="source"><span>FIDE</span></p><p class="caption">Magnus Carlsen stand alone atop the chess world.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Magnus Carlsen successfully defended his title as World Chess Champion on Sunday. He defeated Challenger Viswanathan Anand in Game 11 of a 12-game match to achieve the 6.5 points needed to claim victory.</p>
<p>Anand really went for it, attempting a dramatic sacrificial strategy when playing with the black pieces. It was a fitting end to a rematch of the 2013 WCC, when Carlsen ended Anand's 5-time reign as champion.</p>
<p>Over the course of several weeks, Carlsen proved himself to be a tenacious, precise, and at times ferocious competitor, while Anand drew upon all his reserves in an effort to prove that at 44, he could recover the title he lost to the 23-year-old in 2013.</p>
<p>There were no theatrics after Anand resigned in a lost position and shook the now two-time World Champion's hand. That isn't what happens in chess. There's no jumping up and down and there's no fist-pumping, after hours of fierce concentration. </p>
<p>Rather, Carslen and Anand briefly discussed the game, then left the stage in Sochi, Russia to celebrate and commiserate with their respective entourages.</p>
<p><strong>A BRILLIANT SACRIFICE THAT JUST WASN'T ENOUGH</strong></p>
<p>Anand initially looked to be aiming for a draw with black in Game 11, setting up a decisive showdown in Game 12, when he would be playing white. The opening was once again the Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defense, which as I've pointed out during the numerous times it's been employed during this WCC is well-known at Grandmaster-level play for being a drawing weapon.</p>
<p>However, on move 27, Anand executed a daring sacrifice of his rook, with the goal of advancing a pawn to Carlsen's back rank, promoting it to a queen (the queens had been exchanged earlier). Here's the position:</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5472648c6bb3f7a769a09f8d-487-492/screen shot 2014-11-23 at 5.42.49 pm.png" border="0" alt="Carlsen Anand Game 11 Rook Sac"><p class="source"><span>ChessBomb</span></p><p class="caption">The turning point in the game: the rook goes to b4.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>A collective gasp went through the chess world.</p>
<p>With the white bishop on c3, Carlsen then took the rook that Anand moved to b4.</p>
<p>Then attention shifted to Anand's pawns on the a- and b-files. Game on, and how!</p>
<p>Ultimately, Carlsen was able to stave off the attack, liberate two of his own pawns in the endgame, and force Anand's resignation on the 45th move.</p>
<p>The former World Champion had gone down swinging.</p>
<p><strong>MORE TO COME</strong></p>
<p>The game was complicated and unusual - "Wow!" was the word that the commentators in the official online broadcast used to characterize Anand's decision to press the attack rather than working for a draw.</p>
<p>I'll come back to this post for an update once I've had a chance to study the game a bit more deeply. </p>
<p>But the bottom is that Magnus Carlsen has passed his second big test as the greatest chess player in the world. </p>
<p>He's repeated as World Champion. In the process, Anand managed a single win. Right now, Carlsen is very, very hard to beat.</p>
<p>You can watch the replay of the game <a href="http://www.sochi2014.fide.com/video-archive/">here</a>.</p>
<p>And you can <a href="http://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2014-wcc/11-Carlsen_Magnus-Anand_Viswanathan">review the game at ChessBomb</a>.</p>

An Almost Unbeatable Magnus Carlsen Defends His Title As World Chess Champion

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/546e8e106bb3f77003b7d0bc-1000-667/carlsen-anand game 9.jpeg" border="0" alt="Carlsen Anand Game 9"><p class="source"><span>FIDE</span></p><p class="caption">This is so boring.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>At the World Chess Championship in 2013, played in then-titleholder Viswanathan Anand's home country of India, there was a lot of complaining after the first four games of the match about boring Grandmaster draws in chess. </p>
<p>With many of the openings in chess at the elite level understood at a very deep level, it can be profoundly difficult to establish winning tactics in a game between two highly skilled players.</p>
<p>Consequently, many GM games end in draws.</p>
<p>And far more often than fans would like, GMs agree to draws after only about two dozen moves.</p>
<p>At this year's match in Sochi, Russia, the story has been completely different. Reigning champ Magnus Carlsen and Anand, now the challenger, have played a series of enthralling games up to where we are now: Game 9 completed on Thursday, with only three games remaining in the 12-game match.</p>
<p>Carlsen has the edge; the score stands at 5-4 in his favor (wins are worth a point, draws count for half a point, and losses equal zero).</p>
<p>The stage is set for some serious drama headed into the home stretch. Anand will have two more chances to win, capitalizing on the advantage of playing the white pieces. Carlsen will try to maintain his margin and defend his title.</p>
<p><strong>A BORING DRAW</strong></p>
<p>The boring GM draw did finally arrive, unsurprisingly in Game 9. Game 7 was a 122-move marathon (and a draw) that created, in Game 8 (also a draw) the bizarre sight of Carlsen <em>possibly </em> nodding off to sleep at the board - or more likely using <em>thinking </em>to disguise his complete exhaustion.</p>
<p>Previous games had been dense, theoretical battles - demanding engagements that took a mental toll on both Magnus and Vishy.</p>
<p>Wednesday was a rest day, but it clearly wasn't enough for the players. So they collaborated on yet another Berlin Defense in the Ruy Lopez opening (my intro to the opening is <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/magnus-carlsen-crushes-his-challenger-in-game-2-of-the-world-chess-championship-2014-11">here</a>), a game plan that quite often leads to draws in GM play. </p>
<p>This time around, the game made it to move 20 before a check was repeated and a draw was agreed upon. In fact, according to some of the online commentary, much of the game was essentially a replay of a GM contest from a few years back.</p>
<p>Here's the final position:</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/546e8ec46bb3f73113b7d0b5-489-490/screen shot 2014-11-20 at 7.59.57 pm.png" border="0" alt="Carlsen Anand Game 9 Final Position"><p class="source"><span>ChessBomb</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>Ultimately, nothing too exciting, but this isn't a single-elimination tournament. It's match play. At at this late juncture, strategies for getting to the finish are coming into the picture.</p>
<p>Carlsen wants Anand to take a chance, go for a win, overextend himself, and provide Carlsen with an opportunity to close to within a half point of victory (the first player to a 6.5 score will become the World Champion).</p>
<p>Anand wants to test Carlsen's preparation: on two occasions in the match, Anand has been able to exploit  the 23-year-old Carlsen's weaker grasp of opening theory.</p>
<p>Additionally, Anand looks fairly fresh. His 44-year-old body and brain haven't let him down yet.</p>
<p>Carlsen, meanwhile...well, there was the whole falling asleep thing...</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/546bc12feab8ea3a7540a948-1200-800/magnus sleeping?.jpeg" border="0" alt="Magnus Sleeping?"><p class="source"><span>FIDE</span></p><p class="caption">Sleeping...or deep in thought?</p></img></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>The boring GM draw in Game 9 shouldn't bum anyone out. There were more of them last year, so only one this time around should be tolerable, even understandable.</p>
<p>Bottom line: 2014 has indeed been something completely different - and extremely exciting.</p>
<p>And now it's <em>really </em>going to get good.</p>
<p>You can watch the replay of Game 9 <a href="http://www.sochi2014.fide.com/video-archive/">here</a>.</p>
<p>And you can <a href="http://en.chessbase.com/post/sochi-g9-a-quick-draw-tightens-the-noose">review the game at ChessBase</a>.</p>

Finally! A Boring Draw At The World Chess Championship

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image on-image"><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/5245e82269bedd452c8f0407-1200-706/world%20chess.jpg?maxX=800" border="0" alt="Viswanathan Anand plays against Norway's Magnus Carlsen - Norway Chess 2013 tournamen" width="800" /><p class="source">REUTERS/Kent Skibstad</p></div><p></p></div>The most anticipated <keyword id="6362158" type="SPORT" weightage="60" keywordseo="chess">chess</keyword> match in over a decade begins next week.</p>
<p>On November 9 in Chennai, India, upstart Norwegian chess prodigy Magnus Carlsen will attempt to become the world champion by facing off against Viswanathan Anand over the course of 12 games.</p>
<p>Carlsen gets all the attention because he's just 22 and even does modeling, but Anand is one of the all-time greats, and is the defending champion.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/b531e4b0-41c1-11e3-b064-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2jWYBhPrd">James Crabtree at FT</a> has a great profile of Anand, and what he's doing in preparation for the big match. In addition to rigorous practice (he says he does more intense training in one day than he did during his entire training for a world championship match against Kasparov in 1995) there's also a regular physical fitness routine (running, swimming, etc.).</p>
<p>Particularly fascinating is how Anand describes the impact of <keyword id="6387283" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="computers">computers</keyword> on human vs. human chess.</p>
<p>Thanks to powerful computers, a player can gain incredible insight into the weaknesses and strengths of a given opening strategy. This to combat this, a player must have a varied opening repertoire, and not rely too much on any one line, lest their opponent beome too knowledgeable about the possible positions.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">He describes the preparation process as akin to plotting an ambush in a giant forest. The terrain is too vast to comprehend in its entirety, he says. "But there are areas that you will know better than your opponent", and that is where you prepare to attack, aided in your preparation by the most important change to sweep through the game of chess in decades: computers. "The way people play chess nowadays, which is to keep on switching their openings, being much more opportunistic - I think that is a direct result of computers. Even the way people play tournaments - everything has changed."</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong>Top competitors who once relied on particular styles of play are now forced to mix up their strategies, for fear that powerful analysis engines will be used to reveal fatal weaknesses in favoured openings</strong>. The result has in some ways made chess more defensive, increasing the risks of daring, adventurous gambits. But in championship matches, where draws are common and the final result is likely to be decided by just a handful of victories, unexpected approaches become even more prized. "<strong>Anything unusual that you can produce has quadruple, quintuple the value, precisely because your opponent is likely to do the predictable stuff, which is on a computer</strong>," Anand says.</p>
<p>Computer chess encourages a variation of strategies, and it encourages approaches that are unusual.</p>
<p>Should be a fascinating match!</p>

