Reports | July 20, 2011 5:02

Biel: Carlsen wins again

Three draws in first round BielMagnus Carlsen also won his second game in Biel. On Tuesday he beat Alexei Shirov in a Meran Slav. Vachier-Lagrave had Morozevich on the ropes, but missed the win and then even lost. Caruana and Pelletier drew in a Rubinstein French.

General info

The 44th Biel Chess Festival takes place July 16-29 in Biel, Switzerland. The 'Grandmaster Tournament' is a six-player, double round robin with Caruana, Pelletier, Shirov, Carlsen, Morozevich and Vachier-Lagrave.The rate of play is 2 hours for 40 moves, then 1 hour for 20 moves and then 15 minutes to finish the game, with 30 seconds increment from move 61. The 'football' scoring system is in effect: three points for a win, one for a draw and zero for a loss. Besides, no draw offers are permitted before move 30. More info here.

Round 2 report

He's the top favourite, and in good form he should win this tournament for sure: Magnus Carlsen. In the second round the Norwegian outplayed Alexei Shirov nicely in a Meran Semi-Slav. He thought that after 18.Bd2 Black "might be in serious trouble already" because White can continue 19.b4! even after 19...Qd6. The game was a very nice example of playing on two wings.

Carlsen-Shirov

After his game with Yannick Pelletier, Fabiano Caruana revealed to his opponent that he had accidentally prepared for Black. Therefore the Italian needed to think from an early stage, and decided to for an ending. It was a good choice, as White kept an edge for the rest of the game. Pelletier propably missed a way to draw the rook ending earlier, and therefore felt lucky that he had saved the half point anyway.

Caruana-Pelletier

There was a lot of drama in the game Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs Alexander Morozevich. Their Grünfeld was reached by the interesting move order 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. cxd5 Nxd5 4. e4 Nxc3 5. bxc3 g6 6. d4 which was probably a more psychological than strategical little warfare. The Frenchman got a very promising position but then missed or underestimated the strong 23. Qh6+! Kf7 24. Nf4. Shortly after, Vachier hallucinated:

Vachier-Lagrave - Morozevich
Biel, 2011

Vachier-Lagrave - Morozevich

28. Ng5+?? (28. fxg6+ Rxg6 29. Ng5+ Rxg5 30. Qxg5 Rg8 31. Qh5+ Kf8 32. Qh6+ =) 28... fxg5 29. fxg6+ Ke8 30. Rxa7 (30. g7 Qd4+) 30... hxg6 31. Ra8+ Bc8 and Black won.

Vachier-Lagrave - Morozevich

The tournament organizers are cooperating with Chessbase to provide analysis of the games with the players. This is recorded on video and posted on YouTube, and we got permission to embed these in our reports too. See below the game viewer - this time with comments from Carlsen, Pelletier and Morozevich.

Games round 2

Game viewer by ChessTempo

Videos by Chessbase

Biel 2011 | Schedule & results

Biel 2011 | Round 2 Standings (Classical)


Biel 2011 | Round 2 Standings (Football)
# Name ELO Points
1. Magnus Carlsen NOR 2815 6
2. Alexander Morozevich RUS 2694 4
3. Fabiano Caruana ITA 2711 2
4-6. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave FRA 2722 1
4-6. Alexei Shirov ESP 2714 1
4-6. Yannick Pelletier SUI 2590 1


Photos © Biel Chess Festival

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Peter Doggers's picture
Author: Peter Doggers

Founder and editor-in-chief of ChessVibes.com, Peter is responsible for most of the chess news and tournament reports. Often visiting top events, he also provides photos and videos for the site. He's a 1.e4 player himself, likes Thai food and the Stones.

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Comments

Morley's picture

Morley

1 year 10 months ago

Impressive win by Carlsen today. He is very much on form ... it wouldn't be surprising if he ends up +5 or more.

giuong tang's picture

giuong tang

1 year 10 months ago

I am looking forward to Moro vs Carlsen today. It seems after 2 years off Moro still know how to play chess, must be a great game. If Carlsen can handle the Moro, he sure can achive at least +4

Knallo's picture

Knallo

1 year 10 months ago

Every now and then, I feel compelled to remind people that ELO refers to the Electric Light Orchestra, while Elo refers to a person who created a rating system.

