Bhat versus Carlsen

While Magnus Carlsen won the Zurich Chess Challenge against elite competition, pushing his record rating to 2881, one Bay Area chess aficionado came to grips with his close encounter with the World Champion three weeks ago.  Indeed, GM Vinay Bhat not only locked horns with the Wonderboy himself, but actually had a chance to pull off the stunning upset.  Must see TV!

Fortunately, Bhat shares the story with the readers of his chess blog.  He annotates the blitz game and points out the missed opportunities in the endgame.  He also comments on the setting and the demeanor of his esteemed opponent.  Thank you Vinay!

When we shook hands, he shocked me immediately when he said that he reads this blog on occasion, although he admitted he used to read it more when I was playing regularly! He also told me about how he first heard about me, after a game of mine against GM Wang Yue from China in 2002 showed up in New In Chess. It was a Bb5+ Sicilian where he remembered some nice tactical sequences I used, but also that I didn’t manage to win from a

GM Vinay Bhat

much better position.

Read more at Moral and Not So Moral Victories.

One other thing I realized from the bughouse and blitz games (and this was confirmed in between the two by his team), is that Magnus is ultra-competitive and hates losing even a casual game.

Additional comments at The Tale of the Tape.