Levon Aronian crushes Hikaru Nakamura in a decisive game of the World Blitz Chess Championship 2010

Moscow, 18 November 2010

[@guilhermeLuKass]

two hands castling and Aronian never needed to cry like a baby on the twitter.

[@finmat95]

Best comment in the world

[@LaPoubelle42]

castling with two hands is perfectly legal and normal in blitz games

[@literally.anything___97]

Yeah, US rules are different

[@CoffeeQReview]

Just an amazing game if chess. Levon is so impressive in his poise and approach. So sad what’s happened in his personal life in the last few years. I have nothing but admiration for the man.

[@JoelWard1]

1:15 I like how Hikaru goes for the clock but casually comes back to fix the pawn :D

[@hmrhuang]

Nakamura really needs to work on his "poker face" in chess....

[@jshin0220]

there was a q&a at washington university that nakamura said that he doesn't really believe that there is a poker face in chess, only bluffs by unusual opening moves with confidence to throw off the opponent.

[@hmrhuang]

Jonathan Shin Well, one could argue that Aronian already staked a psychological advantage in the match with Nakamura's first shake of his head....=)

[@joedorben3504]

I dont really think it matters at that level.Yes, at the amateur level facial expressions can shift games just by an amateur player looking for and finding something they didnt see previously because they noticed a shift in their opponent's facial expression, but at the top GM level players will see something they missed instantly after making a bad move so it doesnt matter much.

[@ribbentropmolotov5658]

2:00 what a move amazing !!!

[@tandoellius8603]

why queen not take the rook?

[@johnrainmcmanus6319]

The title says Aronian "crushes" Nakamura, and it certainly looks like it at times, for example, when Aronian traps Nakamura's queen. But, in fact, it is amazing how Nakamura manages to keep almost even material after losing the queen... and how nearly he comes several times to drawing or even winning. That said, Aronian played a fantastic game and deserved to win. Moral of the story: KZbin titles. Lol.

[@richardcochrane1966]

Exactly. If that was a crush, then I need to look up my dictionary. A very nicely played endgame, yes, but a crush?

[@hamburgerfeet5516]

I think that's Nakamura's skill. I find each top player has a distinct skill. Carlsen's is finding and locking down positions for the entirety of the match, Caruana's is finding very solid, computer-esque moves and Nakamura's being able to come back from pretty much anything the majority of the time. That's what makes them all so great.

[@AgustinGiannastasio]

John Rain McManus Yeah, it's exaggerated but I think the term "crush" is referred to the fact that Aronian won the game with tactics: 17. Rxd6! at 1:55, clearly Nakamura misses that, he looks crushed :)

[@bowrudder899]

John Rain McManus I had to look and make sure Aronian hadn't posted the game. ;-)

[@megselv6633]

+Richard Cochrane It's Nakamura who insist on playing on so long that when he eventualy resigns, he looks like a fool. Just looks at the Carlsen game (where he is completely crushed btw). But it's blitz - as long as there are pieces on the board, the opponent can always blunder under time pressure, so one can't blame him

[@serbry2011]

Exciting Game. The Chess is beautiful, great Aronian, great Naka, incredible defense

[@rahulpnair24]

Good game and great work capturing it

[@SeedsofJoy]

Never get tired of watching this video.

[@dantolino1093]

Aronian's Rxd6! refuted Naka's ambitious but rather careless opening play. If Qxd6 then Be5! and white regains the rook in b8, beautiful, with a pawn plus in the center, a much more solid position and black's aggressive prospects vanished in the night. Later in the game comes white's Ng4! winning black's queen (she has no square to go!), another crushing blow. In the resulting position white's two minor pieces prove better than black's rook but even then there are practical problems which Aronian works out in time pressure, amazing game by two amazing players.

[@MrKhatMan]

4 years later, Nakamura actually crushes Aronian in a blitz match in St. Louis

[@ijustwanttocommentfugoogle3839]

9.5 to 6.5. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oIScl6J_h5J_oM0

[@bobbylight111]

Always fun to watch Naka lose. Does that make me a bad person? I don't care.