Rama G's picture

Rama G

1 year 10 months ago

Of course ARPAD ELO started that great band too! ; )

The Golden Knight's picture

The Golden Knight

1 year 10 months ago

Some people think that Magnus is playing this tournament to "easily" increase his ELO. I think they are wrong. The other GMs in Biel are very strong. It was a bigger chance that he would loose ELO-points in such a tournament. But Magnus is in superform. Go Carlsen!!!

kaspy fan's picture

kaspy fan

1 year 10 months ago

beating pelletier and shirov suggests super form ?
he he

columbo's picture

columbo

1 year 10 months ago

just watch the games !

misha's picture

misha

1 year 10 months ago

i have seen them,
shirov was at usual poor best.
check the comments by other grandmasters

columbo's picture

columbo

1 year 10 months ago

Yeap ! while some people thought it would be better for him to chill out and sit in a rocking chair SINCE HE IS NUMBER ONE on the rating list, he PUT THE PRESSURE, because that's the only way to lead ! And that's what he did today.

FANTASTIC MATCH !

Septimus's picture

Septimus

1 year 10 months ago

Carlsen is in top form. Looks unstoppable!

misha's picture

misha

1 year 10 months ago

yes except when facing anand/kramnik , carlsen does look unstoppable.
Only some one of their caliber can still teach carlsen a lesson or two.
May be has psychological issues against them.
carlsen would have no chances against kramnik in a match......
he is just a tournament player

rogge's picture

rogge

1 year 10 months ago

Kramnik has played his last match, I'm afraid. He's declining rapidly. And so is Topalov :)

gg's picture

gg

1 year 10 months ago

Kramnik's last games against Carlsen were rather embarrassing losses if I recall correctly, three out of three this year, right? :-) But in a match Kramnik is a very difficult opponent, as Carlsen's stand-in Grischuk showed in Kazan :-)

Thomas's picture

Thomas

1 year 10 months ago

Hmmm, not that long ago (when discussing statistics between Carlsen and Ivanchuk), you discounted rapid games as irrelevant ....

gg's picture

gg

1 year 10 months ago

I posted the stats between Carlsen and his opponents but was told that they were wrong since I hadn't included Carlsen's losses in non-classical, like against Ivanchuk in Amber. So I've realised that it's wrong not to include all formats thanks to the complaints back then :-)

Thomas's picture

Thomas

1 year 10 months ago

I rather have the impression that you are flexible enough to use whichever statistics (and time periods) work best for Carlsen ... .

gg's picture

gg

1 year 10 months ago

You're free to post whatever stats you want to support the statement about Carlsen having psychological problems against Kramnik, and include blitz or not. If I have a serious discussion about head-to-head stats I wouldn't post in the same style as when having fun with trolls, by the way.

Manuel Sierra's picture

Manuel Sierra

1 year 10 months ago

Hi:

sorry but this time the score for a victory its 3 points so the standings is bad, Magnus get 6 full points.

Mike's picture

Mike

1 year 10 months ago

It seems the idea here is to increase Magnus ELO in order to put pressure on FIDE. Why not to organize a tournament with the really 10+ strong guys???

duh's picture

duh

1 year 10 months ago

Money.

Mike's picture

Mike

1 year 10 months ago

Yes, and I will add: Private interests (or wild capitalism) always profit from the competition between stronger forces against the weaker ones (faster gains with less risks). This situation produces inflation both in Economy and Chess ELO, for example.

Juan's picture

Juan

1 year 10 months ago

Most of the rating points dropped from Carlsen (since his 2826 peak) were for playing against lower opponents (He got a +1 result on the Olympiad, but not positive enough to maintain his rating).

Carlsen will lose points if he doesn't win most of his games even if he wins the tournament. So.. your argument is invalid.

PircAlert's picture

PircAlert

1 year 10 months ago

I'm surprised at the thumbs down Mike post has got. Mike has a point. It is just not about rating alone. You avoid directly taking on your rivals but you would still like to compare yourself with your rivals using your performance against a relative lower strength group. What good is that? Moreover, in such cases, a lower rated player could easily throw a game for money since the rating point he lost could be easily gained back from another tournament.

gg's picture

gg

1 year 10 months ago

"You avoid directly taking on your rivals but you would still like to compare yourself with your rivals"

Carlsen won Wijk 2010 ahead of Anand, Kramnik, Ivanchuk, Nakamura, Karjakin. He won Bazna ahead of Radjabov, Gelfand, Ponomariov. He won Nanjing ahead of Anand, Topalov. He won London ahead of Kramnik, Nakamura. Not to mention that he won Arctic Securities after beating Anand in their match, Amber ahead of Kramnik, Aronian, Gelfand, etc if events where Elo isn't even involved should be included. And this year he has won Bazna ahead of Nakamura, Radjabov, etc. He's also faced Anand and Kramnik in a couple of other events where he hasn't won, but it's hard to find events he hasn't lately. So I don't think he avoids taking on his rivals and still want to compare himself with them after getting a cheap increase in his Elo to put pressure on FIDE. Such a description wouldn't give a fair picture of the situation. He's playing quite well, by the way.

