BENGALURU: MAGNUS Carlsen produced a one-two punch to beat Javokhir Sindarov on the icon board to help his side, APL Alpine Pipers, to a huge win over the FYERS American Gambits in the Global Chess League on Friday. Post the win, the Norwegian World No. 1 showed how much he still cared about these direct confrontations against the game's best in the Classical formats by calling the win 'my best' of the tournament.
But, to be honest, it really was. It was a reminder of the creativity that the World No. 1 can unlock that he jumped into an almost immediate lead out of the opening against a player who will, in a few months' time, face D Gukesh at the World Championships.
Playing with the white pieces, both of them wasted little time in castling king side before trading bishops. Here, the 35-year-old set a trap with both his knights existing in perfect harmony next to Sindarov's king. It's why the engine gave Carlsen a slight edge. For the five-time world classical champion, a slight edge is totally winning. The Uzbekistan phenom fought to get some control on the centre of the board with a few aggressive pawn pushes. Soon enough, the 20-year-old had no choice but to sacrifice his rook for a knight. Sindarov actively fought for some counter-play in the position but Carlsen met him with one precise move after another in a middlegame for the ages. And Sindarov threw in the towel as he was a full rook down.
If his win set the match for the table-toppers, Vidit Gujrathi's win in a mad time scramble over Daniil Dubov was the one which sealed the deal. In fact, Carlsen happily gave his man of the match award to Gujrathi to signify the importance of that win.
In the late game on Friday, Ganges Grandmasters won their match against CheQ Mumba Masters to join Alpine Pipers at the top of the leaderboard with just one day of the league stage remaining.
Results: Ganges Grandmasters bt CheQ Mumba Masters, Alpine APL Pipers bt FYERS American Gambits, Triveni Continental Kings bt PBG Alaskan Knights
