Top stars RSVP for Magnus Carlsen’s pop-up chess invitational

The world’s elite chess players, whose training and competition schedules are often plotted a year or more in advance, are proving to be a surprisingly flexible lot facing the enforced idleness of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

A month ago, the “Magnus Carlsen Invitational” wasn’t even on the calendar. But the Norwegian world champion called up a bunch of his 2,700-plus pals, and now chess fans the world over are able to enjoy some fighting chess from some of the top talents on the planet.

The online event, hosted by the Chess24 website, features a round robin of four-game rapid matches, with the top four finishers moving on to a knockout final stage. Carlsen and American star GM Hikaru Nakamura got the event going last week in style, with all four games of their mini-match ending decisively and the champ prevailing only in the tiebreaking armageddon game.

Nakamura has a famously bad head-to-head record against Carlsen at classical time controls — just one win and 14 losses in some 40 games over the years — but he gave the Norwegian all he could handle here, including a fine Game 2 win in a Ruy Lopez Arkhangelsk line.

It’s a fierce struggle for the initiative from the first move, understandable in a format where being able to dictate the play is a major advantage. By 22. Rxa2 dxe5, the position has clarified: Carlsen as Black has won a pawn and White must gin up an attack as compensation.

Nakamura proves up to the challenge with 23. f6! gxf6?! (a risky decision given that Carlsen was already leading the match; on 23…Nd5 24. fxg7 Re8, Black looks safer) 24. Bh6 Re8 25. Ra6 Rb6 (c6 26. Qg4+ Ng6 27. Rxc6 Rb6 28. Rfxf6 Rxc6 29. Rxc6 Qa8 30. Rc7, recovering the pawn with a strong attack) 26. Rxb6 cxb6 27. Qg3+ Ng6 28. h4 (already eyeing a clever tactic) f5 29. h5 f4 (see diagram), when 30. Qg4 Qc8 defends nicely.

But White instead finds 30. hxg6! hxg6 (the point is that 30. fxg3? loses to 30…gxf7+ Kh8 32. fxe8=Q+ Qxe8 33. Rf8+) 31. Qg4 Qc8? (perhaps disconcerted by the turn of events, Black misses the tougher 31…Qe7 32. Rd1 Rd8 33. Ra1 Qc5+, with decent survival chances) 32. Qh4 Qc5+ 33. Kh2 Qd6 34. Bg5 f5 35. Rf3!, and all of White’s pieces are poised for the final assault.

As tournament “host,” Black magnanimously lets his guest play it out to the end: 37. Bd4 Qd7 (accepting a quick death in an unsalvageable position) 38. Qh8+ Kf7 39. Rh7+ Ke6 40. Qe5 mate.

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The event’s other first day match, between Chinese superstar GM Ding Liren and rising Iranian GM Alireza Firouzja also featured a lot of fighting chess but only one decisive result: Ding’s victory from the Black side of a Najdorf Sicilian in Round 2.

As with Nakamura-Carlsen, the struggle for the initiative predominates; by 21. Be2 Bf8 22. h4 Qb7, the question becomes whose attack will arrive first. Both sides walk a tightrope after 28. Qg4 Qd5 (despite the lack of pieces, the play is remarkably complex) 29. Rd3 c4 30. Qxf3! Qd6 31. bxc4 bxc4, when White might have tried 32. Rd2! cxb3 (Qxa3?! 33. Ra2 Qxb3+ 34. Qxb3 cxb3 35. Rxa6 looks very pleasant for White) 33. h6, and suddenly Black has to defend as well.

Instead, Ding breaks through after 32. Rc3 Qxd4 33. Rhc1?! (Ka2!? [Qb7? Qxc3 34. Qxc8 Qb3+ 35. Kc1 Qxa3+ 36. Kc2 Qb3+, and the coming checks will prove crushing] Qd2+ 34. Ka1 Rd8 35. Qe3 [f6!? is an interesting alternative here] Qd5 36. Qf3 Qe5 37. Qe3 Qa5 keeps Black on top) Bxa3!, when 34. Rxa3?? Rb8+ 35. Kc2 Rb2 is mate.

A desperate exchange sac doesn’t change the dynamic, and in the end, after Black’s careful 43…Qc2+ 44. Kd4 Qxc7 45. Rxc7 Rxf5, the ending is dead lost for White. Firouzja resigned.

Nakamura-Carlsen, Carlsen Invitational, April 2020

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. a4 Rb8 8. Nxe5 Nxe5 9. d4 Bxd4 10. Qxd4 d6 11. f4 Nc6 12. Qc3 Ne7 13. axb5 axb5 14. e5 Ne4 15. Qf3 Nc5 16. Ba2 O-O 17. Be3 Bb7 18. Qh3 Ne4 19. Nc3 Nxc3 20. bxc3 Bd5 21. f5 Bxa2 22. Rxa2 dxe5 23. f6 gxf6 24. Bh6 Re8 25. Ra6 Rb6 26. Rxb6 cxb6 27. Qg3+ Ng6 28. h4 f5 29. h5 f4 30. hxg6 hxg6 31. Qg4 Qc8 32. Qh4 Qc5+ 33. Kh2 Qd6 34. Bg5 f5 35. Rf3 e4 36. Rh3 f3+ 37. Bf4 Qd7 38. Qh8+ Kf7 39. Rh7+ Ke6 40. Qe5 mate.

Firouzja-Ding, Carlsen Invitational, April 2020

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. f3 h5 9. Qd2 Nbd7 10. O-O-O Be7 11. Kb1 b5 12. a3 Rc8 13. h3 h4 14. f4 O-O 15. f5 Bxb3 16. cxb3 Nc5 17. Bxc5 dxc5 18. Qe1 Qc7 19. g4 hxg3 20. Qxg3 Rfd8 21. Be2 Bf8 22. h4 Qb7 23. Qg2 Rd4 24. h5 Nxe4 25. Bf3 Nxc3+ 26. bxc3 e4 27. cxd4 exf3 28. Qg4 Qd5 29. Rd3 c4 30. Qxf3 Qd6 31. bxc4 bxc4 32. Rc3 Qxd4 33. Rhc1 Bxa3 34. R1c2 Be7 35. Qb7 Qd8 36. Rd2 Qf8 37. Kc2 Bf6 38. Rd7 Rb8 39. Qc7 Bxc3 40. Kxc3 Qb4+ 41. Kd4 Qd2+ 42. Kc5 Rb5+ 43. Kxc4 Qc2+ 44. Kd4 Qxc7 45. Rxc7 Rxf5 White resigns.

• David R. Sands can be reached at 202/636-3178 or by email dsands@washingtontimes.com.