Fabiano Caruana, the world No 2 who narrowly lost the title match to Magnus Carlsen at London 2018, is well placed to gain some revenge as the American leads the world champion by a full point going into the final two rounds at Wijk aan Zee.
Carlsen has a brilliant record at the elite Netherlands tournament with four first prizes and a second place in the last five years. In the 2020 edition he began slowly with seven straight draws, sidetracked by his successful attempt at a world record unbeaten streak which has now reached 118 games.
Carlsen then won three in a row but was well held by Poland’s Jan-Krzysztof Duda in Friday’s 11th round. Caruana made the most of his opportunity with an impressive crush of the Belarus tailender Vladislav Kovalev. After 11 of the 13 rounds Caruana (US) leads on 8/11, followed by Carlsen (Norway) 7/11 and Wesley So (US) 6.5/11. So and Carlsen are paired in the final round. Games are live and free to watch online at the official site and elsewhere. Rounds start at 12.30pm on Friday and Saturday, and at 11am for Sunday’s 13th and final session.
Caruana and Carlsen showed their class when in successive rounds they defeated 16-year-old Alireza Firouzja. The talented teen had captured the imagination of chess fans, first by his decision to quit Iran rather than accept its official ban on playing Israeli opponents and then by his controversial loss on time to Carlsen in the World Blitz in Moscow.
Carlsen’s win began with a Ruy López finesse, as he reached a standard position after Black’s 12th move – but with Black still to play. His unusual move order earlier had persuaded Firouzja to advance a2-a3 and then a3-a4 instead of in a single step. Then Carlsen used his strategic skills to gain control with his active bishops, Firouzja never created counterplay and, although Black’s conversion was inaccurate it was good enough to win.
Caruana’s victory was even more impressive since he took on Firouzja on his own territory, mazy tactics in the style of the legendary Mikhail Tal which the Iranian has used in hundreds of internet bullet and blitz games. The opening could be called a Six Pawns Attack against the sharp King’s Indian and the game continued in this vein as Firouzja sacrificed a knight for several pawns. With the game still in the balance he erred fatally at move 30 and Caruana pounced with a decisive attack.
Firouzja’s ranking briefly touched the top 20 during his winning run, and his results at age 16 compare with Carlsen’s, but his Wijk result has nosedived after his fine start and in round 11 he lost his third game in a row, this time to India’s former world champion Vishy Anand.
While Wijk is nearing its end, the Gibraltar Masters, one of the world’s strongest opens, has just got under way. The top seeds Shak Mamedyarov and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave have already dropped half points.
China’s Ju Wenjun retained her women’s world championship on Friday when she defeated her Russian challenger Aleksandra Goryachkina by 2.5-1.5 in a rapid chess tie-break after their classical series, played in Shanghai and Vladivostok, was tied at 6-6. The prize fund of €500,000 was a record for the women’s title.
They were evenly matched, and the lead changed hands several times in a fluctuating contest. Ju Wenjun was more experienced in rapid chess and she won well in the decisive tie-breaker.3655 1 Qxd5! wins because after exd5 2 Rdh1 and White mates on h8.