[@Ojalalluevapronto]

Do u have any links? hehe

[@dannyb982]

+bkeers I don't really like his attitude. His style of play sometimes is just so far fetched. He claimed he could beat Fischer easily.

[@bobbylight111]

+Maikel Dante Anything "vs. Magnus" is a good bet, lol - he has an embarrassing record against Carlsen

[@LaPoubelle42]

Naka is the fastest blitz player of this decade, which makes him possibly the best or second best

[@yusufceylan5144]

@@LaPoubelle42 Yeah but his style is not respectful

[@luckystrke]

They way he plays with N+N+B is impressive! With 2 sec inc. amazing skills

[@vreauremiza]

beautiful endgame technique by Aronian. he made the pieces work together very nicely.

[@torontotango]

9:06 Great game, I like how cool Aronian is playing and moving, he is in complete control , and here I like how he placed all his pieces on black squares, game is almost over, Excellent from both Nakamura and Aronian !!

[@indigo_died6910]

Ok if you were wondering I'm pretty sure these are the dgt boards and they use these because they can keep record and monitor where the pieces move with it

[@Dortmann]

Aronian was very inspired. Brilliant!

[@nivedanbhardwaj]

it was hell out of a match. Both played superb!

[@DominikKo33]

beautiful performance by Aronian

[@Dima4702]

Yeah)). One of the best games in this tournament by Leva played!

[@ADRENALINE92JUNKY]

Nakumara's games are always so eventful :) superb play from Aronian

[@BojanBL95]

Pure demonstration of two nights power. Incredible game!

[@reddevilkev]

To play such an endgame like that with so little time is amazing. What an insight that man has incredible

[@LNAdrien]

fighting spirit by Naka!! What a legendary blitz player. Of course needless to say that he also is a top pro at std time controls, but he will forever be remembered for his out of the ordinary feeling for blitz, akin to the ways of the blitz god Alexander the Great Sasha Grischuk!

[@danimanu87]

Thank you, i researched about that, its interesting!! So if they play quickly, they have more time, right??

[@slagathor757]

@keithbcook i hope you dont mind me asking...but i am a fairly new player hoping to become decent at the game...what caused the castle by nakamura to be illegal?

[@ThMrksman]

It blows my mind how quickly he analysed the situation at the end and realised the game was unwinnable.

[@AustenJenius23]

@2668860 It's an "en passant" capture, which means "in passing" in English. It's one of the three special rules of chess. It can only be done with pawns when one is moved out two spaces, another can capture by capturing its path.

[@jaimesalomonruizcanchapoma2243]

Me encanta como mueven tan rápido. I like how fast they move their pieces. They are well called GM.

[@echapism]

These guys are crazy! What a game!

[@68dongato]

video muy instructivo, gracias

[@LmaoFlow]

@amjwUK its a move called En passant. usually the will say it. its a french word and it allows you to make that move. and take the opponents piece but you have to do it right away you cant wait a while then do it.

[@123oblivion1231]

aronian plays 2 brilliant moves in this game, Rxd6 and Ng4!!

[@timespaice]

7:34 boo-hoo-hoo I lost my queen (:

[@AnImmortalEra]

@bumblebee1607 why is it illegal? is it because he moved the pieces with both hands?

[@ben89422]

It's a move called En Passant. If your opponent moves a pawn 2 spaces from their second rank and it lands beside one of your pawns, on the next turn only you can move behind that opponent pawn with your adjacent pawn and the enemy pawn will be captured.

[@SynsityGW]

@amjwUK it only works when a player brings his pawn up two squares and you have a pawn side by side with it. it only works the move right after he brings the pawn up tho. as they said its call en passant

[@kevinmoyles5424]

Respect to Nakamura. Hard as nails.

[@xebit6661]

whats up with the weird musics in the background?

[@steerpike213]

@84Drumcircle I'll let google explain how it works, but suffice it to say that it's a very specific situation when it comes up, so it's not as common as other moves.

