Fabiano Caruana leads the Altibox Norway Chess tournament after three rounds, currently tied for first with Armenian GM Levon Aronian.
The top American is back behind physical boards and pieces through October 16, playing in Stavanger, Norway for the annual super-tournament Garry Kasparov once dubbed the “Wimbledon of Chess.” Though its 2020 version appears smaller than its traditional 10-player field – only six of the world’s elite take the stage this year – the event is certainly not lacking in talent.
Also appearing in Stavanger is World Champion GM Magnus Carlsen, who Caruana will face on Thursday afternoon; Poland GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Norway GM Aryan Tari, and GM Alireza Firouzja, along with Aronian.
Caruana stood alone in the standings after opening the tournament with two wins. The World No. 2 perhaps received a fortuitous order of opponents after drawing lots, matched up against the lowest-rated players in the event – Tari and Duda – in the first two rounds.
[pgn][Event "8th Norway Chess 2020"] [Site "Stavanger NOR"] [Date "2020.10.06"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D10"] [WhiteElo "2828"] [BlackElo "2757"] [PlyCount "187"] [EventDate "2020.10.05"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. cxd5 cxd5 4. Bf4 Nc6 5. e3 Nf6 6. Bb5 Bd7 7. Nc3 a6 8. Bd3 Bg4 9. Nge2 e6 10. O-O Bxe2 11. Qxe2 Be7 12. a3 O-O 13. Na4 h6 14. Bg3 Nd7 15. h3 Qa5 16. Qd1 Rfc8 17. b4 Qd8 18. Rb1 Ra7 19. Nc5 Ncb8 20. Qe2 a5 21. Rfc1 axb4 22. axb4 Nf6 23. b5 b6 24. Na6 Rxc1+ 25. Rxc1 Nbd7 26. Rc6 Qf8 27. Qc2 Ra8 28. Rc7 Bd6 29. Bxd6 Qxd6 30. Qc6 Qf8 31. Rxd7 Nxd7 32. Qxd7 Rc8 33. g3 Rc3 34. Bf1 Qc8 35. Qxc8+ Rxc8 36. h4 g5 37. Nb4 Kf8 38. Nc6 Ra8 39. Be2 Ra2 40. Kf1 Ra1+ 41. Kg2 Ra2 42. Bd3 Rd2 43. Bf1 f6 44. hxg5 hxg5 45. g4 Ke8 46. Kg3 Rd1 47. Be2 Rg1+ 48. Kh2 Re1 49. Bd3 Rd1 50. Nb4 Kd7 51. Kg2 Ra1 52. f4 Ra3 53. fxg5 fxg5 54. Nc6 Kd6 55. Ne5 Ke7 56. Kf3 Ra2 57. e4 Ra1 58. Ke3 Re1+ 59. Be2 Rg1 60. Kf2 Ra1 61. Nf3 Kf6 62. Ke3 Ra8 63. Bd3 Rg8 64. Bb1 Ke7 65. Ne5 Ra8 66. Bd3 Rc8 67. Nc6+ Kd6 68. Ne5 Rf8 69. exd5 exd5 70. Bf5 Re8 71. Kd3 Re7 72. Bg6 Ra7 73. Ke3 Ke6 74. Bf5+ Kd6 75. Kd2 Ra2+ 76. Kc3 Ra3+ 77. Kb4 Ra7 78. Bc2 Ke6 79. Nc6 Ra2 80. Kb3 Ra1 81. Kc3 Rc1 82. Ne5 Rg1 83. Bf5+ Ke7 84. Nd7 Rc1+ 85. Kb3 Rc4 86. Nxb6 Rxd4 87. Kc3 Rd1 88. Nc8+ Kd8 89. b6 d4+ 90. Kc2 Re1 91. Nd6 Re3 92. Nf7+ Ke7 93. b7 d3+ 94. Kd1 1-0 [/pgn]
But where Tari and Duda have yet to record even a draw through three rounds, the remaining four players are knotted with each other in the standings, and the caliber of Caruana’s opponents is increasing. On Wednesday, Caruana drew his main classical game against Firouzja, then followed with this loss in the draw-busting Armageddon game.
