A reminder of times past

Just as there was an Indian chess explosion when Anand became World Champion, there is currently a Norwegian chess explosion, due of course to Magnus Carlsen. One effect of this is that chess has become a mainstream television sport in Norway, with coverage of last years Olympiad being but one example.
This year the organisers of Norway Chess 2015 held a qualifying event, where 6 players battled it out for a spot in the Super GM event. The tournament was a mixture of classical and rapid time controls, and was broadcast on Norwegian TV. Taking a leaf from the 1970's Master Game series, the players were asked to provide their thoughts after the game, and as an added bonus, World Champion Magnus Carlsen was on hand to provide commentary.
The decisive game of the event also provided a little bit of a glimpse into the past. It was played during the rapid play section of the tournament, between Laurent Fressinet and Jan Ludvig Hammer. While the opening was a little old fashioned, it was the finish of the game, and the reasons, which were also 20th century. As the game was played without an increment, both players had to watch the board, and the clock. However they then ran quite short of time playing for the attack, and the ending turned into a bit of a crap shoot. Both players were winning (and losing) at various points, until Fressinet made the last blunder and was mated. As a result Hammer took the lead and ended up as the last player for the main event.


Fressinet,Laurent (2712) - Hammer,Jon Ludvig (2665) [C50]
Scandinavian Masters Rapid Oslo NOR (2.2), 15.05.2015