No generation gap at ‘Legends of Chess’ fight

The old guys are playing with some real youthful verve.

The Chess24 Legends of Chess knockout tournament, which wraps up this week, is the last of four online rapid events being played this summer featuring world champion Magnus Carlsen and some other top players. The top finishers from the four events will compete next month in the Grand Final.

The “Legends” field featured some of the greatest players from the pre-Carlsen generation, including former world champs Viswanathan Anand and Vladimir Kramnik, former title challengers Peter Leko and Boris Gelfand, and Ukrainian GM Vasyl Ivanchuk, who never won the crown but may have been among the greatest chess talents of the past half-century. They have also been playing some of the feistiest and scintillating chess in the current event.

We can’t begin to do justice to the battle royale staged by Anand and Kramnik in Round 3, a 15-round brawl in which both fighters came up off the canvas multiple times. Just note how, after a tense, intricate positional battle, in the seven moves following Anand’s inspired 35. Bg6!!, White’s knight twice travels via the forbidden f5-square, knight forks menace both kings, and — when the smoke clears on 41. Nxh6 Nxc3 — both White and Black have an advanced passer that could decide the game at any point.

With the rooks and knights on the board, the tactical opportunities are head-spinning. White’s 52. Nxe6+? (mandatory was 52. Rxg6! Nxg6 52. Nxe6+ Kd7 54. Nf4! d4+ 55. Ke4 c2 56. e6+ Kc7 57. Nd3) Nxe6 53. Rxg6 d4+ 54. Ke4 should have been fatal, but Black in turn misses 54…c2! 55. Rg7 Kb6 56. Rg1 Rb1, winning.

The seesaw struggle goes down to the very last moves, with almost no time on the clock: The finale: 62…Qd2+?? (this should lose, believe it or not, to 63. Nf4! Nc5 64. Kf5 Qc2+ 65. Kf6 Qd2 66. Ng6 Qe1 67. Rb8+ Kxb8 68. f8=Q+ Kb7 69. Qxc5; drawing was 62…Qg1+ 63. Kf5 Qb1+ 64. Kg5, with a perpetual) 63. Kg6?? Qg2+!, and White must resign as his pawns fall after 64. Kh6 Qxh3+ 65. Kg7 Qg4+ 66. Kh8 Qh4+ 67. Kg7 Qg5+ 68. Kh7 Qh5+ 69. Kg7 Qe5+ 70. Kh7 Qxe6.

Not perfect by any means, but a rattling good struggle.

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Ivanchuk, 51, is reportedly more into checkers these days, but he remains dangerous and peerlessly imaginative at the chessboard. He took a game from Carlsen in the four-game set before falling in the blitz playoff.

And his demolition of Chinese No. 1 GM Ding Liren, until recently one of the hottest players on the planet, was a thing to behold. White sacrifices a pawn for quick development in this Nimzo-Indian, building up a strong attack as Black struggles to unwind his pieces.

When Ding unwisely closes the center with 18. d5 c5?!, White goes to work: 19. Nh4! Na6 20. Bf5 Nb4 21. Qe4 Bd7 22. Re3 (see diagram), setting up a threat that Ding misses.

Thus: 22…Bxa4?? (an ill-advised pawn grub that removes a key defender; either 22…Qc7 or 22…Kh8 allows Black to keep defending an inferior position) 23. Bxh7+!, and remarkably, mate is inevitable: 23…Kf7 (Nxh7 24. Qe6+ Kh8 25. Ng6 mate; or 23…Kh8 24. Ng6+ Nxg6 25. Bxg6, with the deadly 26. Qh4+ waiting in the wings) 24. Nf5! Nxh7 25. Nh6+!!, and Black gave up facing 25…hxg6 (Kf8 26. Qxh7 hxg6 27. Rg3 and 28. Rg8 mate) 26. Qxh7+ Kf8 27. Rg3 Qc7 28. Rg8 mate.

Anand-Kramnik, Chess24 Legends of Chess, Round 3, July 2020

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 Be7 8. Qd2 a6 9. Bd3 b5 10. a3 c4 11. Be2 Nb6 12. O-O Bd7 13. Bd1 g6 14. h3 Qc7 15. Bf2 h6 16. Ne2 a5 17. c3 O-O-O 18. Bh4 Bxh4 19. Nxh4 Kb7 20. Nf3 Ra8 21. Bc2 Qd8 22. g4 Qe7 23. Ng3 b4 24. axb4 axb4 25. Rxa8 Rxa8 26. f5 gxf5 27. gxf5 Ra2 28. Qc1 bxc3 29. bxc3 Qa3 30. Bb1 Qxc1 31. Rxc1 Rb2 32. f6 Na4 33. Bh7 Na5 34. Bg6 Nb3 35. Re1 Be8 36. Nf5 fxg6 37. Nd6+ Kc7 38. Nxe8+ Kd7 39. Nd6 g5 40. Nf5 Ke8 41. Nxh6 Nxc3 42. Nxg5 Nxd4 43. f7+ Ke7 44. Ra1 Nce2+ 45. Kf2 Nf4+ 46. Kg3 Ng6 47. Ra7+ Kd8 48. Ra8+ Kc7 49. Rg8 Ne2+ 50. Kf2 Nef4+ 51. Ke3 c3 52. Nxe6+ Nxe6 53. Rxg6 d4+ 54. Ke4 Re2+ 55. Kf3 Re3+ 56. Kg4 Nf8 57. Rg8 Nd7 58. Nf5 c2 59. Nxe3 c1=Q 60. Nd5+ Kb7 61. e6 Qd1+ 62. Kg5 Qd2+ 63. Kg6 Qg2+ White resigns.

Ivanchuk-Ding, Chess24 Legends of Chess, Round 3, July 2020

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 O-O 5. e3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 d6 7. Bd3 e5 8. e4 exd4 9. cxd4 Re8 10. O-O Nxe4 11. Re1 Nf6 12. Rxe8+ Nxe8 13. Bg5 f6 14. Bd2 Nd7 15. Qc2 Nf8 16. Re1 c6 17. a4 Nc7 18. d5 c5 19. Nh4 Na6 20. Bf5 Nb4 21. Qe4 Bd7 22. Re3 Bxa4 23. Bxh7+ Kf7 24. Nf5 Nxh7 25. Nh6+ Black resigns.

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