NICK BARNETT CHESS

THE ONLINE VERSION of Lindores Abbey match saw the unthinkable: Magnus Carlsen ousted from the lead and Hikaru Nakamura and Daniil Dubov playing it out to the bitter end. Carlsen had won the first set 3-0, but Nakamura fought back in the second set and won the first game then halving out for 2.5-1.5. (Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge was a 12-player online super-tournament which took place on chess24 from May 19 to June 4 2020. It was the 2nd event of the Magnus Carlsen Tour and the winner qualifies for the Grand Final in August. Official website: chess24. com/tour) An unexpected advantage of youth in online speed chess has been due to the use of touchpads vs mice. Dubov used a touchpad for his online games, as did the 16-year-old prodigy Alireza Firouzja when he defeated Carlsen in a one-minute bullet match. Undoubtedly the highlight of the week was Carlsen’s 18-move banter blitz defeat by a little-known Brazilian, Luis Paulo Supi, a 23-year old 2572-rated grandmaster. Scandinavian (centre counter) defence (B01) 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nf3 Bg4 4. Be2 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qd7 6. h3 Bxf3 7. Bxf3 O-O-O 8. O-O Nd4 9. a4 Kb8 10. Nb5 Nxf3+ 11. Qxf3 a6 12. c4 e5 13. d4 exd4 14. Bf4 axb5 15. axb5 Bd6 16. Ra2 Qf5 17. Rfa1 Kc8 18. Qc6 You can watch Daniel King’s analysis here: https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=noZp-VVXRhI Magnus Carlsen’s astonished reaction was also recorded. Look for ‘That is dirty!’ Magnus Carlsen destroyed in 18 moves’ on YouTube. *** IN SOUTH AFRICA the online Chess community is burgeoning, with several enterprising groups and individuals organizing online tournaments. • The Free State’s ‘Boerseun’ (whose real name is not known to me but who is an International Arbiter) organized a ‘Corona Chess War’ on the 31 May (3+0 Blitz). There were 9 teams and this was the final result (leader moniker in brackets): 1. Western Cape Chess (SouthAfrican Rhino) 879 points 2. Nelson Mandela Bay Chess Union (Freddyf5) 689 points 3.Gauteng North Chess (Patzer) 688 points 4. JHB Metro (aNaartjie) 661 points 5. Free State Chess (Vundlalov) 421 points 6. SBD chess (keffies04) 396 points 7. Sedibeng Chess Union (LJLepota) 359 points 8. Overberg Chess Group (OneWayJesus) 252 points 9. Buffalo City Chess (The_blunderist) 95 points. • All of these groups are using the Facebook page of Chess South Africa. Check that it has this number in the address line: 671731996193378 • On a minor note, my Thursday night chess group now meets via Zoom and uses Lichess. I do miss the easy sociability (and the wine), but it is better than nothing! *** For comment or news please write to thechessnik@ gmail.com