[pgn][Event "8th Norway Armageddon"] [Site "Stavanger NOR"] [Date "2020.10.07"] [Round "3.3"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D04"] [WhiteElo "2728"] [BlackElo "2828"] [PlyCount "145"] [EventDate "2020.10.05"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. e3 c5 4. dxc5 e6 5. b4 a5 6. c3 axb4 7. cxb4 b6 8. Bb5+ Bd7 9. Bxd7+ Qxd7 10. a4 bxc5 11. b5 Bd6 12. Bb2 O-O 13. Nbd2 c4 14. Qc2 Qc7 15. O-O Nbd7 16. Bc3 Nc5 17. a5 Nfe4 18. b6 Qb7 19. Bd4 Nxd2 20. Nxd2 Nd3 21. Rfb1 Ra6 22. Rb5 Rc8 23. Rab1 h6 24. g3 Be7 25. e4 e5 26. Bc3 Bc5 27. Rxc5 Nxc5 28. exd5 Qxd5 29. Qf5 Rd8 30. Rb5 f6 31. b7 Qd6 32. Qc8 Nxb7 33. Qxb7 Qc6 34. Qxc6 Rxc6 35. Rb6 Rc7 36. a6 Ra8 37. Ne4 Rca7 38. Nc5 Rc8 39. Rb5 h5 40. h4 Kh7 41. Kg2 Kg6 42. Kf3 Kf5 43. Ke3 Rc6 44. Bb4 c3 45. Bxc3 Kg6 46. Bb4 Raxa6 47. Nxa6 Rxa6 48. Rb7 Ra8 49. Ke4 Rd8 50. Bc5 Ra8 51. Kd5 Ra5 52. Ra7 Rb5 53. Kc6 Rb2 54. Kd5 Rb5 55. Kc4 Rb8 56. Rc7 Ra8 57. Kd5 Ra2 58. Ke6 Ra6+ 59. Ke7 Kf5 60. Kf7 g5 61. Be3 gxh4 62. gxh4 Kg4 63. Rc4+ Kf3 64. Kg6 e4 65. Kxh5 f5 66. Kg5 Ra5 67. Bf4 Kxf2 68. Rc2+ Kf3 69. Rc3+ Ke2 70. h5 Ra1 71. h6 Rh1 72. Kxf5 Kf2 73. Kxe4 1-0 [/pgn]
Per the tournament’s rules, a win in each round’s main classical match, which has a two-hour time control and a 10-second increment added after 40 moves, will earn the victor three points in the standings. A draw in the main match earns both players one point toward the standings and brings a follow-up Armageddon match, where white has 10 minutes and black has 7 minutes with draw odds. Winning the Armageddon match earns the victor an additional half-point in the standings.
After facing Carlsen on Thursday afternoon, Caruana will enjoy a rest day Friday and return Saturday to play Aronian. Players will then begin their second cycle through the double-round robin format, with colors reversed. Players maintain their colors in the event of an Armageddon draw-breaker.
Live broadcast of the 2020 Norway Chess tournament may be viewed here.
Categories
Archives
- December 2024 (32)
- November 2024 (18)
- October 2024 (35)
- September 2024 (23)
- August 2024 (27)
- July 2024 (44)
- June 2024 (27)
- May 2024 (32)
- April 2024 (51)
- March 2024 (34)
- February 2024 (25)
- January 2024 (26)
- December 2023 (29)
- November 2023 (26)
- October 2023 (37)
- September 2023 (27)
- August 2023 (37)
- July 2023 (47)
- June 2023 (33)
- May 2023 (37)
- April 2023 (45)
- March 2023 (37)
- February 2023 (28)
- January 2023 (31)
- December 2022 (23)
- November 2022 (32)
- October 2022 (31)
- September 2022 (19)
- August 2022 (39)
- July 2022 (32)
- June 2022 (35)
- May 2022 (21)
- April 2022 (31)
- March 2022 (33)
- February 2022 (21)
- January 2022 (27)
- December 2021 (36)
- November 2021 (34)
- October 2021 (25)
- September 2021 (25)
- August 2021 (41)
- July 2021 (36)
- June 2021 (29)
- May 2021 (29)
- April 2021 (31)
- March 2021 (33)
- February 2021 (28)
- January 2021 (29)
- December 2020 (38)
- November 2020 (40)
- October 2020 (41)
- September 2020 (35)
- August 2020 (38)
- July 2020 (36)
- June 2020 (46)
- May 2020 (42)
- April 2020 (37)
- March 2020 (60)
- February 2020 (38)
- January 2020 (45)
- December 2019 (35)
- November 2019 (35)
- October 2019 (42)
- September 2019 (45)
- August 2019 (56)
- July 2019 (44)
- June 2019 (35)
- May 2019 (40)
- April 2019 (48)
- March 2019 (61)
- February 2019 (39)
- January 2019 (30)
- December 2018 (29)
- November 2018 (51)
- October 2018 (45)
- September 2018 (29)
- August 2018 (49)
- July 2018 (35)
- June 2018 (31)
- May 2018 (39)
- April 2018 (31)
- March 2018 (26)
- February 2018 (33)
- January 2018 (30)
- December 2017 (26)
- November 2017 (24)
- October 2017 (30)
- September 2017 (30)
- August 2017 (31)
- July 2017 (28)
- June 2017 (32)
- May 2017 (26)
- April 2017 (37)
- March 2017 (28)
- February 2017 (30)
- January 2017 (27)
- December 2016 (29)
- November 2016 (24)
- October 2016 (32)
- September 2016 (31)
- August 2016 (27)
- July 2016 (24)
- June 2016 (26)
- May 2016 (19)
- April 2016 (30)
- March 2016 (36)
- February 2016 (28)
- January 2016 (32)
- December 2015 (26)
- November 2015 (23)
- October 2015 (16)
- September 2015 (28)
- August 2015 (28)
- July 2015 (6)
- June 2015 (1)
- May 2015 (2)
- April 2015 (1)
- February 2015 (3)
- January 2015 (1)
- December 2014 (1)
- July 2010 (1)
- October 1991 (1)
- August 1989 (1)
- January 1988 (1)
- December 1983 (1)