Here's The Fascinating Way Computers Have Changed The Way Humans Play Chess Against Each Other

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5464a5956bb3f78918ea5479-1028/screen shot 2014-11-13 at 7.28.43 am.png" alt="Magnus Carlsen Game 4" data-mce-source="FIDE" /><p class="source"><span>FIDE</span></p><p class="caption">World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Current World Chess Champion Magus Carlsen of Norway will defend his title against a new challenger, Russia's Sergey Karjakin, in New York City starting on November 11, with games running through November 30, if needed.</p><p>It's the first time the World Chess Championship has been contested in New York since 1995, when then World Champion took Garry Kasparov took on Viswanathan Anand. Kasparov won that match, but Anand would go on to capture the title five times - and face Carlsen in the last two WCCs.</p><p>The big disappointment for the United States this time around is that in the 2016 Candidates Tournament, held to determine Carlsen's opponent for the WCC, not one but two Americans were in the running: Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana. </p><p>Caruana brought it right down to the wire, losing a must-win match against Karjakin and in the process putting the Russian opposite Carlsen to fight for the 2016 title. A big missed opportunity, given that Caruana has posted good results against Carlsen and has often been discussed as a potential World Champion. But Caruna didn't dwell on the critical loss; he came back to the US from Moscow to win the US Championship in convincing fashion.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54cbdf696bb3f79b7806cd4a-2048/caruana tata steel.jpg" alt="Caruana Tata Steel" data-mce-source="Alina L'Ami" /><p class="source"><span>Alina L'Ami</span></p><p class="caption">Caruana got close.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>I talked to him briefly this summer prior to the Sinquefield Cup, a top professional even held annually at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis, which has become the Yankee Stadium of American chess.</p><p>"It didn't work out," he said of his effort at the Candidates, deploying the easygoing humility for which he has become known in the edgy and at times cutthroat world of big-time pro chess.</p><p>Although Caruana did go almost all the way, he admitted that he "wasn't prepared well enough before the Candidates Tournament."</p><p>"I needed more more stamina," he said.</p><p>The show must go on, and Karjakin, the world's number 9 nine ranked player with a rating of 2772, it at 26 the youngest opponent Carlsen, 25, has faced for a title challenge (Anand was in his forties). Carlsen is the number one player in the world, with a rating of 2853. By that tale of the tape, Kajakin should lose, but he does have a decent record against Carlsen, and the two men grew up playing against each other.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/581ceae146e27a1b008b4db2-1000/karjakin.jpg" alt="Sergey Karjakin" data-mce-source="World Chess" /><p class="source"><span>World Chess</span></p><p class="caption">Sergey Karjakin, the challenger.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>"Magnus is a little bit slow in the beginnings," said Ilya<span> Merenzon, CEO of Agon, the company that's organizing the 2016 WCC for the game's governing body, FIDE. </span></p><p>"Sergey will try to beat him in the opening, the hold on for dear life. Expect some fireworks. Both players will try to come up with really cool openings." (Openings are the deeply studied first moves in a chess match.)</p><p><span>Merenzon added that Karjakin has the entire Russian chess machine behind him - and it is a formidable apparatus. </span></p><p><span>"The t</span>op players in the world are going to working with him. It's an arms race now, and I know how big the teams are - they're massive."</p><p>The match will consist of a planned 12 games (with tie-breaks thereafter) and be held at the Fulton Market in the South Street Seaport. According to <span>Merenzon, there will be VIP access for the live event, alongside regular ticketing, but there will also be some innovative online broadcast options, including multiple cameras and virtual reality. </span></p><p><span>The idea is to take a sport that's difficult to watch and understand - WCC-level games can consume many hours, during which time spectators are watching the players silently think - and transform it into something more thrilling.</span></p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/581ceb1c691e8877098b4d4f-1280/fulton market building.jpg" alt="Fulton Market Building" data-mce-source="AGON" /><p class="source"><span>AGON</span></p><p class="caption">The Fulton Market will be the venue.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p><span><span>Merenzon stressed that the organizers want to increase the "drama and intensity" so that the WCC feels like a major sporting event - like the "most important thing in the world," he said.</span></span></p><p><span><span>"We're taking from boxing and from entertainment," he said. "It's going to be a show - it's going to emotions."</span></span></p><p><span>Agon's broadcast deal is exclusive and restricts access to the actual moves of the game for a defined period of time, a controversial policy, but one that the chess world was introduced to before the Candidates. </span></p><p>The cost for the WCC package will be $15 for whole match, "less than a movie," Merenzon said.</p><p>The preparation of the venue will come down to the wire. A WCC requires a very specific arrangement for players and spectators, and according to Merenzon, that means the work, costing $2 million, will be completed "very last minute - a couple of days before the event."</p><p>That said, Carlsen and his entourage have already checked out the space and, Merenzon said, approved of it. As far as notable fans go, Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates are reportedly planning to be in New York for the match.</p><p>New York is a great chess city, going back over a century and running right through the difficult career of the last American World Champion, Bobby Fischer, who grew up in Brooklyn. The 1995 WCC was held at the World Trade Center, so it's appropriate that the 2016 match will be held nearby, in lower Manhattan. </p><p>There is a whiff of the old Cold War tension, as well. Carlsen is the first World Champion from the West since Fischer, and Karjakin was in favor of Russian annexation of the Crimea in 2014, the Guardian reported. The prize money is significant, as well, if a bit fuzzy: it should be something like $1 million.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-case-daylight-saving-time-2016-11">Here's why we should just scrap daylight-saving time already </a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="B1cWl4MTE6b0KeSK8DH8dNOG_rvf1EBl" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'B1cWl4MTE6b0KeSK8DH8dNOG_rvf1EBl',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

Magnus Carlsen will defend his World Chess Championship crown next week in New York City

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54b58f4b69bedd3246abc955-450-300/magnus wojtaszek tata steel.jpg" border="0" alt="Magnus Wojtaszek Tata Steel"><p class="source"><span>Alina l' Ami/Tata Steel</span></p><p class="caption">Wojtaszek was ready.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Norway's 24-year-old chess phenom, Magnus Carlsen, successfully defended his World Chess Championship late last year in Sochi, Russia, once again defeating 44-year-old Viswanathan Anand of India.</p>
<p>But that doesn't mean Carlsen is unbeatable, as we just learned.</p>
<p>On Monday at a big and very important tournament, the <a href="http://www.tatasteelchess.com/">Tata Steel</a> in Wijk aan Zee in the Netherlands, Carlsen went down to the Polish number one, Radoslaw Wojtaszek.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wijk_aan_Zee" title="Wijk aan Zee"><br /></a></p>
<p>Wojtaszek is 28, a Grandmaster, but rated 2744, more than 100 points lower than Carlsen, 2862 (who has the highest rating of all time).</p>
<p>Interestingly, however, Wojtaszek was one of Anand's "seconds" for the World Championship - effectively, a sparring partner and assistant to the challenger. Of course, this means that at the moment, Wojtaszek knows Carlsen's game as well as anyone on Earth.</p>
<p>On Monday, it showed.</p>
<p>At the WCC, Carlsen indicated that in dynamic positions, he can leave open the prospect for tactics - combinations of moves that are the heart and soul of attacking, "fighting" chess, but that in the modern game occur less frequently than in the past, due to players' ability to train with computers and avoid complications.</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">In their game, the third of 13 scheduled, </span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Wojtaszek was playing white and created a beautiful tactic on move 40. </span></p>
<p>As you can see from the diagram below, Carlsen, as black, is on the attack with his pieces converging on Wojtaszek's king. But earlier Wojtaszek had captured a bishop for a pawn, and he finds a way to convert that to a decisive advantage by trading queens.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54b5deae6bb3f7f02b092a81-372-370/screen shot 2015-01-13 at 10.10.53 pm.png" border="0" alt="Carlsen Loss 1"><p class="source"><span>ChessBase</span></p><p class="caption">Can't take the f5 pawn with check...</p></img></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>To avoid the loss of his f-pawn - and a check - by the white king, Carlsen slides his king to the g7 square. But then Wojtaszek plays for the queen exchange with the move Qf4, Carlsen takes with his queen, and then Wojtaszek "forks" the black queen and king by playing his knight to h5 with check.</p>
<p> <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54b5ded8ecad04db683df32a-369-370/screen shot 2015-01-13 at 10.11.03 pm.png" border="0" alt="Carlsen Loss 2"><p class="source"><span>ChessBase</span></p><p class="caption">...but then comes the dramatic Qf4!</p></img></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p> <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54b5def76bb3f7f130092a85-370-369/screen shot 2015-01-13 at 10.11.12 pm.png" border="0" alt="Carlsen Loss 3"><p class="source"><span>ChessBase</span></p><p class="caption">Carlsen takes the white queen...</p></img></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p> <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54b5df1e69bedde629abc955-370-371/screen shot 2015-01-13 at 10.11.21 pm.png" border="0" alt="Carlsen Loss 4"><p class="source"><span>ChessBase</span></p><p class="caption">...but his queen and king are then "forked" by the knight!</p></img></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>Carlsen has to get his king out of check, so Wojtaszek picks up the black queen on the next move.</p>
<p>A bit later, he threatened to snap up another black pawn, so Carlsen resigned on move 52. Wojtaszek's extra piece would enable him to win the endgame.</p>
<p>So, a very pretty win - although analytically, perhaps lost several moves before the decisive queen exchange. Carlsen had already kind of quasi-blundered his queen into an ill-advised attack.</p>
<p>Carlsen did win his game in round 4, so it's not like he's completely falling apart.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Carlsen's main rival these days, Italy's Fabiano Caruana (actually, an American who now plays for Italy) is having another solid tournament, surging into first at the Tata Steel before being displaced by Vassily Ivanchuk, an unpredictable, aging Ukrainian genius called "Big Chucky" on the international chess scene.</p>
<p>Caruana laid waste to an impressive field (including Carlsen) in St. Louis last year before the WCC and is now the odds-on favorite to challenge Carlsen for a future title.</p>
<p>He's a cerebral 22-year-old who lives and breathes chess and has stormed the top ranks of the game over the past two years. </p>
<p>It looks like 2015 is going to be an impressive year for big-time chess, as Magnus battles to stay on top and literally everyone take a crack at beating him, including some impressive young players, along with a few veterans.</p>
<p>You can review the entire Wojtaszek-Carlsen game at <a href="http://en.chessbase.com/post/tata-steel-rd3-too-many-pieces">ChessBase</a>.</p>