PircAlert's picture

PircAlert

1 year 10 months ago

I think if you did something great in 2010, you have to do it similarly in 2011, 2012 etc. to deserve such praise. You simply cannot bask on your past glory like Kasparov did only to be exposed later on by Kramniks. Then everyone will discount all your dubious performances. Anand may not have won titles in recent years but due to his consistent performances in strong events he was #1 recently. So I think Carlsen should try and play in more challenging competitions like higher category tournaments, candidates instead of looking to increase ratings by playing in weaker Biel like tournaments. :)

gg's picture

gg

1 year 10 months ago

"I think Carlsen should try and play in more challenging competitions like higher category tournaments"

Yes, it would be fun if he ever played any stronger tournament than Biel but that just won't happen I suppose, in stronger events it's also harder to find opponents that throw their games for money I guess :-)

DemBones's picture

DemBones

1 year 10 months ago

Meh. You're a bigger buzz kill than Buzz Killington.

But hey, we can all play that game: Name me any one person in the history of mankind that you admire and I'll throw up all over him and prove he's not all that he's cracked up to be.

misha's picture

misha

1 year 10 months ago

gg stop trolling .
you post stats to support your arguments without ever clarifying the game format.
you will omit data or provide incomplete data just to support your shitty arguments.

gg's picture

gg

1 year 10 months ago

Oh, excuse me, I forgot to mention the game format this time in the discussion concerning Carlsen's psychological problems against Kramnik. Carlsen has 4 wins and 2 draws in his last 6 games against Kramnik (2 classical, 2 blitz, 1 rapid, 1 blindfold).

S3's picture

S3

1 year 10 months ago

I agree that "gg" is omitting data but I do think he is right in that Magnus is not avoiding anyone. Be that as it may it is quite possible that he avoided the candidates because it was likely to cost him rating points and status. But at Biel there is a similar risk; not much rating to gain and it will be quite hard to win against rapidly improving players like Lagrave and maybe Caruana.

Anyway, far more important than the number 1 rating position will be the tournament later this year in Bilbao. No weak players there, all serious contenders for the crown (except for the current Naka maybe ;) ). I think he can really prove something there.

rogge's picture

rogge

1 year 10 months ago

Cool. Earlier, I've read that Carlsen should't risk his rating playing a mere category 19 tournament (Biel). Now that he is in fact gaining rating points, it's suggested that "a lower rated player could easily throw a game for money". Great.

Carlsen almost exclusively plays the top tournaments. The last time he played a "weak" tournament was in the Olympiad, where he failed to maintain his rating.

Is the caim that the lower rated players in the Olympiad didn't throw their games (bad result for Carlsen), but in Biel they're throwing games (Carlsen winning)?

Which player(s) could "easily throw a game", Pelletier and/or Shirov? The suggestion is a grave insult to the players involved.

ebutaljib's picture

ebutaljib

1 year 10 months ago

When you are number 1 EVERYBODY is lower ranked. Kasparov played lower ranked players throughout his career! So I really do not know what you are trying to say with lower ranked players.

The only "lower ranked" player here is Pelletier who is there only because he holds the right passport. Everybody else is elite. Everybody knows what Morozevich and Shirov are capable of doing regardless of who their opponent is (they have shown that many times), while Caruana and Vachier-Lagrave are two very promising youngsters on their way up. If you think that 2810 can easely win against 2710 then you don't know nothing about chess at all.

PircAlert's picture

PircAlert

1 year 10 months ago

See, you are confusing everyone. This example will better explain. Say you are #2. You can beat players lower than your ranking and overtake #1 OR you can beat #1 and take over the #1 slot. Which would you choose? Do you want to be a real #1 or a pseudo #1? The choice is yours.

Folks, now give me some thumbs up, please! :)

ebutaljib's picture

ebutaljib

1 year 10 months ago

Seems like you are the one who is confused here.

1) Carlsen is already nuimber 1, so he has no cother choice but to play "lower ranked" players (even if he plays against number 2)

2) ELO is more accurate if you play games against different opponents, rather than just against the same opponent all the time. If Kasparov played against Kramnik all the time, he would be lower rated than Kramnik.

Thomas's picture

Thomas

1 year 10 months ago

What do you mean with "put pressure on FIDE"? To cancel the Anand-Gelfand match after all if Carlsen gains another ten or twenty rating points in Biel??!

