SPOT ON CHESS PUZZLES: The Caro Can't and Magnus can!

SPOT ON CHESS PUZZLES: The Caro Can't and Magnus can!

Taking a break from US Chess Championship coverage let’s all reflect upon what else is happening in the Chess World right now, shall we?

We have Magnus Carlsen back in the news for having proposed obvious anti-cheating measures at the World Renowned Qatar Masters Open which is currently underway. After having suffered a massive defeat at the hands of a young talented Grandmaster Suleymenov crushed Carlsen in a tactical display of brilliance. Carlsen even stated that his complaint wasn’t meant to take away from his adversary’s sparkling play. But he definitely was distracted during the game by the watch his opponent wore… (Note to self - if I ever get to play GM Magnus Carlsen… I will wear lots of “Bling”!)

The Russian Championship just concluded and we have a new crop of talented players coming to the fore. With seasoned players like Grandmaster Kateryna Lagno, as one of the top Women’s players in the world, also in the mix this was quite an interesting edition to this event. In the end Grandmaster Vladislav Artemiev ran away with the show and first honors scoring 8.5 points to finish two points ahead of his nearest pursuers GMs Maxim Matlakov, Pavel Ponkratov and Evgeniy Najer. This event was a 12 player round robin - the standard for top level events these days.

Today’s games feature a win by each of the GMs Magnus Carlsen and Vladislav Artemiev. And they both crushed their respective opponents! The super solid Caro Kann defense takes a beating at the hands of GM Artemiev and Magnus shows he can win like a World Champion - even still! Hence today’s title: The Caro Can’t and Magnus can!

Enjoy and peace be unto you and all of your kin ~ S.