World Chess Champ Magnus Carlsen Lost An Amazing Game

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/4dd2e384ccd1d51343170000-404-303/Fischer.jpg" alt="Bobby Fischer" data-mce-source="Da Nes via flickr" data-link="http://www.flickr.com/photos/averycnesbitt/2213728938/" /><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/averycnesbitt/2213728938/">Da Nes via flickr</a></span></p><p class="caption">Bobby Fischer, the last US World Chess Champion.</p></div><p></p></div></div>It's been a very long drought for Americans when it comes to the World Chess Championship. The last American to win was, famously, Bobby Fischer in 1972. Fischer defeated Boris Spassky in Iceland, but never defended his title.</p><p>It was of course a long drought before 1972: in the modern era, post-1900, there had never been a World Chess Champion from the United States, prior to Fischer, and the only players who even had a shot after him were Robert Byrne and Gata Kamsky.</p><p>Norways's Magnus Carlsen, the current WCC, is actually the first player from the West since Fischer to claim the title. </p><p>On Friday in Moscow, the next World Championship cycle began, with the 2016 Candidates Tournament. Eight Grandmasters will compete to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/world-chess-championship-is-coming-to-new-york-2016-3">face Carlsen in New York in November</a>. And for the first time <em>ever,</em> two Americans are in the field, both with excellent chances to win.</p><p>Fabiano Caruana, 23, is the number three player in the world by ranking. Hikaru Nakamura, 28, is number six. </p><p>As it turns out, the players faced each other in Round 1 of the Candidates; Naka had the white pieces, Fabby had the black, and they played to a draw, splitting a point.</p><p>The remainder of the field consists of only three other players in the current world top ten, as ranked by FIDE, chess's governing body: Anish Giri of the Netherlands, Levon Aronian of Armenia, and Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria. The Candidates lineup isn't selected based on ratings, but rather on competitive criteria derived from a variety of different tournaments and tournament cycles. Viswanathan Anand, for example, is in because he won the last Candidates and met Carlsen for the WCC match, ultimately losing for the second straight time.</p><p>That said, Anand, the world number 12, seems to save his best for the Candidates: he notched a win in the first round with white against Topalov (who was the World Champ in 2005).</p><p>World 13 <span>Sergey </span>Karjakin and wildcard Peter Svidler, world number 16, both from Russia, round out the field.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/551ecb13eab8ea1c6ea43755-960-640/hikaru nakamura.jpg" alt="Hikaru Nakamura" data-mce-source="US Chess Championship" /><p class="source"><span>US Chess Championship</span></p><p class="caption">GM Hikaru Nakamura.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>But all eyes will be on the Americans, for obvious reasons: Carlsen is the most captivating World Champion since Fischer, a global celebrity; the WCC is coming to New York; and while Anand was a great World Champion, five times, and spurred a chess boom in India, a Carlsen vs. Nakamura or Caruana would be a spectacle and boost chess to a level of excitement it hasn't seen since the Fischer boom.</p><p>Of the two, Nakamura has on paper the better chances, given that his <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-best-us-chess-player-is-taking-a-big-risk-by-competing-in-his-national-championship-2015-4">form has been solid for several years</a>. He won a big tournament in Zurich recently. But he a dismal record against Carlsen, no wins and 12 losses (18 draws). He has had Carlsen on the ropes a few times and still lost in demoralizing fashion. </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54cbdf696bb3f79b7806cd4a-2048-1367/caruana tata steel.jpg" alt="Caruana Tata Steel" data-mce-source="Alina L'Ami" /><p class="source"><span>Alina L'Ami</span></p><p class="caption">GM Fabiano Caruana.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Caruana's recent play, after an astonishing 2014, has been iffy. However, he is ranked higher than Nakamura (although his rating, 2794, is only slightly better than Naka's 2790). And he <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-us-is-about-to-become-a-chess-powerhouse-thanks-to-this-22-year-old-2015-5">switched his affiliation from Italy to the US only last year</a>. That said, he's beaten Carlsen more than he's lost to the World Champion, 5 wins against 8 losses and 10 draws.</p><p>Carlsen himself said that he thinks Caruana has the best chance of the two Americans to win the Candidates - but that could just be Carlsen trying to get in Nakamura's head.</p><p>The Candidates is pretty grueling: 14 rounds played over the next two weeks. I'll try to highlight the more interesting games and keep track of the American challengers.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54628c486da811e00fcb38ec-1335-962/screen shot 2014-11-11 at 4.02.31 pm.png" alt="Carlsen-Anand Game 3 Magnus" data-mce-source="FIDE" /><p class="source"><span>FIDE</span></p><p class="caption">World Champion Magnus Carlsen.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>For what it's worth, an interesting media dustup has developed as the Candidates is kicking of. For the first time since the internet has become a major factor in chess fandom, both the Candidates and the World Chess Championship will only be viewable on <a href="http://worldchess.com/broadcasts/europe/2016/03/10/fide-candidates-tournament/round-1/">WorldChess.com</a>. This includes the game moves. Before, a lot of real-time coverage and analysis was generated across the internet by sites freely distributing the information. </p><p>But now everyone will be obliged to register at WordChess.com (it's free, by the way). </p><p>"This is a substantial change from the way chess has been broadcasted," World Chess and its organizing parent, Agon Ltd., said in a statement.</p><p>"Previously it was common practice that all websites were able to receive moves without broadcast limitations, resulting in a diffusion of major tournaments' audiences and sponsorship values," the organization added. "The move is designed to enhance and safeguard the viewing experience for chess fans and to protect the commercial future of World Championship events."</p><p>Other sites can recap the games, but Agon and World Chess are stipulating a two-hour delay.</p><p>Chess.com <a href="https://www.chess.com/news/candidates-to-start-friday-agon-blocks-games-transmission-by-chess-sites-5161">wrote a lengthy post</a> analyzing the legal ramification of this. It's worth a read if you've been following major chess events at a variety of sites.</p><p>Other outlets have taken strong exception to World Chess' decision. Chessdom.com, for example, claimed that the move was an offense against journalism and the growth of the game and complained that it had already put its coverage plan in place long before World Chess and Agon limited coverage. </p><p> </p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/win-game-chess-two-moves-checkmate-fools-mate-2015-11">How to win a game of chess in two moves</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="BuOXAweTonLDUytKPwe4N2hml9yvdqkW" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'BuOXAweTonLDUytKPwe4N2hml9yvdqkW',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

