CHESS

While the main attention at Wijk aan Zee has naturally been focused on the top event, the second group, "GM B", has also been very interesting.

This 14-player event averaged 2,564 (category 13), and boasted four top 100 players - Predrag Nikolic (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan), Alexander Onischuk (USA) and Peter Heine Nielsen (Denmark). It also included a terrifying contingent of young players: Mamedyarov and Jan Smeets (Holland) are both 19; Ivan Cheparinov (Bulgaria) is 18; Daniel Stellwagen (Holland) 17; Alejandro Ramirez (Costa Rica) 16; Sergei Karjakin (Ukraine) 15; and Magnus Carlsen (Norway) is 14.

This is not the sort of event you want to play in if you're older and out of form, and Nikolic had a wretched time, losing a bucketful of rating points to finish on just 4/13. It was the young titans who contested the lead. Mamedyarov sprinted off to 5/6, but was caught by Karjakin on 7.5/10, and then lost to Cheparinov in round 11. Karjakin, meanwhile, defeated Alexandra Kosteniuk (Russia), leaving him a point clear with two to play. However, the roles were reversed in the penultimate round: Mamedyarov beat Nikolic, and Karjakin was ground down by Nielsen in 101 moves.

So Mamedyarov and Karjakin started the last round equal first; the latter defeated Stellwagen, and the former lost to Smeets. The final scores, then, were Karjakin on 9.5/13; Smeets and Mamedyarov on 8.5; Nielsen on 8; Cheparinov and Onischuk on 7.5; Carlsen on 7; Stellwagen on 6.5; the Women's World Champion Antoaneta Stefanova (Bulgaria) on 6; Kosteniuk on 5.5; Sipke Ernst (Holland) on 5; Friso Nijboer (Holland) on 4.5; Nikolic on 4; and Ramirez on 3.

From the heavy bloodshed I've chosen this crushing win by Carlsen against Nikolic. The pawn sacrifice was very dangerous but I believe that Black can get away with 16...0-0, when White has plenty of play but probably nothing decisive. 16...f6 was hubristic and 18...Na5 - rather than 18...Nd8 - suicidal. The end was gory.

Magnus Carlsen

vs Predrag Nikolic

Wijk aan Zee B 2005 (rnd 11)

French Tarrasch