Nigel Short played a rather quiet variation, but found a way to win the exchange. However, at the last moment, he declined the material on offer, but this led to disaster as he had his light-squared bishop locked out of the game, and was effectively a piece down. He should have taken the exchange when the position would have been unclear.
After a positional opening where Hikaru Nakamura obtained access to the f5-square, in contrast to Short, the American No.1 had little hesitation in snatching the exchange, when it became possible! Despite Black's passed pawn, the open lines favoured rooks, and Levon Aronian's 'compensation' proved to be insufficient.
Despite David Howell's move order, which is geared to avoiding the Marshall Gambit, Michael Adams still sacrificed a pawn in thematic style. Later, Howell was able to obtain a pair of passed pawns in the centre, but Adams's advanced a-pawn gave him enough compensation.
Luke McShane was able to snatch Black's loose b-pawn and ride the storm. Later his extra material and relatively safe king gave him significant winning chances. However, Carlsen was able to steer the game into a rook endgame which he held, despite White's protected passed pawn.
The second round:
| White | Country | Rating | Result | Black | Country | Rating | Moves | Opening details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nigel Short | ENG | 2698 | 0-1 | Vladimir Kramnik | RUS | 2800 | 43 | Four Knights Rubinstein |
| Hikaru Nakamura | USA | 2758 | 1-0 | Levon Aronian | ARM | 2802 | 54 | Queen's Gambit 3...Be7 |
| Luke McShane | ENG | 2671 | 0.5-0.5 | Magnus Carlsen | NOR | 2826 | 79 | Spanish Neo-Archangel |
| David Howell | ENG | 2633 | 0.5-0.5 | Michael Adams | ENG | 2734 | 35 | Spanish Anti-Marshall |
Viswanathan Anand (India, 2811) sat out the second round whilst helping out with the live commentary.
Here is the tournament situation so far:
| Position | Name | Country | Rating (1/11/2011) | World Ranking (1/11/2011) | Age | Games played | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-3 | Magnus Carlsen | NOR | 2826 | 1 | 21 | 2 | 4 |
| 1-3 | Vladimir Kramnik | RUS | 2800 | 4 | 36 | 2 | 4 |
| 1-3 | Hikaru Nakamura | USA | 2758 | 10 | 24 | 2 | 4 |
| 4-5 | Michael Adams | ENG | 2734 | 17 | 40 | 2 | 2 |
| 4-5 | Luke McShane | ENG | 2671 | 74 | 27 | 2 | 2 |
| 6 | Viswanathan Anand | IND | 2811 | 2 | 41* | 1 | 1 |
| 7-8 | Levon Aronian | ARM | 2802 | 3 | 29 | 2 | 1 |
| 7-8 | David Howell | ENG | 2633 | 139 | 21 | 2 | 1 |
| 9 | Nigel Short | ENG | 2698 | 48 | 46 | 1 | 0 |
There are 3 points for a win and 1 for a draw in London.
*Anand will be 42 on the 11th of December.
The first round results:
| White | Country | Rating | Result | Black | Country | Rating | Moves | Opening details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vladimir Kramnik | RUS | 2800 | 0.5-0.5 | Hikaru Nakamura | USA | 2758 | 45 | Catalan with ...dxc4 |
| Levon Aronian | ARM | 2802 | 0.5-0.5 | Luke McShane | ENG | 2671 | 42 | Chebanenko Slav |
| Magnus Carlsen | NOR | 2826 | 1-0 | David Howell | ENG | 2633 | 40 | Spanish with d3 |
| Michael Adams | ENG | 2734 | 0.5-0.5 | Viswanathan Anand | IND | 2811 | 49 | Sicilian Najdorf |
A number of VIPs will be visiting the London Chess Classic, such as former Tennis ace Boris Becker, who is in the photo with Magnus Carlsen.
The playing schedule (local time):
Rounds 1 to 3, the 3rd to 5th of December at 2pm.
Round 4 on the 6th of December at 4pm.
(Rest day on the 7th of December)
Rounds 5-8, the 8th to the 11th of December at 2pm.
Round 9 will be on the 12th of December at 12 noon.
For Los Angeles subtract eight hours.
For New York subtract five hours.
For Paris and Madrid, add one hour.
For Moscow add three hours.
For Mumbai add five-and-a-half hours.
For Sydney add eleven hours.
More information from the official site: http://www.londonchessclassic.com/classic.htm