The most important moment in decades has arrived for American chess - here's why

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/4dd2e384ccd1d51343170000-404-303/Fischer.jpg" alt="Bobby Fischer" data-mce-source="Da Nes via flickr" data-link="http://www.flickr.com/photos/averycnesbitt/2213728938/" /><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/averycnesbitt/2213728938/">Da Nes via flickr</a></span></p><p class="caption">Bobby Fischer, the last US World Chess Champion.</p></div><p></p></div></div>It's been a very long drought for Americans when it comes to the World Chess Championship. The last American to win was, famously, Bobby Fischer in 1972. Fischer defeated Boris Spassky in Iceland, but never defended his title.</p><p>It was of course a long drought before 1972: in the modern era, post-1900, there had never been a World Chess Champion from the United States, prior to Fischer, and the only players who even had a shot after him were Robert Byrne and Gata Kamsky.</p><p>Norways's Magnus Carlsen, the current WCC, is actually the first player from the West since Fischer to claim the title. </p><p>Starting Friday in Moscow, the next World Championship cycle is beginning, with the 2016 Candidates Tournament. Eight Grandmasters will compete to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/world-chess-championship-is-coming-to-new-york-2016-3">face Carlsen in New York in November</a>. And for the first time <em>ever,</em> two Americans are in the field, both with excellent chances to win.</p><p>Fabiano Caruana, 23, is the number three player in the world by ranking. Hikaru Nakamura, 28, is number six. </p><p>As it turns out, the players faced each other in Round 1 of the Candidates; Naka had the white pieces, Fabby had the black, and they played to a draw, splitting a point.</p><p>The remainder of the field consists of only three other players in the current world top ten, as ranked by FIDE, chess's governing body: Anish Giri of the Netherlands, Levon Aronian of Armenia, and Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria. The Candidates lineup isn't selected based on ratings, but rather on competitive criteria derived from a variety of different tournaments and tournament cycles. Viswanathan Anand, for example, is in because he won the last Candidates and met Carlsen for the WCC match, ultimately losing for the second straight time.</p><p>That said, Anand, the world number 12, seems to save his best for the Candidates: he notched a win in the first round with white against Topalov (who was the World Champ in 2005).</p><p>World 13 <span>Sergey </span>Karjakin and wildcard Peter Svidler, world number 16, both from Russia, round out the field.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/551ecb13eab8ea1c6ea43755-960-640/hikaru nakamura.jpg" alt="Hikaru Nakamura" data-mce-source="US Chess Championship" /><p class="source"><span>US Chess Championship</span></p><p class="caption">GM Hikaru Nakamura.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>But all eyes will be on the Americans, for obvious reasons: Carlsen is the most captivating World Champion since Fischer, a global celebrity; the WCC is coming to New York; and while Anand was a great World Champion, five times, and spurred a chess boom in India, a Carlsen vs. Nakamura or Caruana would be a spectacle and boost chess to a level of excitement it hasn't seen since the Fischer boom.</p><p>Of the two, Nakamura has on paper the better chances, given that his <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-best-us-chess-player-is-taking-a-big-risk-by-competing-in-his-national-championship-2015-4">form has been solid for several years</a>. He won a big tournament in Zurich recently. But he a dismal record against Carlsen, no wins and 12 losses (18 draws). He has had Carlsen on the ropes a few times and still lost in demoralizing fashion. </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54cbdf696bb3f79b7806cd4a-2048-1367/caruana tata steel.jpg" alt="Caruana Tata Steel" data-mce-source="Alina L'Ami" /><p class="source"><span>Alina L'Ami</span></p><p class="caption">GM Fabiano Caruana.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Caruana's recent play, after an astonishing 2014, has been iffy. However, he is ranked higher than Nakamura (although his rating, 2794, is only slightly better than Naka's 2790). And he <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-us-is-about-to-become-a-chess-powerhouse-thanks-to-this-22-year-old-2015-5">switched his affiliation from Italy to the US only last year</a>. That said, he's beaten Carlsen more than he's lost to the World Champion, 8 wins against 5 losses and 10 draws.</p><p>Carlsen himself said that he thinks Caruana has the best chance of the two Americans to win the Candidates - but that could just be Carlsen trying to get in Nakamura's head.</p><p>The Candidates is pretty grueling: 14 rounds played over the next two weeks. I'll try to highlight the more interesting games and keep track of the American challengers.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54628c486da811e00fcb38ec-1335-962/screen shot 2014-11-11 at 4.02.31 pm.png" alt="Carlsen-Anand Game 3 Magnus" data-mce-source="FIDE" /><p class="source"><span>FIDE</span></p><p class="caption">World Champion Magnus Carlsen.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>For what it's worth, an interesting media dustup has developed as the Candidates is kicking of. For the first time since the internet has become a major factor in chess fandom, both the Candidates and the World Chess Championship will only be viewable on <a href="http://worldchess.com/broadcasts/europe/2016/03/10/fide-candidates-tournament/round-1/">WorldChess.com</a>. This includes the game moves. Before, a lot of real-time coverage and analysis was generated across the internet by sites freely distributing the information. </p><p>But now everyone will be obliged to register at WordChess.com (it's free, by the way). </p><p>"This is a substantial change from the way chess has been broadcasted," World Chess and its organizing parent, Agon Ltd., said in a statement.</p><p>"Previously it was common practice that all websites were able to receive moves without broadcast limitations, resulting in a diffusion of major tournaments' audiences and sponsorship values," the organization added. "The move is designed to enhance and safeguard the viewing experience for chess fans and to protect the commercial future of World Championship events."</p><p>Other sites can recap the games, but Agon and World Chess are stipulating a two-hour delay.</p><p>Chess.com <a href="https://www.chess.com/news/candidates-to-start-friday-agon-blocks-games-transmission-by-chess-sites-5161">wrote a lengthy post</a> analyzing the legal ramification of this. It's worth a read if you've been following major chess events at a variety of sites.</p><p>Other outlets have taken strong exception to World Chess' decision. Chessdom.com, for example, claimed that the move was an offense against journalism and the growth of the game and complained that it had already put its coverage plan in place long before World Chess and Agon limited coverage. </p><p> </p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/win-game-chess-two-moves-checkmate-fools-mate-2015-11">How to win a game of chess in two moves</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="BuOXAweTonLDUytKPwe4N2hml9yvdqkW" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'BuOXAweTonLDUytKPwe4N2hml9yvdqkW',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

The World Chess Champion could be an American for the first time since Bobby Fischer in 1972

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/34325207.cms" />Mumbai voted and so did Delhi. Bangalore did it, too! And Kolkata was not left behind either. While the whole country seems reluctant to comment on whether there is a genuine Narendra Modi wave this time around or whether it is the handiwork of the media, no one can possibly deny a couple of poll trends which have come up this time.<br />
 <br /> To start with, the number of first-time voters has been the highest this time. The other trend, apparently new in the Indian context, is the emergence of the ‘<keyword id="1725157" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Selfie">selfie</keyword> brigade’ as voters pose with index-finger-inked selfies on their respective social networking sites.<br />
 <br /> In a narcissistic world, anything that glorifies the self is welcomed with open arms. Err… did we say arms? We mean the hands that take the pictures, of course. Social networking sites seem to thrive on the selfie culture, helping people glorify the self, even if it means throwing privacy and caution to the wind. In that sense, being ‘social’ is more about self-promotion, rather than networking with people and meeting them. <keyword id="6354576" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Facebook">Facebook</keyword>, <keyword id="819905" type="COMPANY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Instagram">Instagram</keyword> and Twitter are the new Page 3.<br />
 <br />
When you say that all the world’s a stage, the elections must be the biggest platform to stage a great performance. So what other option was left for the 23.16 million young, peppy, cyber-savvy Gen Y, hitting the polling booths to exercise their franchise? It had to be a flood of inked selfies, expressly showing their joy and pride that come with casting the ballot.<br />
 <br />
Giving into this trend were celebrities and politicians who would not lose a chance to show that they did fulfil their responsibility. Rajinikath’s fans posted a picture of the <em>thalaiva</em> voting; Shah Rukh posed with his inky finger outside the booth, and so did Aamir and his wife Kiran. Sachin Tendulkar also surrendered to this selfie craze. Director-actor <keyword id="5015" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Farhan-Akhtar">Farhan Akhtar</keyword> posted his selfie with the picture taken at his house; Rahul Bose took his selfie with a poker face; <keyword id="8145" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Preity-zinta">Preity Zinta</keyword> went for a selfie pose for a snapshot while Raveena Tandon looked beautiful, shooting her inky index finger inside her car.<br />
 <br />
But there were even more luminaries who followed the trend. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan voted without giving it a miss. Singer Kailash Kher turned to his camera soon after voting and showed the world he had performed his duty as an Indian citizen. Sonam Kapoor looked all radiant while posing with that inky finger right in front of her. And an almost forgotten Dino Morea posted his selfie soon after voting was done. <em>English Vinglish</em> director Gauri Shinde didn’t miss posing before her own camera after she voted. In a nutshell, the selfie frenzy took over during the polls and caught hold of everyone, almost everywhere.<br />
 <br />
The ones who didn’t post their selfies were probably the most ‘tech-unabled’ people. The incessant flow of selfies were fast and furious, came in all shapes and sizes, and featured varied expressions – right from brilliant, billion-dollar smiles to haggard to merry ones. But the most disappointed lot of this season were those who went to the booth armed with their cell phones (naturally 3G-enabled ones, which would enable them to post a picture even before the ink on their fingers dried), only to find that their names were missing from the voters’ list. Their disappointment was as huge as Viswanathan Anand’s when he lost the World Championship to young Magnus Carlson. What a pity. And what a selfie-opportunity missed for life (or at least for the next five years).<br />
 <br />
Just as the indelible ink has made its mark throughout the democratic process, pinpointing the serious nature of our political responsibilities, people posting selfies after voting also tells us another story – a different story altogether. It amply shows that upholding the democratic system in India has now become a heady combination of duty and exhibitionism.<br />
 <br />
Now, we call that finger-lookin’ good!<br />
<br />
Image: Sachin Tendulkar/Twitter

