Carlsen wins the RAW World Chess Challenge

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RAW World Chess Challenge 2010 (Game)

Carlsen wins the RAW World Chess Challenge

IM Malcolm Pein - Wednesday 15th September 2010

Magnus Carlsen defeated the World in the RAW World Chess Challenge in New York. Malcolm Pein reports.

The Raw World Chess Challenge took place in New York and on the internet on Friday as the fashion brand G-Star extended its relationship with Magnus Carlsen who already models for them. It was the world number one against the world with registered players voting for one of three moves suggested by a Grandmaster panel. Carlsen made his moves from the Cooper Star Hotel in New York City as the world clicked its collective mouse.

The masses were assisted by former world junior champion Maxime Vachier-Lagrave from France, the US number one Hikaru Nakamura and the greatest female player in the history of the game, Judit Polgar from Hungary. For the umpteenth time, a large corporation under-estimated the popularity of chess and the huge online audience occasionally proved too much for the servers supporting the transmission. However, the odd interruption did not prevent the contest being a great success and hugely enjoyable to watch, with Garry Kasparov chipping in with comments from time to time.

The world put up a decent fight but a dubious opening plan put them on the back foot in the middlegame and the counterattack came too late. Carlsen allowed a hint of counterplay, it was interesting that this was one occasion Kasparov vehemently disagreed with the move of his former pupil. The former champion wanted to keep total control of the position but it made no difference. Judit Polgar wryly remarked that "There were too many cooks in the (world team) kitchen."

M Carlsen (2826) - The World

RAW World Chess Challenge New York

King's Indian g3 Uhlmann Variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6

(Narrowly beating 2...e6 in the vote)

3.Nf3 Bg7 4.g3 0-0 5.Bg2 d6 6.Nc3 Nc6 7.0-0 e5 8.d5 Ne7 9.e4 c6

(Opening the queenside favours White, I would play Nd7 or Ne8 and f7-f5)

10.a4 Bg4 11.a5 cxd5?!

(Don't open the queenside! White is better there, now c4 is available for a knight. Carlsen and Nakamura preferred 11...Qd7)

12.cxd5 Qd7 13.Be3 Rfc8 14.Qa4 Ne8 15.Nd2 Qd8 16.Qb4 Nc7

(White has strong queenside pressure and wins a pawn)

17.Nc4 Na6 18.Qxb7 Rxc4 19.Qxa6 Rb4 20.f3 Bc8 21.Qe2 f5 22.Qd2 Ba6 23.Rfc1 Qb8 24.Na4 Rb3 25.Rc3 Rb4 26.Rca3! f4 27.Bf2