Getting caught in the center
“Castle Early!” Almost every player has encountered that opening maxim countless times. Yet even the most experienced professionals can be tempted to squeeze in a few extra moves before scooting their monarch off to the side. One thing can lead to another, though, and the window of opportunity for castling can suddenly close, leaving the king caught in the center.
Robotically following any maxim is unwise, of course; exceptions exist for almost all general rules. There are times when disdaining castling altogether is best. The all-time great World Champion Anatoly Karpov had an eye for them. In some of his games, he foresaw ways to quickly transform a middlegame into an early ending. Since kings come out of hiding in that phase of the game, his king would be moves ahead of his counterpart’s that had been robotically castled.
Top Grandmasters having black these days often protect themselves from the Ruy Lopez Opening [1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5] with the Berlin Defense [3...Nf6]. When Vladimir Kramnik took the world title from Garry Kasparov 16 years ago, he showed that the uncastled black king in the Berlin was safe in the center. An early exchange of the dangerous queens was part of the reason [4.0–0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8]. This sequence of moves is now a favored choice amongst second-movers aiming for a draw.
Exceptions aside, not castling in time has led to the downfall of countless devotees throughout chess history, including this writer (and perhaps a few readers). Take a look at how six-time U.S. Champion Walter Browne played a shocking move against the Sicilian Defense(11.Nxd5!). It kept his foe’s uncastled king in the center exposed to a deadly attack. [Walter Shawn Browne-Julio Kaplan, San Antonio-1972]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 e6 6.g3 a6 7.Bg2 Bd7 8.0–0 Rc8 9.Re1 Nf6 10.Nxc6 Bxc6 11.Nd5 Bxd5 [11...exd5 12.exd5+ Be7 13.dxc6 bxc6 14.Qe2 paralyzing black] 12.exd5 e5 13.f4 Qc7 14.Qe2 Nd7 15.Bh3 f6 16.Be3 g6 17.Be6 Bg7 18.Rac1 Qc4 19.Qg4 Rc7 20.b3 Qc3 21.Bxd7+ Rxd7 22.Qe6+ Kd8 23.Bb6+ Kc8 24.Re4 1–0. U.S. to host championship
This upcoming November (11-30), 25-year-old World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway, history’s highest-rated player, will face off against 26-year-old Challenger Sergey Karjakin of Russia, history’s youngest-ever GM when he was 12. Conveniently for Americans, the 12-game match will take place in New York City in lower Manhattan in the Fulton Market building.
Nearby are the East River, Brooklyn Bridge, Wall Street, and a number of historic sites.
In addition to the title, the two will be playing for shares of a prize fund exceeding $1 million. For just $50 each, tickets will be made available for up to 300 spectators.
For all others, an online site has already been opened which will allow millions to follow the action move by move. Go to: nyc2016. fide.com/.