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London Chess Classic (2012) The 4th London Chess Classic was a 9-player round robin held at the Olympia Conference Centre in Kensington, London, England, 1-10 December 2012, as part of the London Chess Classic Festival. Rest day: 5 December. The pairings were drawn on 6 November 2012 at the Sacred Heart Primary School in Liverpool. To discourage draws, the players received 3 points for a win and 1 point for a draw. Time control: 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, 60 more minutes for the next 20 moves, then 15 more minutes for the rest of the game, with 30 seconds added per move from move 61. Total prize fund: 160,000 euros, with 50,000 euros to the winner. Tournament director: Malcolm Pein. Magnus Carlsen won with 18/24 and broke the 13-year-old rating record set by Garry Kasparov. Elo 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 Carlsen 2848 * 1 1 3 1 3 3 3 3 18 2 Kramnik 2795 1 * 3 1 1 1 3 3 3 16 3 Nakamura 2760 1 0 * 1 1 3 3 3 1 13 4 Adams 2710 0 1 1 * 3 1 3 1 3 13 5 Anand 2775 1 1 1 0 * 1 1 1 3 9 6 Aronian 2815 0 1 0 1 1 * 1 3 1 8 7 Polgar 2705 0 0 0 0 1 1 * 3 1 6 8 McShane 2713 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 * 3 5 9 Jones 2644 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 * 3 Category: XXI (2752). Chief arbiter: Albert Vasse, assisted by David Sedgwick. Official site: https://www.londonchessclassic.com/... Regulations: https://www.londonchessclassic.com/... Chess.com: https://www.chess.com/news/view/mag... Chess King: http://chess-king.com/tag/london-ch... ChessBase: https://en.chessbase.com/post/lcc-r... TWIC: https://theweekinchess.com/chessnew... Previous: London Chess Classic (2011). Next: London Chess Classic (Knockout) (2013)  page 1 of 2; games 1-25 of 36  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. Kramnik vs J Polgar 1-0 40 2012 London Chess Classic A34 English, Symmetrical 2. McShane vs Carlsen 0-1 62 2012 London Chess Classic C67 Ruy Lopez 3. G Jones vs Adams 0-1 91 2012 London Chess Classic E46 Nimzo-Indian 4. Aronian vs Nakamura 0-1 32 2012 London Chess Classic A30 English, Symmetrical 5. Carlsen vs Aronian 1-0 59 2012 London Chess Classic C77 Ruy Lopez 6. Nakamura vs Kramnik 0-1 87 2012 London Chess Classic C45 Scotch Game 7. J Polgar vs G Jones ½-½ 73 2012 London Chess Classic B78 Sicilian, Dragon, Yugoslav Attack, 10.castle long 8. Anand vs McShane ½-½ 108 2012 London Chess Classic D10 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav 9. Kramnik vs Carlsen ½-½ 62 2012 London Chess Classic A37 English, Symmetrical 10. Adams vs J Polgar 1-0 36 2012 London Chess Classic A07 King's Indian Attack 11. Aronian vs Anand ½-½ 51 2012 London Chess Classic D10 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav 12. G Jones vs Nakamura ½-½ 80 2012 London Chess Classic D97 Grunfeld, Russian 13. Carlsen vs G Jones 1-0 38 2012 London Chess Classic B53 Sicilian 14. McShane vs Aronian 0-1 76 2012 London Chess Classic C78 Ruy Lopez 15. Anand vs Kramnik ½-½ 40 2012 London Chess Classic C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defense 16. Nakamura vs Adams ½-½ 69 2012 London Chess Classic D37 Queen's Gambit Declined 17. J Polgar vs Nakamura 0-1 47 2012 London Chess Classic C78 Ruy Lopez 18. Kramnik vs McShane 1-0 49 2012 London Chess Classic D15 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav 19. Adams vs Carlsen 0-1 64 2012 London Chess Classic C78 Ruy Lopez 20. G Jones vs Anand 0-1 29 2012 London Chess Classic D70 Neo-Grunfeld Defense 21. Carlsen vs J Polgar 1-0 53 2012 London Chess Classic A33 English, Symmetrical 22. Aronian vs Kramnik ½-½ 67 2012 London Chess Classic C67 Ruy Lopez 23. Anand vs Adams 0-1 42 2012 London Chess Classic A29 English, Four Knights, Kingside Fianchetto 24. McShane vs G Jones 1-0 59 2012 London Chess Classic A37 English, Symmetrical 25. Adams vs McShane ½-½ 84 2012 London Chess Classic C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defense  page 1 of 2; games 1-25 of 36    REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)   < Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 53 OF 53 ·  Later Kibitzing> Dec-16-12    Honza Cervenka: <drik> <<The only advantage that Karpov got in this way was that he could have been more fresh than his opponent.> The ONLY advantage eh? Well Kasparov did dismiss the match as one between 'a tired player and an old player'. But WHAT an advantage - Anand played 21 games in 23 days (!) and then lost a rest day flying from Holland to Switzerland. Never mind having to use up prep.