Carlsen vs Carlsen — Magnus beats his dad
10.08.2007 — That is hardly a surprise, since the 16-year-old is over six hundred points stronger than his first teacher. But then again Henrik Carlsen has grounding powers… After seven rounds of the Arctic Chess Challenge in Tromsø it is Norwegian GM Kjetil A. Lie who is in the lead, with 5.5 points, followed by four players with 5.0 points each. Report with pictures and videos.
The Arctic Chess Challenge is taking place in Tromsø from August 4th-12th, 2007. It is organised by the Tromsø Sjakklubb as a nine-round Swiss, with time controls of 2 hours for 40 moves + 1 hour for 20 + 30 minutes to finish the game — a total of seven hours. Games start at 4 p.m. local time (round nine at 11 a.m.). There are 98 players from 16 countries, with 11 GM’s above 2580, including top seed Magnus Carlsen. The total prize fund is 11,050 Euros.
Carlsen,Magnus — Carlsen,Henrik
Arctic Chess Challenge 2007 Scandic Hotell Tromsø (6), 04.08.2007
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 Be7 6.e3 c6 7.Qc2 h6 8.Bh4 0–0 9.Bd3 Re8 10.Nge2 Ne4 11.Bxe7 Qxe7 12.Bxe4 dxe4 13.Ng3 f5 14.0–0 Na6 15.a3 Nc7 16.f3 exf3 17.Rxf3 f4 18.exf4 Bg4 19.Rff1 Rad8 20.f5 Rxd4 21.Qf2 Qe3
The last black move was played with the aggressive abandon of optimistic youth, but the vast experience of the black player is displayed in his calculated counter: 22.h3 Rd2 23.Qxe3 Rxe3 24.Rf2 Rxg3 25.Rxd2 Bxf5 and Black is a rook down for bishop and pawn. 26.Re1 Kf7 27.Rf1 Kg6 28.Rd6+ Be6 29.Re1 Kf7 30.Ne4 Rg6 31.Nc5 b6 32.Rxc6 bxc5 33.Rxc7+ Kg8 34.Rc6
One final trick to try to fluster the kid: 34…Rxg2+ 35.Kxg2 Bd5+ 36.Kg3 Bxc6 37.Rc1. It is hopeless: 1–0.
Some day, my son, I will be as strong as you… Magnus and Henrik Carlsen
The normal place of the father: Henrik looks on respectfully as Magnus analyses with Anand (here in Morelia 2007)
Current standings (after seven rounds)
Picture Gallery
So many tournaments, sooo tired… Magnus Carlsen vs Ørnulf Stubberud in round four
Behemoths Mikhail Gurevich, Turkey, vs Simen Agdestein, Norway (draw).
GM Vladimir Burmakin Russia, vs GM Heikki Westerinen, Finland. 1–0
A bottle of Coke and the white pieces: former women’s world champion Antoaneta Stefanova, Bulgaria
A tough battle between Vladimir Epishin, Russia, and Vugar Gashimov, Azerbaijan (draw in 19 moves)
Didn’t he used to be my student? GM Simen Agdestein vs Magnus Carlsen (draw)
How can anyone be so good? Peter Flermoen, 1508, vs Gunnar Berg Hanssen, 2242, both from Norway
Ingrid Øen Carlsen, 1059, vs Alf Gøran Jakobsen, 1020, fortified by a bag of Polly Turmiks
Videos from Tromsø
Impressions from the playing hall (18 sec)
Lie vs Maceija, and Epishin vs Gashimov in round five (19 sec)
A full trailer in which you can hear Magnus and his former trainer Simen Agdestein speaking in their incredible Nordic tongue. After spending time with Magnus in Morelia or Dortmund one tends to forget that this is what he does back home. (1 min 38 sec)
Addendum: Per Manne of Bergen, Norway has provided us with a transcription and, more importantly, a translation of the parts in which Magnus and Simen speak:
Magnus Carlsen comments on his strategy for his game with Simen Agdestein: “Så gjelder det å ha bedre åpningsforberedelser enn ham, og så gjelder det å utspille ham i midtspillet, og senere realisere fordelene i sluttspillet, hvis ikke han har kollapset før.”
“First one must have better opening preparations than him, and then one must outplay him in the middle game, and later realize the advantages in the end game, if he hasn’t collapsed before that.”
Simen Agdestein has a more defensive attitude: “Første fasen er jo åpningsfasen, der må man overleve, for å si det sånn, og få en brukbar stilling som man er fornøyd med. Får man det så er mye gjort. Og så gjelder det å ikke gjøre noe dumt, for å si det enkelt. Jeg gjør ofte noe dumt.”
“The first phase is the opening phase, where one has to survive, to put it that way, and to get an acceptable position which one is satisfied with. If one gets that, then much is done. And then one mustn’t do anything silly, to put it simply. I often do something silly.”