In the VIP room I briefly asked Garry Kasparov, who was in town for meetings and a book signing, what he thought of the opening choice, to which he replied, "if I worked with Nakamura I would not have recommended it." Kasparov was remarkably aloof during his brief visit to the tournament, and by several accounts succeeded in alienating at least some friends and acquaintances in attendance. It was not the advice of his second, Kris Littlejohn, who Hikaru noted, opted uncharacteristically not to watch the last round game. In Short's estimation “the only reason why the King’s Gambit is playable is because Black has about ten good lines, but he can only play one at a time, that's actually why it's OK.” Ironically, Nakamura said he chose the opening for the opposite reason: He'd slept poorly - only a few hours - and didn't want to play "classical, standard chess," instead looking for an unbalanced position with chances for both sides. "I was feeling quite refreshed and ready for some action." I slept very well last night," Short explained after that game. "The thing is, you know, the King's Gambit is really a lousy opening, and you've really got to be in the mood for it. Short recently won a King's Gambit during a blitz match with none other than Kasparov, but in London McShane came out on top. Nigel Short had tried the romantic gambit himself in round seven against Luke McShane, during which it was Nakamura's turn to give commentary along side King and IM Lawrence Trent. "I felt a little bit inspired by Nigel, oddly enough," Hikaru began his post-game chat. Sporting his lucky purple shirt, and yellow tie, as he frequently does during key games, he made the unusual choice to surprise Adams with a King's Gambit. Hikaru's final round game was a must-win, to have any chance at first. I wish there was another round tomorrow," Nakamura continued. "After this event, I just want to play more chess. Danny King, anchoring the live commentary webcast, had asked if he was tired, playing so many events in short succession. "After the in Moscow, I pretty much wanted to quit chess, but I guess I was smart not to do that," Nakamura quipped after his last round victory. It is common to want to change something when things are not going well, and Nakamura's tournament results throughout 2011 were uninspiring, by his own admission. Shortly before the tournament, Nakamura decided to strike out on his own. But this success bookends his short-lived collaboration with Kasparov. On Monday, with a flashy win over Michael Adams, Hikaru achieved his second best performance, clear second place in the London Chess Classic, behind Vladimir Kramnik. With just one training session under his belt, most of the credit goes to the player, although when the news of his work with Kasparov finally became public, Nakamura described the advantages, both in terms of preparation and psychology, that he took from that one session. The following month, Nakamura's biggest triumph: Clear first place at the Tata Steel tournament in Wjk aan Zee. A year ago, at the close of the 2010 London Chess Classic, Hikaru Nakamura and Garry Kasparov shared a cab home from the awards dinner at Simpson's in the Strand, discussing opening theory and, more importantly, the start of a new training regimen, with the former World Champion reprising the role of coach.
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