This
Time Around, Polls Are Driven By Selfie Passion In India

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5470c2666da811556ec39b0e-1200-800/carlsen anand game 10.jpeg" border="0" alt="Carlsen Anand Game 10"><p class="source"><span>FIDE</span></p><p class="caption">Headed for an epic finish.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>On Friday at the World Chess Championship in Sochi, Russian, challenger Viswanathan Anand of India and champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway wrapped up Game 10 with a draw - their second in as many days.</p>
<p>Saturday is a rest day before the final two games are played under classical time controls: 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, 60 minutes for the next 20, and then additional time as needed. The score is now 5.5-4.5 in Carlsen's favor. </p>
<p>The 23-year-old World Champion can draw his way to victory: 6.5 points. </p>
<p>For the 44-year-old Anand, there's one final chance to play aggressively with the white pieces, in Game 12, to level the match. That's if he doesn't manage a win with black in Game 11. </p>
<p>Carlsen obviously had a chance to all-but put Anand away in Game 11, winning a full point.</p>
<p>For chess fans, this year's WCC has been a vastly more enthralling contest that last year's, when Carlsen grabbed he title in 10 games, effectively crushing a very shaky Anand. </p>
<p>The Anand of 2014 is far more impressive.</p>
<p>But Carlsen is also better.</p>
<p>Carlsen's main weapon again has been his tenacity: He's made few bad moves, and when he did blunder horribly in Game 6, Anand missed a chance to win the game more or less in one move.</p>
<p>Anand, meanwhile, has brought out his heavy artillery: His deep knowledge of opening theory, particularly in an opening known as the Queen's Gambit Declined.</p>
<p>(I won't get into opening theory again here - you can return to my recaps of the early games in the match if you want a refresher.)</p>
<p><strong>THE GRUNFELD - AGAIN!</strong></p>
<p>Game 10 started off promisingly: Anand and Carlsen played the Grunfeld Defense, a popular opening in Grandmaster play that featured in Game 1's "fighting" draw, saved by a resourceful Anand in the waning moves of the game. (The Grunfeld is also one of my favorite openings, especially as black.)</p>
<p>Anand showed his hand right away by playing an aggressive Grunfeld line, the Russian variation, which involves the quick development of the white queen (as a rule, you don't want to bring your queen out too early because she can become a target and you can end up being chased around the board as black achieves better development). </p>
<p>Carlsen's defense was precise, although this position eventually emerged on the board, after the queen's had been traded:</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5470c218ecad040e4d190822-491-493/screen shot 2014-11-22 at 11.46.35 am.png" border="0" alt="Carlsen Anand Game 10 Position"><p class="source"><span>ChessBomb</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>Anand has just moved his knight to the g5 square. Optically, this position looks better for white. Anand has control of the d-file, with a rook protecting a pawn that's already on the fifth rank. There are plenty of pieces seemingly a move away from threatening black's king. And black's pieces are disconnected, scattered over the board or huddled far from the white king. The black pawn on c5 is potentially a weakness.</p>
<p>However, optics and reality are two different things. The powerful computer analysis engines that GMs and even amateurs now use to evaluate positions say that this one is essentially even. White's dilemma is whether to get bold with the d-pawn, start thinking about doing something aggressive with the a-pawn, and maybe get his kingside pawns rolling, to bring additional attackers to bear on the black king.</p>
<p>Any of those decisions could lead to a win. But because the players are even, white is going to have to find a modest edge and drive it home. If Anand can't do that, it's looking like a draw. If he make a bad move, Carlsen could go up a pawn and have a chance to win an endgame.</p>
<p><strong>ANAND SETTLES FOR A DRAW</strong></p>
<p>Anand clearly wasn't prepared to risk another loss, so he played safe and sealed the draw, knowing that he would get a least one last shot with white. </p>
<p>It was a questionable decision.</p>
<p>The best Anand can now hope for is a tie for the regular time control games. If that match is deadlocked at 6-6, they'll go to tiebreaks, and the chess will be played much faster: 25 minutes games, followed by 5-minute "blitz" games, and if needed, a sudden-death game. </p>
<p>Anand was once called the "Lightning Kid" for his quickness at the board. So he knows how to play fast chess.</p>
<p>But Carlsen, in addition to being the World Champion in classical chess, is the world champ in rapid and blitz chess.</p>
<p>For chess fans, all we hope is that we get that far - or that Carlsen and Anand play a couple of wild games over the next two meetings.</p>
<p>The stage is set for an epic finish to the Showdown in Sochi.</p>
<p>You can watch the replay of the match <a href="http://www.sochi2014.fide.com/video-archive/">here</a>.</p>
<p>And you can <a href="http://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2014-wcc/10-Anand_Viswanathan-Carlsen_Magnus">review Game 10 at ChessBomb</a>.</p>

The Stage Is Set For An Epic Finish At The World Chess Championship

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/545c4420eab8ea171e30c1c3-686-514/anand-carlsen-magnus-chess.jpg" border="0" alt="anand carlsen magnus chess"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://twitter.com/SusanPolgar">Susan Polgar</a></span></p><p class="caption">Anand (left) and Carlsen (right) at the 2013 World Chess Championship.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>The <a href="http://www.sochi2014.fide.com/">2014 World Chess Championship</a> begins on Saturday in Sochi, Russia (yes, <em>that</em> Sochi). It's a rematch, and an unexpected one, between the current World Champion, Norway's Magnus Carlsen, and the former titleholder, Viswanathan Anand of India.</p>
<p>Last year, on Anand's home turf in Chennai, Carlsen - then just 22 years old - took the crown away from the 5-time champ. The match was scheduled for 12 games, but Carlsen needed only 10 to become the first World Champion from the West since Bobby Fischer in 1972.</p>
<p>Carlsen, who has since set the chess world on fire and become the global face of the game, defeated Anand in crushing fashion, losing no games and scoring 3 decisive wins.  </p>
<p>The chess cognoscenti figured that Anand would retire at 44, but he staged an impressive comeback at this year's Candidates Tournament and won the right to reclaim the title. It wasn't clear until just about a month ago that he would even be facing Carlsen across the board: the now 23-year-old became embroiled in a dispute with the World Championship's governing body, the World Chess Federation (FIDE). Carlsen was unhappy about the prize money (less than what he was playing for in Chennai) and the venue (a symbol of corrupt FIDE's connection with corrupt Vladimir Putin).</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/4fff409f6bb3f72a7600000d-900-675/4993505378_070305edb7_b.jpg" border="0" alt="Magnus Carlsen"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/seljes/4993505378/sizes/l/in/photostream/">flickr / seljes</a></span></p><p class="caption">Literally the poster boy for chess.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>The dispute was resolved and the two Super Grandmasters will now play another 12-game match, plus tiebreakers if it comes to that. Carlsen is the highest-rated player in the world at 2863. Anand is substantially lower, at 2792. This means that, statistically, Carlsen should win. But of of course, Anand cut a swath through younger and higher-rated players at the Candidates Tournament, and some observers expect his form to be better than last year.</p>
<p>Wins will count for 1 point, losses 0, and draws half a point. <a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/magnus-carlsen-world-chess-championship/">At FiveThirtyEight, Oliver Roeder has broken down the odds.</a> The first game is Nov. 8, and the match could run nearly through the end of the month, a game per day with a number of break days.</p>
<p>So what should you look for, if you watch the games live online or review them later?</p>
<p><strong>1. Does Carlsen seem as dominant coming in this year as he did last year?</strong></p>
<p>Carlsen was the undisputed King of Chess in 2013. He had surpassed Garry Kasparov's highest-ever rating, had beaten everyone at the upper-reaches of the chess hierarchy, was modeling for G-Star Raw and being profiled by U.S. TV shows and magazines, and - most importantly - was intimidating. It looked like it was his time. And as it turns out, it was.</p>
<p>A year later, Carlsen is as dominant as ever but there have been some wobbles. The U.S. number one (and world number nine), Hiraku Nakamura, <a href="http://www.theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/zurich-chess-challenge-2014/carlsen-escapes-lost-position-and-beats-nakamura-in-zurich-round-3">nearly defeated him</a> by pursuing an attacking line similar to one that Anand attempted, unsuccessfully, in Chennai. The Italian number one (world number two), Fabiano Caruana, defeated Carlsen in a tournament in St. Louis en route  to a decimation of the chess elite, a performance that had many comparing the 22-year-old Caruana to Fischer (<a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2014/09/sinquefield_cup_one_of_the_most_amazing_feats_in_chess_history_just_happened.html">Seth Stevenson chronicled the performance for Slate</a>). There's a lot of people who think that Carlsen-Caruana, a showdown between the world number one and world number two, should be the World Chess Championship matchup.</p>
<p>In any case, Carlsen's form of late hasn't been quite as daunting as in 2013, so if Anand can make a few more games into tactical battles, avoiding draws (tough to do at the Super GM level) and grueling endgames (a Carlsen specialty), then he might have a shot.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="REUTERS/Kent Skibstad" title_caption="Will Anand play aggressively from the first moves?" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5245e82269bedd452c8f0407-960/world chess.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5245e82269bedd452c8f0407-1200-706/world chess.jpg" border="0" alt="Viswanathan Anand plays against Norway's Magnus Carlsen - Norway Chess 2013 tournamen" /></a><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Kent Skibstad</span></p><p class="caption">Will Anand play aggressively from the first moves?</p></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p><strong>2. Will Anand play aggressively from the first game?</strong></p>
<p>Last year's match began with four draws, then two wins by Carlsen, which spelled the end of Anand. Anand is a powerful player who can play "universal" chess, attacking and defending. At his age, however, he probably won't want to make the mistake his did in 2013, accepting early draws to test Carlsen's ability to handle the pressure of the event.</p>
<p>Anand literally has nothing to lose at this point in his career, so he might as well rip into Carlsen from the get-go and see if he can pursue some sharp lines and dynamic positions, playing free-flowing chess. Anything to prevent long battles and the type of grinding endgames where Carlsen can use his computer-like positional understanding to play so precisely that Anand will crack.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/527fdd3b6bb3f7ea26e597c2-1200-900/carlsen-anand-chess.jpg" border="0" alt="carlsen anand chess"><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Babu</span></p><p class="caption">Your tricks won't work on me.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p><strong>3. Will openings matter?</strong></p>
<p>Prior to Carlsen, Grandmaster-level play was all about preparation and the first 10-15 moves of the game, so-called "opening theory." The book on Carlsen in 2013, however, was that he didn't want to get bogged down in openings and would rather just get a more-or-less even position and then "play chess," challenging his opponents to avoid errors over the course of hours and hours at the board. If it goes this way again in Sochi, Anand will likely lose as Carlsen is still the best endgame player around and very good at turning lost positions into draws and even wins. </p>
<p>But if Anand can entice Carlsen to allow the openings to yield sharp positions, he may be able to create some middle-game opportunities and force Carlsen defend creatively and counterattack, playing serve-and-volley rather than grinding everything out from the baseline.</p>
<p>It could be fantastic contest. Or it could fizzle. But I have a feeling we're going to know in the first game or two what to expect from the match.</p>
<p>I'll be following the games and writing short summaries the day after, so check back for results and a bit of analysis.</p>
<p> </p>