The tournament "is what it is": The organizers wanted Carlsen even if it strained their budget a lot (hence the need for an additional private sponsor). And the other five players are the best they could get, at least if we accept their wish to have a Swiss player competing. Almost all stronger players are or will be busy elsewhere, World Team championship or Dortmund - the only idle ones seem to be Anand and Topalov, but they are presumably too expensive.

Fact is that Carlsen played well so far. Fact is also that his opponents played rather poorly, and I expect tougher opposition for Magnus in the next rounds. Pelletier (round 1) was an absolute underdog. Shirov (round 2) joined the tournament at short notice replacing Gashimov, so he is relatively unprepared and his "fire on board" style backfired upon him. So predictions that Carlsen will score +5 or more still seem premature to me - which doesn't mean that it cannot happen ... .

Mike's picture

Mike

1 year 10 months ago

Always there will be more or less two sides: 1- Private Interests 2- Public or Global Community Interests. Most of tournaments reflect Private Interests. Otherwise, FIDE represents mainly public interests, for example to support or stimulate chess in a poor country or community. ELO reflects players results at tournaments, most of them privately organized, so ELO is heavily influenced by Private Interests. Otherwise for example Candidates Matches or Interzonals are Public events, FIDE organized according to public interests, because even the poorest or less developed Country on this World deserve a chance to produce a World Champion or a least a Candidate to the World Title. So, my Logic is: To inflate someone ELO reflects Private Interests. Compare this Tournament to one with Carlsen, Anand, Chucky, Aronian, Karjakin, Nakamura, Guelfand, etc and you will see the difference...

Septimus's picture

Septimus

1 year 10 months ago

You are assuming that Carlsen can just wake up unprepared and crush anybody he plays. This is not true. He has natural talent, but in top level chess you also have to be well prepared.

What do you mean by put pressure on FIDE? To do what? He was asked to participate and he refused. What can FIDE do?

Mike's picture

Mike

1 year 10 months ago

To put pressure on FIDE means to reinforce private interests, as I've explained before. FIDE should establish that any valid tournament for ELO purposes should NOT allow a certain maximum difference between the stronger and the weakest ELO. I suggest 99 ELO points max. diff.

Mike's picture

Mike

1 year 10 months ago

Correcting: To put pressure on FIDE means to reinforce private interests, as I've explained before. FIDE should establish that any valid tournament for ELO purposes should NOT allow more than a certain maximum difference between the stronger and the weakest ELO. I suggest 99 ELO points max. diff.

blueofnoon's picture

blueofnoon

1 year 10 months ago

Haven't we seen so-called super GMs lose a lot of ELO points when they play in relatively "weak" tournaments many times?

Kramnik was the first seed at last year's Dortmund, but he did lose to one of underdogs, Naiditsch, eventually finished with even score.

If anyone thinks Magnus is doing an easy job, he or she probably has no idea of chess or no interest in watching tournaments or both.

gg's picture

gg

1 year 10 months ago

Agreed.

S3's picture

S3

1 year 10 months ago

How many elo points did Kramnik lose?
Apart from brave but precarious players like Shirov and Ivanchuk I can't think of super GM's who play in "weak" tournaments, let alone lose points in them.
If you consider Dortmund weak because of Naijditsch one should consider Wijk weak because of van Wely/Smeets, Linares weak because of Vallejo and London weak because of Howell/McShane (!).

I don't think Biel is a weak tournament at all.

stanislav's picture

stanislav

1 year 10 months ago

Shirov was out of form, making some bad moves.
Normally he would win against Carlsen.
It seems Carlsen has a lot of luck with opponents being out of shape for some reason.

ebutaljib's picture

ebutaljib

1 year 10 months ago

I would probably be out of shape too if I played against him.

Tordynna's picture

Tordynna

1 year 10 months ago

Stanislav , why are people like you without any IQ , interested in chess ?

Thomas's picture

Thomas

1 year 10 months ago

If understanding irony counts towards anyone's IQ, yours may well be zero or negative ... (read: Stanislav's post was obviously ironic)

S3's picture

S3

1 year 10 months ago

With Carlsen it's like with the prophet; you are not allowed to make jokes or express irony. Somehow the fanboys never get it.

rogge's picture

rogge

1 year 10 months ago

Sure. Head to head: Carlsen-Shirov 7-2.

Arctor's picture

Arctor

1 year 10 months ago

Caruana accidentally prepared for Black? What kind of lame excuse is that?

Septimus's picture

Septimus

1 year 10 months ago

LOL what? Where did you read that?

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