> There is no dispute that the schedule of "final" just three days after end of KO tournament in Lausanne was mad and that it is raising quite legitimate question on regularity of whole event. But you are putting it in a way that it was some outcome of Karpov's shrewdness and maybe even his own design realized through FIDE. Of course, such an assumption is utterly false. The history of that how this Kirsan's folly was put together is quite well-known (originally it should have been the "unification" WCH event with both World Champions, i.e. Kasparov and Karpov, seeded directly into the semi-final, but after Kasparov's refusal to participate there Kirsan just changed the whole design in such a way that KO tournament was changed into a qualifier for the short match with Karpov as the reigning World Champion of FIDE. And Karpov unlike Kasparov, who had his PCA title recognized by all as the true title, or unlike Kramnik, who had nothing to lose by his refusal to participate in this farce, could not have just simply boycotted the event without losing his status. And of course, Anand had to play 21 games in 23 days before the match with Karpov but only 16 of them were classical games played by tempo 100 minutes for forty moves, then 50 minutes for twenty moves and finally 10 minutes + 30 secs added after each move for each player for the rest of game. There were no six or eight hour long sessions, no adjournments, no night analyses etc. I don't say that it was easy for Vishi and I don't say that it was particularly fair but please, don't dramatize this issue which Anand himself did not complain at the time and which he did not use as an excuse for his loss, which occurred in rapid tie-breaks anyway. And don’t blame Karpov, who was then one of most outspoken critics of this new system and who never supported Ilyumzhinov as the president of FIDE, for it. Dec-16-12    Honza Cervenka: <drik> <<But he had no idea whom of the crowd playing in Groningen he is going to face, which is quite great DISADVANTAGE.> There were only two or three players in the entire field (Anand, Ivanchuk & Topalov) for whom Karpov would have needed to make real preparations ... given that the world No.2 Kramnik refused to participate - citing the gross unfairness of Karpov being seeded direct into the final.> Sorry but this is utter nonsense. What about Adams, Shirov, Gelfand, Short, Dreev, Svidler, van Wely, Beliavsky, Salov, Bareev, Khalifman and others? They had no chance? Btw, both Topalov and Ivanchuk were directly seeded and also eliminated in the second round. Dec-16-12    Honza Cervenka: <drik><But still, the details don't particularly interest me. Anyone who thinks that such a system had even a cursory acquaintance with fairness - would start from such different premises that debate would be meaningless.> Did I say that that Kirsan's folly and mockery of World Championship was a fair show? I don't think so. I have said quite clearly that it was pretty much unfair towards both players who were put into very specific and quite uncomfortable position and under very strange conditions to fight for the title of the World Chess Champion recognized by FIDE. Well, I have said that it is not so clear despite of popular feeling that the design actually favoured Karpov over Anand or anybody else from the field of Groningen KO qualifier but it is no assertion of "fairness" of that system. Opposite is the truth. Dec-16-12    Honza Cervenka: <drik> <<Off-stage negotiation has no time pressure, no touch-move ... it is as stress-free as correspondence chess.> <Honza Cervenka: Well, I have read and heard a lot of absolutely unsubstantiated crap about Karpov being on drugs> ...it seems you have no defence of your claim that weak OTB play & shrewd backstage negotiations are incompatible. LOL! How could you? So you go off on your own drugs tangent. Have a good trip.> I think I don't need any defence of my claims which are based on factual evidence. My claims unlike yours are no wild speculations and guesses. Factual evidence shows clearly that Karpov wanted to continue in the match and tried to reverse Campomanes' decision allegedly made to save him from defeat in the match while Kasparov (publicly complaining about the termination) effectively thwarted Karpov's efforts in this matter. No chitchat on Karpov's shrewdness can change these simple facts. Conclusions for the reliability of common narration of the termination affair are quite evident. Dec-16-12    7Heaven: SERIOUSLY??? Kasparov's record of 2851 was broken? This is ******. It ain't documental. Dec-16-12    Check It Out: You guys should move this discussion over to Karpov-Kasparov World Championship Match (1984). Dec-16-12    parmetd: A 3 0 blitz game on a BIG chess board was played between GMs Stephen Gordon and David Howell for the entertainment of on watching children during the London Chess Classic... