Kasparov Versus Carlsen

With Magnus Carlsen now the #1 on the official FIDE ranking list by a clear margin, and closing in on Garry Kasparov's record 2851 Elo, you have to wonder how they would fare in a match against one another.

Sadly, unless Kasparov decides abandon his political career and return to chess full-time, we will never know.

But at least we do have two games that were played between them back in 2004 when Carlsen was a mere pup of 13 years.  They were only rapid games, but it gives a tantalising glimpse of what could have been a great rivalry.

With the white pieces the young Carlsen made the great champion sweat before a draw was reached.  When Kasparov had the white pieces he showed no mercy.

The notes are from the original Chessbase article here, which also includes a photo of the two facing each other across the board!