Another long game with no winner.
The position on the board after 10 moves in game 3 of the World Championship match between Fabiano Caruana and Magnus Carlsen will look very familiar. It’s a very similar Rossolimo setup to the one that Caruana used in game 1, which was generally agreed to not be a success for Caruana.
Caruana's opening preparation delivers
The most dramatic moment in Saturday’s game 2 came at move 10 when Fabiano Caruana played Rd8. Afterwards, World Champion Magnus Carlsen was noticeably uncomfortable at the board. This was not because his position was objectively in any trouble, but because he realized that this was the sort of move that Caruana would have meticulously prepared beforehand with the help of a team of strong computers and GMs. Meanwhile, Magnus had to find moves on his own with the clock ticking.
Marathon game ends after 115 moves
Photo: World Chess
Fabiano Caruana was in serious trouble in game 1 of his World Championship match vs Magnus Carlsen. However, Magnus couldn’t find the most accurate way to snuff out resistance and by the time both players were given an extra 50 minutes to think on move 40 most of his advantage had been frittered away. Of course, Magnus is not one to give up easily and poor Fabiano was made to suffer the maximum for his half point. After 6 hours and 115 moves the two players finally agreed to a draw.
A dominant victory for the World Champion.
Chess World Champion Magnus Carlsen (DrDrunkenstein) won the Lichess Titled Arena 8 on Friday by an impressive (and fancy) margin of 26 points. It was potentially his last formal chess competition before beginning a World Championship match on November 9th. Finishing second was GM Andrew Tang (Penguingim1), a Titled Arena regular. Third was IM Vincent Rothuis (opperwezen), who always seems to finish towards the top of these events. Fourth and Fifth place were taken by GM Alireza Firouzja (alireza2003) and GM Sergei Zhigalko (Zhigalko_Sergei). In total, 227 players took part.
The 8th Lichess Titled Arena!
Early last September, IM Minh Le (mutdpro) won the 7th Lichess Titled Arena, can he defend his new crown this month? The next Titled Arena will take place on October 26th. The prize fund this month is $1125, since Magnus gave his 3rd prize back.
As is now tradition, the tournament will be preceded by a Warm Up Arena, open to all players on Lichess (with a minimum of 20 rated bullet games).
Previous winner Carlsen finishes 3rd
Vietnamese IM Minh Le (mutdpro) defeated a very strong field of 226 players to win the Lichess Titled Arena 7. Le opened up a lead of 10 points by the end of the tourney but the fighting for the final spots was fierce up until the final moments. Finishing second was Armenian GM Zaven Andriasian (Zaven_ChessMood) who had a very strong showing in his first Titled Arena. Finishing third was former Titled Arena Champion and current World Champion GM Magnus Carlsen, (ManWithAVan) who was running late and played the tournament from his phone .
The 7th Lichess Titled Arena!
It's been a month since GM damnsaltythatsport (Magnus Carlsen) reclaimed the most important throne by winning the sixth Titled Arena, and now it's time for the next one! Since Magnus donated his prize back, the winner takes home $1000 this time! At fashionably late notice, the next Titled Arena will take place Friday, September 7th.
Use the world's first free 7-piece tablebase on Lichess!
Congratulations to Bojun Guo (aka noobpwnftw) and Ronald de Man (aka syzygy) for completing the first free 7-piece tablebase and generously sharing it with the world! Lichess now provides online access on the analysis board and in studies, practice against tablebases, a public API and a mirror for downloading the full tablebase files.
Meet the Crazyhouse Candidates
(Authors: okeizh and LegionDestroyer; editor: FischyVishy)
2018 marks the second iteration of the Crazyhouse World Championship (CWC) organized by chess variants pioneer FischyVishy on lichess.org. The inaugural championship in 2017 saw 8 Candidates qualify for a Candidates Tournament (results displayed courtesy of crosky).
Carlsen dominates
GM Magnus Carlsen ("damnsaltythatsport") won his 5th Lichess Arena title by a comfortable 20-point margin. He gained revenge for a disappointing showing in the previous edition. Finishing second was GM Daniel Naroditsky ("RebeccaHarris"). Third was GM Oleksandr Bortnyk ("Night-King96"). Fourth was IM Vincent Rothuis, who is the only non-GM to consistently compete for a prize in these events. Fifth place, and the final prize, was won by a single point. GM Ashkat Chandra just barely edged out GM Andrew Tang who took his turn having a bad tournament after spectacularly conquering the field last time.