Grand Swiss: Four take the lead as Carlsen barely escapes defeat
The fourth round of the Isle of Man Grand Swiss almost brought a shock: the World Champion, Magnus Carlsen, was facing an imminent defeat (after 438 days of not losing a game), only to be saved by his opponent’s time trouble. The board-one clash between the World No 2, Fabiano Caruana, and China’s Wang Hao ended in a draw. The two have been joined at the top by the World Junior Champion Parham Maghsoodloo and England’s Luke McShane. Round four also saw an upset: the experienced GM Sergei Movsesian lost on board 70 to 21-year-old Antenaina Rakotomaharo Fy, an IM from Madagascar. Kovalev vs Carlsen: Saved in the nick of time Among the top boards of the Grand Swiss, the most dramatic game of the day was that between Magnus Carlsen and Vladislav Kovalev of Belarus. The World Champion was lucky to escape with half a point after his opponent (who is 215-points lower-rated!) got into serious time trouble and missed several winning moves. Kovalev, who played as White, took the initiative early on. After 20 moves, he pushed his pawn to d6 and dominated in the centre with the queen and knight. With all of his pieces activated and well-positioned and a completely safe king, it seemed there was no hope for Magnus Carlsen. By move 26 the World Champion was completely lost. The expression on Carlsen’s face reflected the gloomy atmosphere of what was mostly a rainy day on the Isle of Man. The scene was set for a dramatic event: the World Champion Magnus Carlsen was at the brink of losing and ending his streak of 93 games and 438 days without a loss. Carlsen had only one thing going for him: Kovalev was in serious time trouble – he had under two minutes to make 14 moves to reach the first time control. Still, World Champions are great not just because they are good at winning but, also, because they are skilled at defending. Appearing completely calm, Carlsen played the most precise moves which his position required. The tension was high and a large number of GM spectators further electrified the intense atmosphere on the board. At one point, Azeri GM Rauf Mamedov passed by, looked at the position and the clock and disapprovingly shook his head and mumbled something. The 25-year-old Vladislav Kovalev (who won the strong Aeroflot open in 2018 and this January scored 10/13 in the Tata Steel B-tournament), was starting to panic: his look frantically shifting between the clock and the board. The Belarusian was down to his final seconds. His feet dug into the carpet, leaning on the side of the table trying to keep his legs still, but his body was shaking. Carlsen then offered a repetition of moves, but Kovalev wanted to go for the win. In the next couple of moves, however, he missed everything he could. He did reach the time control but at the price of losing his pawn on d7 and exchanging the queens, which led to a drawish rook ending. After this, Carlsen got up for a good walk. When he came back, his opponent was still shaking his head in disbelief, trying to come to terms with a lost opportunity. Kovalev still had a passed pawn on the a-file, but the position was not winning anymore. The players agreed to draw. This was the closest the World Champion came to defeat for a long time. The Carlsen’s unbeaten run continues and is now on 94 games and 439 days. The World Champion is struggling, but he is still just one point away from contending the top place. A very instructive interesting comment about this game was published by GM and FIDE Director-General, Emil Sutovsky on his Facebook page: “Once Yussupov taught us, the young students of Polugaevsky chess school: when you are clearly winning – pick one move, focus on it and calculate till the end. Do not compare. But to Magnus’ luck, Kovalev did not attend that lesson… Carlsen escapes, though he is yet to find his play.” The Russian Game in an American – Chinese showdown While the drama between Carlsen and Kovalev was unfolding, on the top board Fabiano Caruana was leading white pieces against Wang Hao. By the beginning of day four, the two were the only players out of 154 to have a maximum score after three rounds. Petrov’s Defence (also called The Russian Game) was played. Caruana secured a small advantage after the opening, having a 2:1 pawn advantage on the queenside. After a lot of strategical manoeuvring, Caruana started to push his pieces forward. Black’s coordinated his knights to create a solid defence, supported by rooks, with the a-rook equally active in defending and also threatening white with back-rank intrusions. Caruana couldn’t find a way forward and, eventually, offered a draw which was accepted. Four players in the lead The Russian duel on board two ended in a draw where Alexander Grischuk (as black) had to sacrifice a whole rook to get a perpetual check against Kiril Alekseenko and both are now on three points. Board three saw an interesting clash between Ivan Cheparinov (as white) and Nikita Vitiugov. The game took a wild turn at move 17 when black’s king set off on a walk. Cheparinov attacked, but the Black king quickly reached safety. Moreover, a few moves down the road, Vitiugov managed to align his pieces for an attacking formation. After a tactical struggle, the Black emerged completely winning but missed 32…Qh6, mating black in a few moves. Cheparinov found a way to escape and then transposed into an endgame with opposite-coloured bishops. The game ended in a draw. On board four, reigning World Junior Champion, Parham Maghsoodloo of Iran defeated India’s Santosh Gujrathi Vidit. After a miscalculation in the middlegame, black ended up in a worse position, with weak pawns. Maghsoodloo then pushed his king forward to help block black’s pieces. White, however, needed to play precisely until the end as Black skilfully freed his king. A pawn race to the final line was launched by both sides, but White had a clear advantage. In desperation, Vidit sacrificed a