THINK Blog Episode 6

INTRO, APOLOGIES, NEWS

Hello, THINK! As some of you may have noticed, I am not the regular author of this blog. (Although I was the editor of the last edition.)
However, @Eniacknight is feeling a little under the weather and asked me to carry on in his place.
So, I believe some apologies are in order, since it has been a month(!) since the last blog was posted. Henceforth I plan to hold a regular schedule of posting, probably one blog every two weeks.

(Not part of the team? Join here! THINK)

With all that out of the way, we have some news!

The THINK LADDER
It's been a few weeks now since the launch of our very own Ladder tournament, and it hasn't seen much usage. Hopefully, however, that will soon change, because the very first LADDER CHAMPIONSHIP will begin on Saturday, December 18.
It will be a quick knockout tournament where only the top 4 players in the Ladder are allowed to participate, and the winner gets a place on the Roll of Honor! 2 hours of blitz chess between the top 4 in the team should prove to be an exciting event for everyone to watch and participate in! Be sure to make your way to the top 4 in order to participate!

That's about it for the current news, so let's move on to the blog! I'll cover some games from the World Championship, commend some recent tournament winners, and interview a certain THINK leader.

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP

As many of you probably know, the World Championship is currently in progress, with reigning champion Magnus Carlsen defending his throne against challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi. If you haven't been keeping up with the tournament, that's ok. Classical games can be very long and difficult to watch, so I don't blame you.

I'm far from qualified to provide detailed analysis, but there are plenty of stronger players who already have published their analysis in various locations. (Lichess is providing a live broadcast here.)

Instead, I will simply provide a recap of openings and scores so far.
(sorry for no embed, lichess won't embed games from an event that is currently in progress)

Game 1

Nepo plays a Ruy Lopez opening with the white pieces, but is immediately taken out of common theory by Magnus' 8...Na5. Draw.

Game 2

Magnus plays one of my favorite openings with white: The Catalan. Once again, he strikes early with 8.Ne5 to take Nepo out of common opening theory and just play some chess. This game is fascinating and dynamic, featuring a beautiful exchange sacrifice from the world champion. Unfortunately, it also ended in a draw, as is so common at this level.

Game 3

Once again we have a Ruy Lopez from Game 3. Both players pushed for an advantage in the opening, but eventually conceded and traded into a same-colored bishops endgame for a draw. However, this game is unique because it is officially the most accurate World Championship game in history. Quite an achievement, I'd say, even if both players were disappointed by the draw.

Game 4

In Game 4 we saw a Petroff Defense, which I for one did not expect to be played in this match. Not only that, but Carlsen played a highly unusual 19.g4! leading to a highly unique game. Nepo was able to defend Magnus' flying knight (how in the world did it get to e8!?) and a draw was made once again.

Game 5

A Ruy Lopez once again... If you're a fan of the opening, you're getting great example games from this tournament! (I personally don't enjoy it very much, so I'm a little disappointed). Again, this was a fascinating game and I encourage you to go check all these games out for yourself. Draw.

Game 6

And the game you've all been waiting for... Game 6! Magnus strikes again with another novelty in the Catalan, 9.Qc2! The middlegame was very equal once again, with both sides having chances. Time pressure got to them both, however, and the game still looked drawn when they reached time control at move 40. Magnus traded his queen for both of Nepo's rooks, giving him a miniscule edge. Eventually, the players reached a theoretically drawn (but quite unusual) endgame of Queen vs. Rook + Knight + 2 pawns.
Magnus, in his classic style, continued to grind out the tiny advantages despite the high likelyhood of a draw. In a massive marathon effort lasting nearly 8 hours, the game was the longest game in World Championship history, at 136 moves! And even more impressively, it wasn't a draw! Magnus won the game, the **first World Championship win in 5 years, **to take the lead in the match. Incredible!

Game 7

A relatively quick draw featuring another Ruy Lopez. Echoes of games 5 and 3 can be felt, as they play a similar line. The players simply trade down their pieces and draw the rook endgame. It's hard to blame them after the marathon effort of yesterday's performance.

Current Score: Magnus Carlsen 4 - 3 Ian Nepomniachtchi
7 games to go!

TOURNAMENT WINNERS

Once again, the ever valiant @Eniacknight was November's top Liga scorer! Can/will anyone stop him from reaching 5 consecutive months as the team's best Liga player?
In the Variant Arena, a newcomer (to the team, but certainly not to chess) has been dominating!
@royalblue04 has easily won the Rapid, Blitz, and Bullet tournaments! Can anyone stop him from taking over the Roll of Honor?

INTERVIEW

Introducing a new segment, where I interview prominent THINK players and leaders! For our first ever interview, I talked to our fearless leader, @Rankrotten!

Q: What is your favorite opening for each side?
A: I've never studied openings, I have no patience for it! I'm told that I always play the London. I play the same way at the start so I don't need to think about the 1st few moves.

Q: How long have you been playing chess?
A: I've been playing since about 11 -12 years of age. The game looked mysterious to me when I saw it. I taught myself how to play.

Q: Who is your favorite chess player/streamer, alive or dead?
A: No-one really! Famous/celebrity people have no interest for me. I don't get all the idolizing thing.

Q: What playstyle would you say you have in chess?
A: I would say I'm a defensive player first, but will go for the attack if I see the chance to. Usually that ends up with me making an horrendous blunder.

Q: What is your favorite hobby outside of chess?
A: Snooker is my 1st love. When I was 19, a couple of Scottish pros at the time, came to watch me play in a final. Nerves got the best of me and I lost the match 3-0.

Q: Should THINK membership fees be raised, in your opinion? ;)
A: I've considered raising the fees, but the other leaders have convinced me to wait until we get to 300 members.

Q: Share a joke with us, please!
A: I gave up telling jokes... people kept laughing at me!

Conclusion

Thanks to @Rankrotten for the interview! Tune in on December 20 for the next blog post, and a new blog segment, and maybe even a new tournament/forum game!