Carlsen Leads The London Classic
Magnus Carlsen took an early lead at the 2011 London Chess Classic by beating David Howell in the opening round.
It was a nice attacking display from the world #1, sacrificing two pawns to tie up Howell's pieces.
It looked like Luke McShane would suffer a similar fate against Lev Aronian, but he pulled off an unlikely draw by repetition.
Vladimir Kramnik failed to dent Hikaru Nakamura's defence, and Mickey Adams' game with Vishy Anand also ended all-square.
Nigel Short had a bye in the first round, and was on duty entertaining the audience by helping the commentary team.
German tennis star Boris Becker makes the first move for Magnus Carlsen
Offering a prayer? Luke McShane escaped the clutches of Lev Aronian
A good start for Hikaru Nakamura against Vladimir Kramnik
The world champion Vishy Anand drew with English #1 Mickey Adams
The pairings in round two:
| David Howell | v | Michael Adams |
| Luke McShane | v | Magnus Carlsen |
| Hikaru Nakamura | v | Levon Aronian |
| Nigel Short | v | Vladimir Kramnik |
Vishy Anand will have a bye. Games start at 14:00 local time (UTC).
The excellent official website has live commentary on all the action.
The total prize fund is €160,000 (before tax), with the winner receiving €50,000. If there are any ties in the final scores, they will be broken for ranking purposes only (prize money will be shared) in this order:
- Number of games won
- Number of games won with black
- Result of direct encounter
- Rapid tie-breaks and Armageddon game (first place tie only)
The "Sofia" anti-draw rules are in operation, and the 3-1-0 scoring system.
The time control is 40 moves in 2 hours, followed by 20 moves in 1 hour, and then 15 minutes to a finish with a 30 second increment.
All photos courtesy of Ray-Morris Hill for the official website.
