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Aug-10-14
 | | Domdaniel: Interesting debate. There seems to be a general agreement that Carlsen's style is fundamentally in the Karpov/Petrosian/Capablanca mould ... positional, constricting, creeping. But those players, great as they were, were often willing to accept draws, especially playing Black. Carlsen, however, shares Fischer's belief in trying to win every game, in pushing and probing to the last. And this is particularly effective in the post-adjournment era of increments, where fitness and continued alertness are crucial. |
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Aug-10-14
 | | perfidious: <Dom> Here is an overview I posted regarding Carlsen's style, as I saw it, some time back: <Carlsen reminds me, more than any other past great, of Lasker.For a first-class master, Carlsen's openings are nothing special, but he handles middlegames with a fine understanding and the ending with a special virtuosity. Combine this with the tenacity of a bulldog in all phases and a superb practical player, and the result is someone well nigh impossible to defeat.> Biel Chess Festival (2012) |
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Aug-10-14
| | Domdaniel: <perf> Yes, he certainly has some Lasker in him. Maybe Lasker got into trouble more often - partly due to indifferent openings - and had to fight his way back into games. That isn't quite as possible now, given the huge increase in overall technique among GMs, but Carlsen does display a great capacity for struggle. It's Fischer-like too, of course: <never say die> mode... I wonder how long it will take before we start comparing other players to Carlsen? Citing him as a stylistic benchmark rather than comparing him to past giants? |
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Aug-12-14
 | | SteinitzLives: What always impresses me about Carlsen is his endgame tenacity, how he wins the war of attrition when a game is 5+ hours long, so often regardless of the endgame position's ups and downs during the game. His stamina and will to win remind me of Fischer. His unwillingness to agree to a draw until every possible resource of any and every kind is completely exhausted, is not only a function of his talent but of his youth and energy. I find his future to be completely unpredictable though. Other players will drive that as much as he does. |
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| Aug-14-14 | | Chessman1504: After looking more at this game, I kind of like it! There is an ease about this game. Carlsen makes virtually no errors, nothing that would leave him with little hope of saving the game, at least. However, Caruana mishandles the middlegame, allowing Carlsen to slowly but surely creep up on him and take advantage of his weaknesses. Caruana was possibly banking on his powerful d6-knight to provide enough for his far-advanced and susceptible pawns. Carlsen lets him have it! Calmly, he calculates and fights for his chances. The endgame that results is elegant and gives one the feeling that beating a 2800+ opponent is simple with enough patience. Yes, this is how I want to play. |
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| Aug-14-14 | | Chessman1504: This game also reminds me of Caro-Kann queenless middlegames I've played before. The Caro-Kann is my favorite opening with the Berlin endgame from the Black side being second. In games that I've won, I've played simple, active, and logical moves while my opponents, several orders of magnitude weaker than Caruana, play without a plan and end up drifting. All of a sudden, my opponents have weaknesses they can't defend. This allows me to win a pawn. All of a sudden, my pieces gain more activity and more squares until my opponent must abdicate. |
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| Aug-15-14 | | Ulhumbrus: The move 14 c4 makes a concession, weakening the b4 square. This is not the only concession which Caruana makes but one can say one thing: Caruana will need to have a good reason for any concession at all which he makes against an opponent like Carlsen. This would also be true if he were facing Fischer. |
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| Aug-15-14 | | Everett: Lasker and Karpov made careers resourcefully getting out of early trouble and finishing things in the endgame. Carlsen is similar. Sure Karpov took days off here and there, but those were different times and under different "management." His positional style is very much like Karpov. In any case, Lasker-Petrosian-Karpov and Carlsen all share a certain sangfroid when they were worse. Kasparov and Fischer, on the other hand, were always fighting tooth and nail for the initiative right from the start and hated to let it go to their opponent (save when Fischer calculated concrete positive result from being greedy) BTW Fischer never played a game like this in his life, playing inferior and insipid positions only to get out of theory. In the opening Fischer and Carlsen could hardly be further apart. Kasparov has it right about Carlsen's will to win, but anyone who has followed chess knows that many great players have had this will, Kasparov being one of the greatest in this area. |
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| Aug-15-14 | | Chessman1504: Yes, I get the feeling Fischer would never have played like this. He loved the initiative and only went without it when the position necessitated it. It's interesting how multi-dimensional chess is, even at the highest levels! I like to think that these guys don't think in terms of style, but I think that viewpoint may be flawed, fortunately! |