Here's What To Watch For In The World Chess Championship

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/553eaf146bb3f716531a346b-833-464/screen shot 2015-04-27 at 5.47.06 pm.png" border="0" alt="Kasparov Grand Chess Tour"><p class="source"><span>Chess Club &amp; Scholastic Center of St. Louis</span></p><p class="caption">Former World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov (left) and Grandmaster Nigel Short in St. Louis.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>If you had any doubt that chess has gone big time in the era of current World Champion Magnus Carlsen, an announcement made last Friday at the Chess Club &amp; Scholastic Center of St. Louis (CCSCSL) should change your mind.</p><p>Eight of the top grandmasters on the planet have committed to a three-tournament circuit, christened the "<a href="http://www.grandchesstour.com/">Grand Chess Tour</a>." Total prize money? $1,050,000 - a fairly huge sum for top-level chess.</p><p>Former World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov was on hand in St. Louis to participate in the announcement, a fitting role as Kasparov was instrumental in making the tour happen.</p><p>"I've spent my p<span>rofessional life making chess more popular," the 52-year-old Kasparov told Business Insider, right after he had wrapped up a series of games against Grandmaster Nigel Short at the CCSCSL. </span></p><p><span>"I want to bring chess to education, something I've done with the Kasparov Chess Foundation. And I want to generate more publicity and create a network of tournaments that people can rely on. This has worked for many pro sports, and I've always wanted to have it in chess."</span></p><p><span>The three tournaments that will make up the tour are Norway Chess, the Sinquefield Cup (held at the club in St. Louis), and the London Chess Classic. These are premier invitational events that attract the world's best. For the 2015 cycle, the Grand Chess Tour has signed up</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;"> Carlsen (Norway), </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">Fabiano Caruana (Italy), </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">Alexander Grischuk (Russia), </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria), </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">Viswanathan Anand (India), </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">Levon Aronian (Armenia), </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">Anish Giri (Netherlands), and </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">Hikaru Nakamura (USA).</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5464a5956bb3f78918ea5479-1028-754/screen shot 2014-11-13 at 7.28.43 am.png" border="0" alt="Magnus Carlsen Game 4"><p class="source"><span>FIDE</span></p><p class="caption">Current World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><br /></span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">A player to be named later and a wildcard will fill out the 10-person field.</span></p><p><span>"The Grand Chess Tour was created with just one goal in mind: Demonstrating the highest level of organization for the world's best players," </span><span>Tony Rich, Executive Director of the CCSCSL, said in a statement</span><span>. "Featuring the world's strongest chess professionals fighting for massive prize funds, along with a full spectator experience led by world-class commentary, this circuit sets forth an internationally coordinated effort that casts a shining spotlight on global chess competition."</span></p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/551ecb13eab8ea1c6ea43755-960-640/hikaru nakamura.jpg" border="0" alt="Hikaru Nakamura"><p class="source"><span>US Chess Championship</span></p><p class="caption">US Number 1 and reigning US Chess Champion Hikaru Nakamura.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><br /></span></p><p><span><span>According to the organizers, "Each of the three 2015 Grand Chess Tour events will award individual prize funds of $300,000, with competitors also tallying points toward a tour prize fund of $150,000; the overall tour champion will receive an additional $75,000."</span></span></p><p><span>Kasparov stressed that the new tour will focus on cementing its status in 2015 - and then adding tournaments and attracting major sponsors, possibly as early as next year.</span></p><p><span>Anyone who has followed chess for the past few decades will recall that in the late 1980s, then-World Champion Kasparov tried to create a more coherent, better-packaged chess tour, featuring top players. The players would form what became called the Grandmasters Association, putting aside the traditional lone-wolf attitude of elite players. </span></p><p><span>Think of how tennis players got together in the early 1970s to form the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).</span></p><p><span>Ultimately, Kasparov and his challenger for the 1993 World Chess Championship - the same Nigel Short whom he was playing in an exhibition in St. Louis the weekend following the World Chess Tour announcement - would break away from the international ruling body of chess, FIDE, and start the Professional Chess Association to conduct a separate world championship match. </span></p><p><span>The organization collapsed by the mid 1990s, but for chess professionals and fans who resent the lock FIDE holds over both the Candidates Tournament that leads up to the World Championship and title match itself, Kasparov's efforts to make chess more like other pro sports remain admired, even if they came to a bad end.</span></p><p><span><span>In 2014, </span>Kasparov made an unsuccessful run to unseat </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Kirsan Ilyumzhinov as FIDE president. FIDE is widely viewed by those who follow big time chess as a corrupt organization, closely allied with the Russian ruling class. Ever since his defeat, Kasparov has been showing up at the various tournaments that collectively represent the existing pro chess tour, and more importantly, he's been spending quality time in St. Louis. </span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Due the efforts of retired financier Rex Sinquefield, the city has become the center of a revival of American chess and can now challenge world capitals for prestige for the international game.</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">It wasn't surprising to see Kasparov front and center when the World Chess tour was unveiled.</span></p><p>The problem is that [the FIDE] leadership isn't doing a good job," he said. "It's anathema for sponsors, it's relying on political support, and it's not going to attract commercial sponsors or lasting commitment."</p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">"I couldn't manage to take on FIDE or the Russian oligarchs," he said of his failed run for president of the organization. "But I'm doing the things that I can."</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">As the Internet has matured, it's become possible to watch a lot more major-league chess. The big tournaments are now often streamed live, with expert commentary. The CCSCSL has set a new standard with coverage of the Sinquefield Cup, now headed into its third year, and the US Chess Championship. If you've ever wondered what chess would look like if it were covered like poker or golf on ESPN, the CCSCSL will show you.</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">In fact, the 2014 Candidates Tournament came off as far less thrilling than last year's Sinquefield Cup, which was dominated by the young player many consider to be Carlsen's closest rival, Italy's Caruana. Vishy Anand found a late-career return to form and won the Candidates, then went on to lose to Carlsen in a rematch of their 2013 match, held in Sochi, Russia.</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Kasparov said that the Candidates and the WCC still "deliver great excitement," but he added that final <span>match has only two players, happens only every two years, and that the current World Champion should be compelled to prove his superiority on a regular basis.</span></span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5467f7336bb3f76441da334e-1019-745/screen shot 2014-11-15 at 7.54.02 pm.png" border="0" alt="Anand Post-Blunder"><p class="source"><span>FIDE</span></p><p class="caption">Vishy Anand of India.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><br /></span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">However, in St. Louis after the Candidate had been decided, a stronger field of GMs fought it out, suggesting to many that the very best chess wasn't being played under FIDE's overt jurisdiction. Worse, during the tournament, there was serious speculation that Carlsen, who was playing, wouldn't be able to defend his WCC title, due to a dispute with FIDE. </span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The contrast was vivid: Carlsen welcomed in St. Louis and treated like a rock star, while at FIDE the most magnetic World Champion in decades - since Kasparov, really - was being treated like a weak pawn.</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Carlsen has made chess about ten thousands times as popular as it was before he came along. Take nothing away from the previous generation, but the 24-year-old Norwegian has been electrifying for what had come to thought of as slow, boring game that computers played better than humans. </span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">A cadre of new, young players is lining up to to test his talents (Kasparov thinks that Caruana is closest to Carlsen, but doesn't believe the younger player could outlast the World Champion in a multigame match). The ancient game is achieving a critical mass, with a deep-pocketed American, Sinquefield, determined to make it matter again.</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54cbdf696bb3f79b7806cd4a-1200-858/caruana tata steel.jpg" border="0" alt="Caruana Tata Steel"><p class="source"><span>Alina L'Ami</span></p><p class="caption">Fabiano Caruana of Italy, perhaps Carlsen's closest challenger.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><br /></span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">For fans, this is all thrilling. For professional players, it means that chess may finally begin to deliver the financial rewards appropriate to a demanding type of competition that asks for a near-lifetime commitment. We all knew chess was having a moment. With the Grand Chess Tour set to kick off with its first event in just a few months, we now know it's far more than that.</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> </span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/charge-iphone-faster-apple-battery-life-2015-2">How to supercharge your iPhone in only 5 minutes</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="9hdGRuczob3nOr91AW6QS6gV7dw6BzKX" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', '9hdGRuczob3nOr91AW6QS6gV7dw6BzKX',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

The world's top chess players have just formed a new $1 million professional tour

