{"id":4211,"date":"2026-05-31T16:49:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T14:49:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/skolasachu.com\/?p=4211"},"modified":"2026-06-01T18:04:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T16:04:40","slug":"a-hot-pill-for-a-birthday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/skolasachu.com\/en\/horka-pilulka-k-narozeninam\/","title":{"rendered":"A Bitter Pill for a Birthday"},"content":{"rendered":"

On 29 May, the reigning World Champion Dommaraju Gukesh celebrated his twentieth birthday. However, at the ongoing Norway Chess tournament, this anniversary fell on a rest day. And since chess players tend to be impatient people, the gifts were already being given a day earlier.<\/p>\n

One of these gifts was prepared by Magnus Carlsen.<\/p>\n

It was not a box of chocolates, a cake, or a festive congratulation. It was a much stranger gift \u2013 and for the celebrant, also a much more painful one. Carlsen defeated the World Champion with Black in a game that will rank among his finest performances in recent years. A game in which the World Champion found himself in the role of the pupil and the former World Champion in the role of the teacher.<\/p>\n

For Gukesh, this defeat undoubtedly represented a bitter pill. But such pills are sometimes the most effective medicine. What if someone gave you, as a birthday present, several hours of private lessons in strategy and positional chess? What if they showed you right at the board how a plan is formed, how small advantages gradually accumulate, and how strategy eventually transforms into decisive tactics?<\/p>\n

That is precisely why it is worth replaying this game. Not all losses are the same. And here Carlsen demonstrated something often missing in today\u2019s chess: a vivid example that strategy is not a vague textbook concept, but a living force deciding games at the highest level. Strategy determines what we want to achieve. Tactics then show us how to achieve it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The question remains whether the World Champion himself will take a lesson from this extraordinary birthday class.<\/p>\n

D\u00e9j\u00e0 vu among World Champions<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n

A small historical digression \u2013 which I believe will give some readers that very \u201efeeling of having lived it before\u201c \u2013 is directly suggested here. Chess history already knows one famous, yet very bitter birthday.<\/p>\n

On 19 November 1938, Jos\u00e9 Ra\u00fal Capablanca celebrated his fiftieth birthday. But the celebration took place at the board, in the ninth round of the legendary AVRO tournament, and the congratulator was none other than Alexander Alekhine. The result? Alekhine \u2013 Capablanca 1:0.<\/p>\n

For the former Cuban World Champion, it must have been an exceptionally bitter moment. Not only because he lost on the day of his milestone birthday, but also because his opponent was his great rival, the man who took the World Champion title from him in 1927 and with whom Capablanca never got a rematch.<\/p>\n

True, this parallel has its limits. Capablanca was already seriously ill at that time. His problems with high blood pressure were real and could not be treated as they are today. The AVRO tournament, played under very demanding conditions and with constant travelling around the Netherlands, came at the worst possible moment for him. And Alekhine did not show himself as the undisputed ruler of the chess world at this tournament either.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the parallel is strong: Capablanca received a defeat from Alekhine on his fiftieth birthday. Gukesh received a lesson from Carlsen on his twentieth.<\/p>\n

But the similarity ends there. Capablanca in 1938 had already passed a large part of his life and chess journey. Gukesh still has it all ahead of him.<\/strong> And that is precisely why this bitter birthday pill can ultimately be more valuable than any sweet gift. If he learns from it, it need not remain just a painful memory. It can become one of those defeats that push a strong player forward.<\/p>\n

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A Free Lesson<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

\u201eKasparov received 48 free lessons from me\u201c \u2013 declared the 12th World Champion in the summer of 1985 regarding the unfinished Karpov vs. Kasparov match (Moscow 1984-1985). Given the further development of chess history, he was undoubtedly right. But why do I mention this here?<\/p>\n

Because this time the reigning World Champion received a chess lesson from a former World Champion, but the almost sixteen-year age difference between the two super grandmasters will never be erased. Magnus is one of the greatest players in chess history, and so he can give lessons whenever he wants, however he wants, and to whomever he wants\u2026<\/p>\n

I am definitely not a fan of computer evaluations of move accuracy. Yet even in a thorough analysis, I simply could not find any moment where Magnus could have reacted better, so I will mention this after all: On social media, a very telling figure appeared: Carlsen's accuracy was said to have reached 98.7 %. Whether we take such a percentage with a grain of salt, it perfectly captures the feeling of the game. In the words of the AI: \u201eMagnus played almost machine-perfectly after gaining the initiative!\u201c<\/strong><\/p>\n

Critical position of the game Gukesh vs. Carlsen<\/strong> arose only after 29...Qf6<\/span><\/p>\n

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Again, we encounter the same problem of practical versus theoretical evaluation. Seeing the position in the diagram, even less experienced players feel that Black has a clear advantage. All his pieces stand ideally, they are centralised. Black has created a direct threat with the pawns on d4. And yet the engines, at enormous depths, ultimately report equality. The position could theoretically be defended and saved. But...<\/p>\n

At this moment, the players had the following time reserves for the remaining 11 moves \u2013 and, with a slight simplification, effectively until the end of the game: Gukesh 6:19 minutes; Carlsen 13:55 minutes. Much more significant, however, is that right now the world champion, after about a minute and a half of thinking, blundered badly!<\/p>\n

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Strong players who remember some things and know classical works or games well might recall the \u201emost brutal\u201c demonstration of the power of centralisation from the game 0-1 (41) Stohlberg,M vs. Botvinnik,M <\/strong>USSR ch\/c12 Moscow, 1940.<\/p>\n

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Position after 32...Rc4<\/span>.<\/p>\n

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Followed by 30.Be4??<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Strictly speaking, only now does Gukesh commit the first (and immediately decisive) mistake! How would you punish White?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n