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7QP... Also the last of my photos from Round 7, Round 8, Round 9 and take down are up here: http://londonchessclassic.shutterfl... Dec-16-12    siamesedream: <Magnus Carlsen`s Blog London Chess Classics 2012 revisited I drew the last two rounds of London Chess Classics against Nakamura and Anand. Having achieved both my main objectives of winning the tournament and reaching an all-time-high FIDE rating, I’m fully satisfied with my play and the result in London. Under other circumstances I might have been slightly annoyed with drawing these last two rounds despite having an advantage in the middle game in both games. Kramnik won round 8 and could in theory catch me with a win in the last round as black against Adams. However, the game looked very drawish out of the opening and none for the players got any tangible advantage at any stage of the game. Consequently Kramnik ended on +4 as last year and my +5 was sufficient to take sole first. I have won several strong events twice, the London Chess Classics triple is my first triple triumph in a top level event. I was happy to see representatives from one of my main sponsors present during the last round and representatives for the Stavanger world-class tournament in May 2013 during earlier rounds. After returning to Norway I’ve caught up on sleep and also appeared at the daily news (Dagsrevyen) at the Norwegian main channel NRK on Wednesday. I’m told the Norwegian media interest in chess reached an all time high as well during the event! I’d like to thank Malcolm Pein and the ‘Chess in schools and communities’ charity for organising another great London Chess Classics, and I look forward to returning to London for high level chess already in March for the Candidates! Magnus Carlsen, Haslum, December 15th, 2012 2012-12-16 10:10:36> http://www.arcticsec.no/index.php?b... Dec-16-12    Check It Out: Thanks <parmetd>, but how did the game finish? Dec-16-12    parmetd: black won, I do have the finish recorded but unfortunately kids started crowding in on that part of the footage. So I just cut it. If there is interest I can post it. Dec-18-12    Sokrates: <Honza Cervenka:> Thanks for your valuation of Fischer 1972-75. I fully concur. As soon as Fischer had defeated Spassky, he withdrew from the chess-world like the dragon Smaug in the Hobbit, ruling over his treasure. But contrary to the dragon, Fischer remained in his own world, never made the slightest attempt to get back in the game. As if he had proved he was the best once and for all. Although Kasparov isn't an objective observer, I think he is right in his theory (in My Great Predecessors) that Fischer saw the colossal strength in the still growing Karpov, a strength with a playing style that would be most uncomfortable for Fischer. Further, he would have known that his absense from playing serious chess for three years was highly disadvantageous, when meeting a player who had battled the best players in the world to get that far. It is forever a sad sad story that chess genius Robert James Fischer had such a flawed character and that the match between him and Karpov never came to be. But chess is full of stories like that. Rubinstein, Tarrasch and Schlechter were unlucky not to grab the championship away from Lasker. Capablanca should have had his return match with Alekhine, Keres should have gotten the chance to play with the WC and so forth. Among all these, however, Fischer stands out being the only one who didn't play a single serious game during his reign. Dec-18-12    Check It Out: <If there is interest I can post it.> You mean more interest than what I just showed? Dec-18-12    parmetd: Here you are CIO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylfL... Dec-19-12    Check It Out: Thanks! Dec-19-12    parmetd: My article is posted here: http://www.uschess.org/content/view... The flow of the article seems strange to me. The editor mentioned she changed it (I guess because of inserting the pgns and photos). CIO: I quoted you :) Dec-19-12    hms123: <parmetd> Nice write-up. thanks for doing it. Dec-19-12    Check It Out: <parmetd> -- cool! Dec-19-12    Shams: <parmetd> Reading your article now and enjoying it. Forgive me for mentioning this line: "I was quick on the buzzard to request a screenshot of the engine output or no one would later believe this pronouncement." Is a carrion bird the LCC mascot? :) Dec-19-12    tamar: <Is a carrion bird the LCC mascot? :)> I would vulture to say, yes. Dec-19-12    parmetd: should have been buzzer ;) Dec-19-12    Check It Out: Carry on. Dec-20-12    parmetd: Carrion? Dec-20-12    drik: <nok: If that is your only source, you're clearly not going anywhere.> ... at least I have a source. Dec-20-12    Rolfo: Carry on Maryon :) (Thought I heard that phrase, don't know the meaning) Dec-25-12    HAPERSAUD: <Illogic> oh illogic :), you're a ray of sunshine aren't you? Anyway yes tournaments should be the way you like, watching wildcards getting destroyed by the best, it's definitely the QUALITY CHESS WE WANT TO SEE. I'm very doubtful I'll renew my membership this year. Way too many stupid comments on here (not you Illogic), but a lot of idiots on this site. Jump to page #    (enter # from 1 to 53) search thread:    < Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 53 OF 53 ·  Later Kibitzing> NOTE: Create an account today to post replies and access other powerful features which are available only to registered users. Becoming a member is free, anonymous, and takes less than 1 minute! If you already have a username, then simply login login under your username now to join the discussion. Please observe our posting guidelines: No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language. 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