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| Aug-15-14 | | Chessman1504: Regarding Kasparov, after watching the 1990 world championship match documentary, I actually now have a great deal of respect for Kasparov's ability to defend inferior endgames against Karpov. In games 13 and 15 Kasparov played well to save half points against arguably one of the greatest endgame technicians ever. I guess that was a part of his fighting spirit, to seek every chance. |
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| Aug-15-14 | | Everett: Kasparov also had two saves vs Kramnik in 2000, which would have made the match a debacle if he didn't hold. All the greats, the very best, had talent, fight, and crucially, more self-knowledge than their opponents (weaknesses, strengths, understanding of ones own style and honoring it, etc.) |
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| Aug-15-14 | | Chessman1504: Yes, I've heard you in particular make insightful comments regarding Fischer and other greats, that they knew the positions they liked and didn't like and that part of their great strength and success was that they knew how to aim for such positions. |
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| Aug-15-14 | | Strongest Force: The whole point behind 1..d5 was to take Fab out of his preparation. Had Fab known Mag would play this he would have at least drawn. I can imagine Fab studying for hours in anticipation of what he thought Mag would play. To see 1..d5 probably psyched Fab out and put him in a uncomfortable situation for the rest of the game. |
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Sep-02-14
| | perfidious: <Everett: BTW Fischer never played a game like this in his life, playing inferior and insipid positions only to get out of theory.....> Just so, as distinct from Fischer's tendency as a young grandmaster to persist in playing certain inferior opening lines through sheer stubbornness. When he added greater objectivity to his quiver, the results became immediately apparent. |
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| Sep-02-14 | | Kinghunt: <Everett: BTW Fischer never played a game like this in his life, playing inferior and insipid positions only to get out of theory.....> Fischer did not have to contend with computers. Fischer was the strongest player in his era, so his opening prep was also the strongest. The same could not be done today. Carlsen's approach is a necessity born of the silicon age. |
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| Sep-02-14 | | Petrosianic: <Everett>: <BTW Fischer never played a game like this in his life, playing inferior and insipid positions only to get out of theory.> Actually, he did. See the 1992 match for several such examples. |
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| Sep-08-14 | | NeoIndian: For a second there, my eyes glazed over the name of the opening and I read the whole thing as : "Scandinavian Defense: Ilumzhinov Variation (B01)." No wonder Caruana was caught a bit off guard. |
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| Oct-10-14 | | radishfoot: Capablanca tended to play with great lucidity but Lasker and Nimzovitch both often elicited a 'shaking of the head and furrowed brow' as in "how did they do that and what the heck are they doing?" Carlsen I think has had many of us scratching our heads in wonderment, and so early on we might hear "well he's just lucky" or "his opponent was somehow overcome by some species of mental paralysis and couldn't think straight." I think the term 'universal player' comes close as a very general description, but the comments above were insightful and I think we are getting close to a useful metaphor when we conglomerate (in a positive way) a variety of snakes. He ambushes, he constricts, he waits, .... |
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| Oct-10-14 | | john barleycorn: Capablanca playing the Scandinavian:
J Corzo vs Capablanca, 1901 |
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| Oct-10-14 | | barryh1976: If you get an even position in the endgame with Magnus, and there are plenty of pawns on the board, Magnus will get you! |
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| Feb-22-16 | | SassyDad: I'm 50 years old now and only learned how to play chess when I was 24. I don't have very much tournament experience. But when I was young, I played the Center Counter Gambit to the disdain of many. They even called me "garbage man" because I played such bad openings. These days there are several excellent books that show Black gets good attacking chances after he equalizes with the Scandinavian. I feel vindicated. |
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| Mar-04-16 | | dehanne: Carlsen channeled the spirit of Augustus Mongrédien. |
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| Mar-04-16 | | Everett: <Sep-02-14 Petrosianic: <Everett>: <BTW Fischer never played a game like this in his life, playing inferior and insipid positions only to get out of theory.>
Actually, he did. See the 1992 match for several such examples.> Alright, maybe then, but that's maybe because he simply wasn't that good anymore ;-/ |
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| Aug-28-17 | | Saniyat24: Caruana's and Carlsen's setup after they both have long-castled, is aesthetically beautiful, and prepares for a great battle ahead... |
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| Aug-28-17 | | ChessHigherCat: It's no surprise Carlsen played 32. Bxd5 because that knight was a real powder keg, simultaneously threatening Nxb4+ and a triple fork on e3: K+R, R+R, and R+B! |
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