[@bigresonance]

@MrRazorblade999 Two clocks in one housing. Each has the same number of minutes and count down to 0. Black starts Whites clock by pushing the button on his side. That starts White's clock running and will continue to run while he is thinking about his move. After White completes his move he pushes the button on his side and it stops his clock from running and starts Black's clock. And so they repeat until the game is won or drawn or someone's clock runs down to 0, which is a time forfeit (loss).

[@ricaurte1963]

Saludos desde Ciudad de Panamà. Excelente video. Es realmente impresionante ver a estos grandes jugadores.

[@enthalp]

wow, what a game by Aronian

[@flamengoeomelhor]

@keithbcook No. In Blitz you are allowed to use both hands to castle and to promote, as long as you show a clear intention of doing so. The video clear shows that it was intention, as he moved his king two squares.

[@danimanu87]

Hey, did u guys notice that the last 15 seconds in each one´s clocks last like forever?? Why is that???

[@Fwhiskey]

What an awesome game

[@AngryRabidHedgehog]

If Qxd6 then Be5, but it's hard to spot as the crucial part of the board is not visible because of the camera angle.

[@zagaluke]

hey what's the name of the move aronian made at 1:25 with his pawn?

[@AloofMusician]

I love this chess set!

[@jonathanspring1188]

CRUSHED

[@gacizawesome]

I'm glad he showed Naka's reaction after Rxd6! Wow.. if I'm Naka, I'm wondering how the hell you see in that in blitz.. sick!

[@84Drumcircle]

@steerpike213 I never heard of this move until about a year ago, and I'm always playing Chess online or with anyone that I know that does play when I can. I watch videos with grand masters who I never see use the move. Why is that?

[@OsirisAusar9]

DUDE THE BOARD! Focus!

[@tatlas2123]

Naka discovered he's just another blitzer out there.

[@DLG444]

It seems exchanging the rook was not an issue ..The reason Naka was so tensed and took nearly 1 min to think on Rxd6 because there are more associated problems .After Rxd6 Qxd6 Be5 if Qe7 say then 1. Rook on b8 is falling with a loss of central pawn..2. pawn on c5 is falling followed by pawn on b4 (.especially after Bxa7 Qxa7..) which is major setback..since entire queeside pawns are wiped out...Hence Naka didnt take with the queen and played Bb7 so than rook on b8 can come on c8 to protect the c5 pawn...which he later did.

[@teeed7927]

very serious, quiet whispers set the mood. Hikaru blunders at Qe7 because it fails to address the threat of Rxd6. If the queen retakes, Be5 skewers the queen and rook. Not only does Hikaru lose a pawn but his center is destroyed. Hikaru making blunders like this are extremely rare, even in blitz games.

[@tallgum28]

congrates levon...... great touney

[@argonaaut]

tough game...lots of tricky maneuvering with the pieces.

[@nejtilsvampe]

it's called en passant. When a pawn moves two scares forward, an opponent pawn is allowed to capture it as if it only moved one square. But only in the immediate following move.

[@maidewelook]

Damn KZbin algorithm. I see you

[@ilikechess1]

Does anyone have a PGN of this?

[@balthazar500]

Anyone know what style board/pieces they are using?

[@ChibiTails]

My guess is they ordered the special "baby vomit" edition.

[@Frozen_Waterfall]

Can someone explain to me why Qxd6 Be5 is hitting an unprotected rook? There are two rooks on the 8th file. All these people giving advice and no-one has actually explained why taking on d6 is a bad move.

[@Xolition]

Fantastic game!

[@elbay2]

@qichkereq I couldn't see the tactic, why didn't black take witth the queen?

[@manishbatta6603]

Classy Levon Aronian 😊

[@FrankTic-kx4hm]

Uhh, toward the end at around 7:00 Aronian's timer seems to gain a few seconds every time he makes a move and presses it. Is it just me or does anybody else see this?

[@dhruvramani28]

+Bhargav Mogra um...no. u get +2 seconds regardless of how much time u took to make your move.

[@arsen_y5]

Rxd6 was nice! and also a great endgame

[@khatarnakoo]

@keithbcook No, that is not illegal. You can use both your hands to castle, or one hand, in which you first have to move your king.

