Be as patient as Magnus Carlsen
by Jan Markos
Whoever can realise their plan faster than their opponent will win the game. This is a principle of the middlegame that many chess players - especially in club chess - know and follow. However, according to Jan
Markos at the beginning of his video, not only is this principle not the whole truth, but in many positions it is actually advisable not to hurry but to be patient. If your own attacking potential and your opponent's defensive resources are in balance, it is necessary, for example, to manoeuvre first in order to gain an advantage.
A slow approach also has a number of practical advantages, e.g. it exerts psychological pressure on the opponent, who does not know when you are about to implement a concrete plan. In addition, careful manoeuvring can help you to wait for the right moment to start activity. And last but not least, playing with patience can help you gain an advantage on the clock!
‘Being patient is not as simple as it seems!’ To introduce you to the art of patience, Jan Markos presents two fragments from Magnus Carlsen - ‘one of the most patient players in the world’.
In the first example from Carlsen-Topalov (2018), it's White's move. Many players would probably try to continue with 24.h4 followed by 25.Bh3 to start something concrete. And Carlsen? He played 24.Kg1 - overprotecting the pawn on f2, but otherwise Carlsen signalled to his opponent with this move ‘You don't know what I want to do, and you can't do anything yourself anyway.’ In his video analysis, Markos shows that Topalov failed to react in the same patient way and that his urge to play dynamically was his undoing in this game.
In the second example from Carlsen-Bu (2007) - an endgame with a rook and opposite-coloured bishops - the world no. 1 took all the time in the world and scored the full point after 84 moves.
Small collection of exercises
Use the following five training positions to test how far you have already mastered the art of patience!
After long and patient maneuvering, Carlsen was on the edge of winning the 6th game of his
match against Nepomniachtchi. What should he play? Carlsen,M - Nepomniachtchi,I
White's last move was 45.g4. How should Black continue? Kramnik,V - Carlsen,M
What would you play as White? Carlsen,M - Aronian,L
What should White play? Carlsen,M - Nakamura,H
How should White continue? Carlsen,M - Kamsky,G