A rowdy chess game beyond the ken of our silicon overlords

Two of the strongest players in the history of chess just played an epic 100-game match — and hardly anyone noticed.

Those who feared the rise of chess-playing computers would destroy interest in the human game have to be encouraged by the relative lack of buzz for the 100-game match between Google’s AlphaGo Zero and 2017 Computer.com world champion program Stockfish 8, won in a romp by Google’s artificial intelligence program (28-0-72). While Deep Blue’s victory over Garry Kasparov was once hailed as a “species-changing event,” the bloodless, airless games the silicon monsters now play have attracted few fans, even as programs like Stockfish and Komodo sport gaudy ratings north of 3500.

Despite their imperfections — or perhaps because of them — we remain drawn to the human game in all its error-filled, time-pressure-corrupted, emotional glory. And there’s a special satisfaction, one no computer program can replicate, in watching the world’s strongest players every once in a while play like a rank patzer.

Take Norwegian world champion Magnus Carlsen’s entertaining misadventures in a critical game at the just-completed 9th London Chess Classic, featuring a glittering lineup of the world’s top grandmasters.

Russians celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7, so Tuesday’s game rates as an especially early holiday present for GM Ian Nepomniachtchi. Carlsen as White builds up a small but solid spatial edge in this QGD Slav Exchange line. By 23. Qxd3 a5 24. Qf3 Bb4, White’s kingside play is developing faster than Black’s queenside activity, with the threat already of 25. Bxh6! gxh6 26. Ne4! Bg7 (the Black knight is rooted to the f6-square — 26…Nxe4?? 27. Qxf7+ Kh8 28. Ng6 mate) 27. Nxf6+ Bxf6 28. Nxd7 Bg7 29. Ne5, winning a pawn.

But “Nepo” cleverly gets his bad bishop into the game via a4 and c2, and Carlsen, fighting a bad cold throughout the London event, badly loses the thread of the game, gifting his opponent first a pawn, then a piece and then the game. The follies kick off on 30. c4 (g5 is another good idea in a pleasant position; e.g. 30…hxg5 31. Bxg5 Bf5 32. Qg3 Nh5 33. Qh4 f6 34. Qxh5 fxg5 35. Qf7+ Kh7 36. d5 Qxd5 37. Qh5+ Kg8 38. Rd1, with a raging attack) Nd7 (Qxd4?! 31. Rd1 Qb2 32. Bxh6 is very strong) 31. Nc6!? (not bad in itself, but setting up two howlers; 31. c5 was simple and good, though 31. Nxf7?? Kxf7 32. Bc7+ Qf6 33. Qg3 Qxd4 was definitely to be avoided) Qf6 32. Nxa5 Nb6 (see diagram), and White must decide how to defend his two attacked central pawns.

Carlsen’s 33. c5? (Rea3 Nxc4 34. Nxc4 Rxc4 35. Ra8 is dead equal) Rxc5! is a remarkable case of chess blindness from the planet’s best (human) player, but what follows is even more tragic: 34. dxc5 Qxa1+ 35. Kh2 Qxa5 36. Qc6?? (White can fight into the ending with decent drawing chances with 36. cxb6 Qxb6 37. Rb3) Qa4! (Rc8 37. Qxb6 Qxc5 38. Qxc5 Rxc5 is once again totally drawish), a cute tactic with an X-ray defense of the rook on e8, but one Carlsen would normally spot easily.

White can’t recover his lost piece, and after 37. Qxa4 Nxa4 38. c6 Nb6 39. c7 f6 40. Rb3 Nc8, Carlsen resigned a hopeless game.

The second-lowest-rated player in the 10-grandmaster field at 2729, Nepomniachtchi used a three-game win streak in the second half of the London event to tie for first at 6-3 with U.S. GM Fabiano Caruana, with the American taking the title in a rapid playoff. Carlsen bounced back with a last-round win over red-hot Armenian GM Levon Aronian for a respectable 5-4 finish and a three-way tie for third.

Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi, 9th London Chess Classic, London, December 2017

1. Nf3 c5 2. c3 d5 3. d4 cxd4 4. cxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. Bf4 Nh5 7. Bd2 Nf6 8. e3 e6 9. Bd3 Bd6 10. e4 dxe4 11. Nxe4 Be7 12. O-O O-O 13. Qc2 h6 14. Rad1 Bd7 15. a3 Rc8 16. Nc3 a6 17. Qc1 Re8 18. Rfe1 Bf8 19. Bf4 b5 20. Qd2 b4 21. axb4 Nxb4 22. Ne5 Nxd3 23. Qxd3 a5 24. Qf3 Bb4 25. Re3 Bxc3 26. bxc3 Ba4 27. Ra1 Bc2 28. h3 Bf5 29. g4 Bh7 30. c4 Nd7 31. Nc6 Qf6 32. Nxa5 Nb6 33. c5 Rxc5 34. dxc5 Qxa1+ 35. Kh2 Qxa5 36. Qc6 Qa4 37. Qxa4 Nxa4 38. c6 Nb6 39. c7 f6 40. Rb3 Nc8 White resigns.

• David R. Sands can be reached at 202/636-3178 or by email dsands@washingtontimes.com.