[@Ronbo710]

GM Aronian is Awesome and a really nice guy too.

[@7mean7bunny7]

And the move at 1:25 is called "En Passant" its a 1 turn only rule where you can take a pawn that has just moved 2 ranks on its first move if you are beside it, but if they do not choose to take en passant then the move is no longer legal after the turn is over.

[@briansiallagan1923]

That re1! from naka actually more beautiful than that Levon rd6 in beginning. Just imagine if he was able to hold some pawns and comeback from it.

[@bumblebee1607]

@konigstephan Yes, I think it was invaluable experience for Naka... playing against such formidable opposition

[@ebrahimmehri]

Sorry to ask, but why didn't Hikaru take on the d6 ? After Be5 Qe7 Bxb8 he can capture the bishop and he is a bishop up.

[@ArtyomMe]

Beautiful!

[@JUSJEROK13]

is castling with both hands allowed in championships?

[@GREGORYCLETON]

Do you know please why he didn't take the rook with the queen in d6 ? (1'59 )

[@4BrhaMX]

Por el alfil de b2, si tomaba iba a atacar la reina y la torre de b8 poniendo el alfil en e5 ya que esta protegido por el caballo, y no había forma de defender la torre.

[@rohit1697]

yeah levon on the other hand is a tactical MONSTER

[@niskoulas1998]

@ICarnag3I i think the queen's Gambit: 1.d4-Kf6 2.c4-g6 3.Kc3-Bg7 4.g3-0-0

[@Aanodino]

Me ha encantado esta partida, el final una pasada! :D

[@DavydRyan]

bumblebee1607 si puede mete todos estos videos estan muy buenos :)

[@ronakshah124]

What happened at 05:28? What did Aronian say?

[@BeeSolomona]

is nakamura allowed to move his pieces just before aronian switches the clock?

[@HarSidShow]

at 1:25 how did he capture the pawn if it was next the the pawn???

[@stripedtshirt]

i think you meant bishop e5. thanks for the help though !

[@umbra1818]

Rd6 best move of the tournament

[@MmAWC333]

That was a vicious game. I liked it.

[@Urosbaron]

Amazing duel.

[@itsMinuteMaid]

That guy forgot to say "WINNING!"

[@markch9v23]

the mysterious rook sack early is met by Be5 to win the exchange and then another pawn drops, so it's two pawns for the bishop as well as some initiative :)

[@cLiPz0r]

Where does he win the exchange there? He wins back the rook. The thing for Nakamura is that the pawn he lost is vital.

[@sindrisvaa]

Why does the clock add time? 9:22 Aronian has 7 seconds left and then he pushed the button and the time changed to 9? ;D

[@PabloDPena]

Did Nd5 refute Aronian's idea? (after nxd6)

[@OMagicks]

at 2:04 couldnt queen take rook ??? can someone explain plz

[@MrAndMrsGrover]

Why doesn't Nakamura just capture the rook on d6 with his queen? (minute 2:00 to 3:30) If he captures it and Aronian moves his bishop on b2 tot e5, Nakamura can just move his queen back to e8 then if Aronian captures Rb8, black will recapture the bishop with the queen. This way Nakamura has an advantage of one piece, or am I mistaken...? Thanks!

[@StillnessScreaming]

There is a bisschop on C8 ! The whole position would collapse after taking on d6. That is why nakamura chose to play Bb7. Still black is in a bad position. Kudos for the play he still was able to get. This was exciting play by both players.

[@eulerss7]

The way Aronian get the queen was amazing

[@steerpike213]

@84Drumcircle It's called "en passant," and it has been a normal, legal chess move for centuries.

[@84Drumcircle]

so is it legal now to take the pawn when it is beside the other now? I learned the "classic" way to play I guess. Unless this is just for this particular style of playing.

[@Zrb1te]

молодец, Левон!

[@MMarcuzzo]

@MrRazorblade999 I think the clock goes up 2 or 3 seconds everytime they hit the clock

[@aqwdemonmaster]

@ilovesoulmirror actually he is still moving up in the ranks i believe he is number 6 right now on the live rating list so it is same class i think