Grandmaster Simen Agdestein is a former Norwegian soccer star, who turned into a wonderful chess coach. He wrote a fascinating book about his famous pupil called "Wonderboy," subtitled "How Magnus Carlsen Became the Youngest Chess Grandmaster in the World." Recently issued by New in Chess, it is a candid tale that may inspire and help other young players and their parents. The lightly annotated but exciting games complete the picture of a prodigy who, according to Garry Kasparov, is the best talent among today's young players.
The world's top-rated grandmaster also praised Carlsen's stamina and his fighting spirit. Against a former foe of Kasparov, Nigel Short, the 14-year-old Carlsen displayed a fine endgame technique during a tournament last October in a Dutch town of Hoogoveen.
Carlsen-Short
After 40 moves the players reached the position in today's diagram (White: Kf2,Rc2,Ne4,P:e5,g4; Black: Ke7,Rh3,Ba2,P:a6):
41.Rc7+! (Forcing the black king to the back rank. Not 41.Rxa2? Rh2+ and the skewer wins the white rook.) 41 . . . Kd8 (Moving forward 41 . . . Ke6? loses to 42.Ng5+.) 42.Ra7 Bc4 43.g5! (Passed pawns must be pushed.) 43 . . . Rh4 44.Nd6 Be6 45.g6 Rg4 46.g7 (Almost there! The pawn is on the verge of queening, tying black's forces.) 46 . . . a5 47.Kf3! Rg1 48.Nb7+!? (A fancy way to leap to victory when 48.Ne4! is sufficient, for example 48 . . . a4 49.Ng3 Ke8 50.Kf2 Rb1 51.Nf5 Kd8 52.Ra6 Bc4 53.e6 and white wins.) 48 . . . Ke8 (White's study-like idea is clear after 48 . . . Kc7 49.Nc5+! Kb6 50.Nxe6 Kxa7 51.Kf4, threatening to block the rook with 52.Ng5. After 51 . . . Rxg7 52.Nxg7 a4 53.Nf5 a3 54.Ne3 a2 55.Nc2, the knight arrives in time to stop black's a-pawn.) 49.Nc5 Bf7 (Threatening to pick up the pawn on g7. After 49 . . . Bd5+ 50.Kf2 Rg2+ 51.Ke3 a4 52.e6!, blocks the bishop and wins.)
50.Ne4! (An ingenious way to protect the pawn on g7. After 50.e6? Rxg7! black can draw.) 50 . . . Rxg7 (Loses by force, but black couldn't have avoided the defeat anyway, e.g. 50 . . . Bd5 51.Ke3 Re1+ 52.Kd4; or 50 . . . Bb3 51.Nf6+ Kd8 52.g8Q+ Bxg8 53.Nxg8 and white wins in both cases.) 51.Nd6+ Kf8 52.Ra8+ Ke7 53.Nf5+ Kd7 54.Ra7+! (An important check before claiming the black rook. Carlsen is not throwing the hard work away with 54.Nxg7? Bd5+ and black draws.) Black resigned.
Feast in Prague
Several grandmasters and other prominent writers contributed to Jeroen Bosch's "Secrets of Opening Surprises, Volume 2." It is a refreshing book, full of rare, uncommon, but sound ideas that can spice up an opening repertoire of any tournament player.
One game in Maxim Notkin's fine article needs an explanation and updates. It was played in 1990 on Short's first wedding anniversary. It ended abruptly in a position where I still had winning chances. However, had I continued, the Shorts would miss a dinner I arranged for them in one of the best restaurants in Prague at that time.
Short-Kavalek
1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 Bc5 (I prefer to develop before ramming with the h-pawn.) 4.Bg2 h5!? 5.Nf3 h4! 6.Nxh4 (After 6.Nxe5?! Nxe5 7.d4 h3! 8.Bf1 Bxd4! with the idea 9.Qxd4 Nf3+ black wins.) 6 . . . Rxh4! 7.gxh4 Qxh4 (The exchange sacrifice gives black pieces plenty of squares to create a strong pressure on the kingside.)
8.d4?! (Bringing the dark bishop in play, but pawn is a pawn. Notkin mentions a 1984 game Dreev-Khalifman, where after 8.0-0 Nf6 9.Qf3 d6 10.Qg3 Qh7 11.d3 Nd4 12.Be3 Bd7, black had a good compensation for the exchange.) 8 . . . Nxd4!? (Also playable is 8 . . . Bxd4, but the knight in the center could be a monster.) 9.Nd5?! (Short suggested 9.Na4!? as a better try, but black can play 9 . . . d6!, for example 10.Nxc5?! [After 10.h3 Nb3 11.Nxc5 Nxc5!? 12.Be3 Nxe4 black is fine.] 10 . . . dxc5 11.c3 Bg4 12.Qd3 c4! 13.Qb1 Be2! black wins, e.g. 14.cxd4 Bd3!) 9 . . . d6! (Notkin explains that the computer program Fritz "does not see this move, or put more precisely, does not appreciate its true value.")
10.Ne3?! (Crawling backward is dangerous. So is the greedy 10.Nxc7+ Kf8 11.Nxa8 because of 11 . . . Bg4 and now after 12.Qd3 [12.Qd2 Bf3!] 12 . . . Nf3+ 13.Kd1 Ne1+! 14.Kxe1 Qxf2 mates; and on 12.Bg5 Qxg5 13.Qd2 Qh4 14.c3 Nf3+! wins. The best try is 10.Be3 when after 10 . . . Nf6 11.Nxf6+ gxf6 12.Kd2 Bd7 13.c3 0-0-0, black has an excellent compensation for the exchange.) 10 . . . Nf6 11.c3 Bg4 12.Nxg4 (Notkin believes that this is a blunder and proposes 12.Qd3 Nf3+ 13.Ke2!! exclaiming: "Hats off to Mr. Fritz!" However, after 12.Qd3 Be2! white is lost, for example 13.Qb1 [13.Qd2 Nf3+!] 13 . . . Bb5! 14.cxd4 Bb4+ 15.Kd1 Ng4! wins.) 12 . . . Nxg4 13.Rf1 (After 13.Qd2 Nxf2 14.0-0 Ne2+! 15.Qxe2 Ng4+, black wins.) 13 . . . Ne6? (I have seen the crushing 13 . . . Nxf2! 14.Rxf2 Nb3!, for example 15.Qf3 Bxf2+ 16.Qxf2 Qxf2+ 17.Kxf2 Nxa1 18.b3 a5 19.Bb2 a4 20.b4 Nb3! 21.Ke2 a3 and black wins. But I thought that after 13 . . . Nxf2! white has 14.Bg5. I began to calculate variations with 14 . . . Nd3+, overlooking that the simple 14 . . . Qxg5! 15.Rxf2 Qe3+ 16.Kf1 Nb3 would have sent Short to an early dinner.) 14.Qe2 Nxh2 15.Rh1 Ke7 16.Kd1 Rh8 17.f3 Qg3 18.Bd2 Bf2 19.Bf1 Rh4 20.Qd3 Nc5 21.Qe2 Nxf3 22.Rxh4 Nxh4 23.Kc2 Nf3 24.Rd1 Nxd2 25.Rxd2 Be3 and here I proposed a draw that allowed Short to taste some fine Czech cuisine.
Both books were issued by New in Chess and are available at chessNIC.com or by calling 800-354-4083.
