39th Olympiad Khanty-Mansiysk 2010 (the chess)

[David Brock]

I just realised that America is playing Vietnam today!

They better watch out for tunnels under the board then!!!

[Andy Burnett]

http://ugra-chess.com/livegames?gameid= ... =en&tmnt=1

Adams - Carlsen: ???? is that a real chess opening???? I'm pretty sure I played something similar when i was about 3 years old!

[Justin Hadi]

Maybe it's the right way to play against the Pirc?

[Roger de Coverly]

http://ugra-chess.com/livegames?gameid= ... =en&tmnt=1

Adams - Carlsen: ???? is that a real chess opening???? I'm pretty sure I played something similar when i was about 3 years old!

If it has a name, it's called the North Sea Defence. I don't know why either.

Someone I've never heard of wrote a book on it.

http://www.chessville.com/reviews/North ... efence.htm

[Jonathan Rogers]

I just realised that America is playing Vietnam today!

They better watch out for tunnels under the board then!!!

And Vietnam will want to watch out for the American board one, often called the H-bomb .....

I have a feeling that Vietnam may have erred already on board four, though.

[Andy Burnett]

http://ugra-chess.com/livegames?gameid= ... =en&tmnt=1

Adams - Carlsen: ???? is that a real chess opening???? I'm pretty sure I played something similar when i was about 3 years old!

If it has a name, it's called the North Sea Defence. I don't know why either.

Someone I've never heard of wrote a book on it.

http://www.chessville.com/reviews/North ... efence.htm

Welcome, dear readers, to the North Sea Defense (a.k.a. the Norwegian Defense.)

Now it makes more sense.

[Nick Burrows]

Why didn't Mickey take the knight??

[Maxim Devereaux]

Black can get compensation in the form of pressure down the g-file. I lost a game to the North Sea Defence once, a long time ago, in the Major Open.

The North Sea is very appropriate for a match between England and Norway... I applaud Carlsen's choice, even if it is ('scuse the pun) taking the mickey a bit!

[Roger de Coverly]

Why didn't Mickey take the knight??

Even the obscure has web articles about it.

Try http://www.chesscafe.com/text/kaiss33.pdf

It's a pawn sacrifice. Black gets the g file and the bishop pair.

[Justin Hadi]

Adams seems to be very solid. Seems likely to be a draw, but what do I know?

[David Brock]

Adams seems to be very solid. Seems likely to be a draw, but what do I know?

Nothings likely when your playing Carlsen, it depends what mood he is in. As he may want to bash Mikey up later on or even grind out the win has he has against numerous other opponents in the past.

[Ola Winfridsson]

http://ugra-chess.com/livegames?gameid= ... =en&tmnt=1

Adams - Carlsen: ???? is that a real chess opening???? I'm pretty sure I played something similar when i was about 3 years old!

If it has a name, it's called the North Sea Defence. I don't know why either.

Someone I've never heard of wrote a book on it.

http://www.chessville.com/reviews/North ... efence.htm

The North Sea Defence was extensively analysed by Rolf Martens (1942-2008) from the 1980s onwards and I believe GM Tiger Hillarp Persson has played it a few times. Martens was very talented and won the Swedish Championship in 1967, and finished 2nd behind Yefim Geller at Gothenburg 1967/68 (ahead of Jansa, Westerinen and Gaprindashvili). However, he was politically active in the extreme leftist circles (Maoist) and disappeared from the chess scene in the early 1970s. He returned to chess in a sense in the mid 1980s (irregular appearances in local blitz tournaments in the Malmö region), mainly as an inventor and/or developer of a number of slightly bizarre opening systems. Among others, the North Sea Defence, and the Snake Benoni [Bf8-d6-c7-a5], which GM Jonny Hector played a few times in the late 1980s.

[Justin Hadi]

I'd back Mickey to at least draw from here, we'll see though...

[Maxim Devereaux]

I'm quite happy with England so far - it's pretty even across the board, but overall I get the feeling we are, if anything, a shade better.

Mickey has played safe against something he can't have been prepared for, but he's comfortable. Nigel seems to have equalised fully. Luke's Maroczy is sound and Gawain's got a slightly unusual Spanish, but I don't think it's bad (losing two tempi with Bc8-g4-c8 doesn't seem too bad, since it left him a c6 break, so his silly Spanish Nb7 might at least have a future on c6 or e6 one day

[benedgell]

http://games.ugra-chess.com/broadcast.p ... pgn&game=0

has analysis of the Adams- Carlsen game by Rybka.