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/546e8e106bb3f77003b7d0bc-1000-667/carlsen-anand game 9.jpeg" alt="Carlsen Anand Game 9" data-mce-source="FIDE" /><p class="source"><span>FIDE</span></p><p class="caption">Anand and Carlsen playing for the World Chess Championship.</p></div><p></p></div></div>America is not exactly a chess-mad country, but it's about to host a chess tournament that could redefine the landscape of competitive chess for a generation.</p><p>The Sinquefield Cup will kick off on Sunday and run for a full two weeks. It's second installment and the centerpiece of the new <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-worlds-top-chess-players-have-just-formed-a-new-1-million-professional-tour-2015-4">Grand Chess Tour</a>, a three-tournament series that started with Norway Chess in June and will conclude with the London Chess Classic in December.</p><p>The 2015 Sinquefield cup is the strongest tournament in the history of chess. The field includes many of the world's top players, including current World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway and the runner up in the two previous world championship matches, Viswanathan Anand of India. Joining them are the three top-ranked Americans: Hikaru Nakamura, Wesley So, and Fabiano Caruana. Caruana is the story of the tournament, having switched his national affiliation from Italy to the US earlier this year after dominating the 2014 Sinquefield Cup with a performance that many observers compared to some epic competitive runs by Bobby Fischer.</p><p>That probably all sounds great, but then you have to note that the field also includes former World Champion Veselin Topalov (who won the Norway tournament), the powerful Armenian number one, Levon Aronian, and two strong younger players, Anish Giri from the Netherlands and Maxine Vachier-Lagrave of France. All of these Grandmasters are rated above 2800 or in the very high 2700s. </p><h3>Chess Rex</h3><p>Behind it all is Rex Sinquefield, who has apparently made it his life's work to turn the US in general and St. Louis in particular into the new centers of world chess. </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54cbdf696bb3f79b7806cd4a-2048-1367/caruana tata steel.jpg" alt="Caruana Tata Steel" data-mce-source="Alina L'Ami" /><p class="source"><span>Alina L'Ami</span></p><p class="caption">Will Fabiano be able to top his spectacular 2014 performance?</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>"The game is dramatically advancing," Sinquefield, who made his fortune by developing prototypical index funds, told Business Insider. "I'd love to tell to you I had every move worked out, but it's been one good thing after another." </p><p>The 2104 tournament was a stunner. Caruana shocked the chess world by running the table against the game's elite, storming to a 7-0 start and, eventually, capturing the title. Chess experts who thought they'd seen it all were rendered nearly speechless by the then-22-year-old's performance. </p><h3>Seismic shift in chess</h3><p>A tough act to follow, but the the intervening months, a seismic shift has occurred in the chess world. Magnus Carlsen, at 23, successfully defended his World Champion title, in 11 games against a reinvigorated Vishy Anand, who in his forties wasn't yet ready to completely give up his claim to a title that he had won five times. But it was a defense that had a dark cloud hanging over it. Carlsen's play at the 2014 Sinquefield Cup was, in the view of some commenters, negatively affected by a debate with world chess' governing body, FIDE, over aspects of the the upcoming World Championship match, which was held in Russia.</p><p>FIDE - it stands for Fédération Internationale des Échecs - is widely considered to be a highly politicized organization with ties to the Russian ruling class. It bears the standard for Russian chess, with all that entails. And it has repeatedly over the years seen clashes with former World Champion Garry Kasparov, who in the late 1980s tried to break with the FIDE and form a separate affiliation of prominent chess professionals. That experiment failed, but Kasparov is back and has been instrumental in the creation of the Grand Chess Tour. </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/553eaf146bb3f716531a346b-833-464/screen shot 2015-04-27 at 5.47.06 pm.png" alt="Kasparov Grand Chess Tour" data-mce-source="Chess Club &amp; Scholastic Center of St. Louis" /><p class="source"><span>Chess Club &amp; Scholastic Center of St. Louis</span></p><p class="caption">Garry Kasparov and GM Nigel Short announcing the Grand Chess Tour.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p class="p1">"Garry does have an agenda, and it's very clearly not with the establishment," said Grandmaster Maurice Ashley, a chess commentator and tournament organizer who will be bringing his unique brand of analysis to the live-streaming internet broadcasts of the Sinquefield Cup over the duration of the event. </p><p><span>In the 1980s, Kasparov and the players who joined him formed what was called the Grandmasters Association, putting aside the traditional lone-wolf attitude of elite players. </span><span>Think of how tennis players got together in the early 1970s to form the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).</span></p><p><span>Ultimately, Kasparov and his challenger for the 1993 World Chess Championship - the same Nigel Short whom he was playing in an exhibition in St. Louis the weekend following the World Chess Tour announcement - would break away from FIDE and start the Professional Chess Association to conduct a separate world championship match. </span></p><p><span>The organization collapsed by the mid 1990s, but for chess professionals and fans who resent the lock FIDE holds over both the Candidates Tournament that leads up to the World Championship and title match itself, Kasparov's efforts to make chess more like other pro sports remain admired, even if they came to a bad end.</span></p><p><span><span>In 2014, </span>Kasparov made an unsuccessful run to unseat </span><span>Kirsan Ilyumzhinov as FIDE president. Ever since his defeat, Kasparov has been showing up at the various tournaments that collectively represent the existing pro chess tour, and more importantly, he spent a lot of quality time in St. Louis.</span></p><p><span>He now has a formidable ally in Sinquefield, who according to everyone I've talked to has assembled his plans to make the US the new center of world chess based on one thing and one things only: a love of the game. </span></p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55d9f4aabd86ef1d008b53b4-903-469/screen shot 2015-08-23 at 12.27.31 pm.png" alt="Maurice Ashley" data-mce-source="Screenshot via YourTube" /><p class="source"><span>Screenshot via YourTube</span></p><p class="caption">Maurice Ashley thinks Carlsen is the man to beat.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p><span>And a love to make big things happen and aim very, very high.</span></p><p><span>"</span>Rex has a short attention span and very little tolerance or respect for past," said Ashley, when asked if the 2015 Sinquefield Cup could possibly top the 2014 installment. "He only knows about doing things one way, at the highest level, and he wants it to be first class."</p><p>The Sinquefield Cup is certainly first class. It's held at the Chess Club &amp; Scholastic Center of St. Louis, one of the premier chess venues in the world. The players are treated like major-league sports stars, like professional tennis players or pro golfers vying for a Grand Slam trophy. A lot of veteran American chess pros can easily recall a time when big events were held at seedy hotels and everyone was playing for what amounted to lunch money. On the Chess Grand Tour, the total prize money purse is just over $1 million. For big-time chess, this is huge.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55d9f40f9dd7cc1b008b54c1-948-412/screen shot 2015-08-23 at 12.23.51 pm.png" alt="Shahade Seirawan" data-mce-source="Screenshot via YouTube" /><p class="source"><span>Screenshot via YouTube</span></p><p class="caption">Jennifer Shahade and Yasser Seirawan will provide commentary during the livestream of the event.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p class="p1">"It's marvelous," said Yasser Seirawan, a four-time US Champion who will provide commentary during this year's Cup matches, alongside Ashley and former US Women's Chess Champion Jennifer Shahade. "I played in churches, basements, at YMCAs. Now we're in St. Louis and the players are staying at five-star hotels, enjoying the high life."</p><p class="p1">"It's a dream come come true," he added. "I'm envious! Why wasn't Rex around when I was winning tournaments? It's great to see the players appreciated now and I feel so happy for them."</p><h3 class="p1">Big-time chess in St. Louis</h3><p class="p1">The 2015 Cup will consist of nine rounds played over a two-week period, concluding in a playoff, if needed. In talking with Ashley, Seirawan, and Shahade, the favorite at this point is Carlsen, who is after all the number-one player in the world and the current World Champion. But in the first tournament of the Grand Chess Tour, Norway Chess, he turned in a very un-Carlsen-like performance, finishing seventh on his home turf.</p><p class="p1">"Magnus is gonna kick butt," Seirawan said. "I think he was genuinely embarrassed by what happened in Norway. He's got everything to prove and a huge chip on his shoulder."</p><p class="p1">Ashley echoed that prediction. "Magnus came out of Norway playing horribly. Now he has a thirst for blood. He could go 9-0, trying to erase that memory! He's eager to prove that he's the number one player, so I can see Magnus owning this event."</p><p class="p1">Shahade, by contrast, picked Caruana, in the process acknowledging that the history of the Cup has so far been spectacular for such a young event. </p><p class="p1">Another player who is attracting a lot of pre-tournament attention is Nakamura, who stormed to a fourth US Chess Championship this year and set his sights squarely on being the next challenger for Carlsen's World Championship title. </p><p class="p1"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/551ecb13eab8ea1c6ea43755-960-640/hikaru nakamura.jpg" alt="Hikaru Nakamura" data-mce-source="US Chess Championship" /><p class="source"><span>US Chess Championship</span></p><p class="caption">Hikaru Nakamura could be one of the players who can challenge Carlsen.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p class="p1">"Naka is the player of the year," Ashley said. "He's been most consistent, he's won the most events, and his play has included a solidity we hadn't seen before. He doesn't have to take as many chances now, and it's proven difficult to beat him."</p><p class="p1">"His evolution is on the upswing," Ashley added "There's no day where you say, 'He's in trouble.' And if he breaks through against Magnus, then he will have won a big psychological battle." (Nakamura, one of the best "blitz" players in the world, has never defeated Carlsen in classical chess.)</p><p class="p1">Nakamura, who has cemented his position in the world's top ten, with a current FIDE rating of 2814. The "old" Hiraku, a bold and aggressive player who could sometimes overplay in an effort to win in dramatic fashion, has been supplanted by a degree by a "new" Hiraku, who plays in a more steady and controlled manner.</p><p class="p1">He said that he still turn up the volume "when the situation requires it." But he also recognizes that a shift in his style has paid dividends. A lot of chess experts now consider him and Caruana to be the two guys who have the best shot of challenging Carlsen for future World Championship titles. </p><p class="p1">"I think at this point I'm in a better place psychologically," he said, noting that his struggles against Carlsen had "gotten into his head."</p><p class="p1">But that's all changed going into the Sinquefield Cup. "I'm one of the very few people who has a chance at beating Magnus," he said - not exactly an outrageous boast, as Nakamura has come close to notching decisive victories against Carlsen in the past.</p><p class="p1">So it's game on across - and over - the board as the world's best chess players look to make history in St. Louis this week and next. I'll be updating the results and analyzing key games over the next two weeks, so check back in. It's going to be thrilling. Chess has entered a new era. The game has become a major-league sport. Now all fans need to sit back and enjoy the fireworks.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sleeping-positions-and-the-side-effects-2015-7">These are the side effects of sleeping on your back, side, and stomach </a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="gxMW41djq48-uZslJrULHZUsnLp15gi5" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'gxMW41djq48-uZslJrULHZUsnLp15gi5',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

The most important chess tournament in US history is about to kick off in St. Louis

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5467f6b169beddbb292919e5-1200-800/carlsen anand game 6.jpeg" border="0" alt="Carlsen Anand Game 6"><p class="source"><span>FIDE</span></p><p class="caption">Game 6 involved a terrible blunder.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>In Game 6 of the World Chess Championship in Sochi, Russia, challenger Viswanathan Anand of India missed a crucial opportunity to snatch a win from Magnus Carlsen, the champ from Norway. </p>
<p>Anand never recovered on Saturday and went from holding a draw with the black pieces to melting into a puddle of defeat. </p>
<p>It was one of <em>those</em> moments: when the entire game turned, literally, on one move. The shocking thing is that it was Carlsen who made the critical mistake - but Carlsen who benefitted from Anand's inability to punish him for it.</p>
<p>The consensus among the commentators for the official online broadcast (especially Grandmaster Peter Svidler and former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik) was that Anand was shattered psychologically over the board and would not be able to bounce back to keep Carlsen at bay. </p>
<p>That's the way it turned out. But I'm not sure that this spells the beginning of the end for Anand, who now trails by 2.5-3.5 points (a win is worth a full point). It could spell the beginning of...the beginning. A comeback inside what is already a comeback for Anand.</p>
<p>But the challenger now has a <em>huge</em> hill to climb.</p>
<p><strong>BLUNDER!</strong></p>
<p>If you've been following my recaps of the World Chess Championship so far, you know that I've been trying to make the action as lucid and easy-to-follow as possible. Chess is a great game at all levels, but there's this notion that the elite players, Super Grandmasters like Anand and Carlsen, live on a different planet. </p>
<p>Untrue. They play with 32 black and white pieces on a 64-square board, just like everybody else. It's just that have an incredibly sophisticated understanding of a game that's been studied for centuries. And like professional athletes in other sports, they know how to compete. It is their life and their livelihood, after all.</p>
<p>With just a bit of basic knowledge, however, it's possible to follow a Grandmaster game. </p>
<p>And sometimes, Grandmasters do things that are very...un-Grandmaster-ish.</p>
<p>It's rare that I can distill an entire GM game to a single move, but in Game 6, the whole contest came down to a single position on the board. Here it is:</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5467f233ecad041341da3351-452-452/screen shot 2014-11-15 at 7.01.08 pm.png" border="0" alt="Carlsen Anand Game 6 Blunder"><p class="source"><span>ChessBase</span></p><p class="caption">Carlsen move Kd2 was a massive blunder.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><p class="source"><span>ChessBase</span></p><p class="caption">Carlsen move Kd2 was a massive blunder.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>If you've read my previous recaps, you'll be familiar with the "Sicilian Defense," an aggressive response by black to white most aggressive initial move: 1. e4. White moves the pawn in front on his king forward two squares. In the Sicilian, black responds not by matching white's move with 1....e5, but rather plays the asymmetrical 1....c5. </p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5464a6436bb3f76920ea5476-446-442/screen shot 2014-11-13 at 7.03.32 am.png" border="0" alt="Carlsen Anand Game 4 Sicilian"><p class="source"><span>Chess.com</span></p><p class="caption">The Sicilian Defense.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>The "unbalanced" initial position gives black a good chance to win the game, rather than simply playing for a draw. The important thing to note here is that because white gets to move first, white is always statistically winning - between two great players, black can spend a lot of time playing catch-up, and in many styles of play, never pull it off. </p>
<p>The Sicilian announces that black isn't going to follow white but is instead going to rock-and-roll with his own plans. </p>
<p>I've argued that Anand needs to play the Sicilian as black against 1. e4 - he needs to shoot for wins on both sides of the board. And he's now quickly played c5 twice against Carlsen's King's Pawn opening. </p>
<p>There is a problem, however, which is that Carlsen knows the Sicilian as well as anyone, although Anand is regarded as having a much deeper understanding of so-called "opening theory" - the first 10-15 moves of the game. The two Sicilians so far have resulted in very complex positions where neither side is dominating. The overriding goal, absent something dramatic, has been to nurture incremental improvements: move by move by move.</p>
<p>Which is what they did in Game 6.</p>
<p>And then Carlsen made a dreadful move.</p>
<p>In chess, this is called a "blunder." And in Carlsen's case, if Anand had spotted it, Carlsen might have resigned on the spot, or after a few more moves. The situation currently is tough for Anand: because Anand started with white in Game 1, Carlsen now gets two games in a row as white: Games 6 and 7. Nabbing a win would have put Anand into a great position headed into the second half of the match.</p>
<p>But Anand didn't spot Carlsen's blunder. And because he didn't spot it - but realized his error quite quickly - he had to play the rest of the game in a sort of grim fog of understanding: that he had a nearly impossible chance to take a lead in his unlikely effort to reclaim the title that Carlsen took from his last year, and at the moment of truth, he blew it.</p>
<p>The rest of the game was a death march. It was unpleasant to watch.</p>
<p>What happened is that Carlsen moved his king one square: from c1 to d2. Here's the position again:</p>
<p> <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5467f233ecad041341da3351-452-452/screen shot 2014-11-15 at 7.01.08 pm.png" border="0" alt="Carlsen Anand Game 6 Blunder"><p class="source"><span>ChessBase</span></p><p class="caption">Carlsen move Kd2 was a massive blunder.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><p class="source"><span>ChessBase</span></p><p class="caption">Carlsen move Kd2 was a massive blunder.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>In top-level chess, catastrophes flow from such seemingly innocuous little moves that are actually monumental blunders.</p>
<p>Prior to this move, the position on the board represented a tense struggle, with both players essentially even. The action, such as it was, was on the g- and h-files: rooks against rooks, the black knight unable to do much, and Anand's main source of concern the fate of his lone pawn on the h-file.</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">But then Carlsen made the move Kd2 on move 26 of the game. </span></p>
<p>Anand suddenly had the chance to use his stuck knight on g6, to devastating effect. </p>
<p>He could have taken the pawn on e5, creating a "discovered attack" on the white rook on g4. But it would also have been a "double attack," with the knight hitting the pawn on c4 and rook on g4 - and the rook on g4 is attacked <em>twice,</em> by both the black knight and the black rook. </p>
<p>Carlsen could take the knight that's now on e5 with the rook on h5, but then Anand would be able to take the rook on g4 with the black rook on g8: the math of the exchange would be in black's favor, as Anand would have picked up a pawn and rook for the loss of a knight. </p>
<p>So Carlsen has to take the rook on g8, but here's where it gets wild: before Anand takes back with the black rook on h8, he has an in-between move.</p>
<p>The <em>best kind of in between move</em> - he can take <em>another </em>pawn, the one on c4, and he can do it while putting the white king in check. </p>
<p>When you can take a piece for free, and do it with check, it's usually worth it. The black knight can't be retaken, so Carlsen has to move his king out of check, and then Anand can take the rook. He will probably lose the knight, but he's gained two pawns and a rook. He could have translated this into a decisive advantage. </p>
<p>In the press conference after the game, when asked what he felt when he realized what he had done with his blunder, Carlsen used one word.</p>
<p><em>Panic.</em></p>
<p><strong>BLUNDER BACK!</strong></p>
<p>But Anand, who's regarded as a tactical genius, missed a tactic that he probably would have seen in a nanosecond if not for the immense pressure of the World Championship.</p>
<p>He moved his pawn on the a-file one square forward. You'll notice that the queens are off the board, so one of the key goals that the players have is to get their pawns close to their opponents back rank, so that a pawn can be promoted to a queen. Anand's game plan was to eliminate that pawn on a2 and get his own pawn home.</p>
<p>So he saw the white king moving off and he pressed forward. At the board, he even thought about it for a minute or so. </p>
<p>But it was the wrong move, and he then proceeded to fall apart, resigning after 38 moves. A dead loss for Carlsen became a win for the 23-year-old Norwegian. </p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5467f7336bb3f76441da334e-1019-745/screen shot 2014-11-15 at 7.54.02 pm.png" border="0" alt="Anand Post-Blunder"><p class="source"><span>FIDE</span></p><p class="caption">What have I done?</p></img></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p><strong>NOW WHAT?</strong></p>
<p>No one expects this kind of thing to happen in a chess match at this level. When it does, it's sort of incomprehensible - like discovering a portal to a different dimension where everything is anguish and agony and pain and defeat. </p>
<p>Cruel game.</p>
<p>Anand is fortunate that Sunday is a rest day. He can pull himself together. He is a grown man, 44 years old, and a chess player of the highest caliber. He's screwed up before.</p>
<p>Carlsen can consider himself massively lucky and try to convert that into victory. In the context of chess at his and Anand's level, Carlsen basically stole a game. But to his credit, he obviously has Anand under so much stress that the former World Champion isn't playing moves that much lesser competitors might see in an instant.</p>
<p>Anand can take solace in one thing and one thing only: for Carlsen to blunder so badly on such a big stage, the younger man has to be even more out-of-form than he looked coming into the match.</p>
<p>Anand won no games last year.</p>
<p>He should have won two by this point in the rematch.</p>
<p>That's cold comfort for Anand, but things are starting to get crazy at the World Chess Championship. Very, very crazy.</p>
<p>You can watch a replay of Game 6 <a href="http://www.sochi2014.fide.com/video-archive/">here</a>.</p>
<p>And you can <a href="http://en.chessbase.com/post/sochi-g6-carlsen-won-anand-missed-big-chance">review the game at ChessBase</a>.</p>

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