The Great Magnus

     This article is dedicated to one of the greatest chess players of all the times- the nr.1 chess player in the World and the 16th World Chess Champion- Magnus Carlsen.

     I can't stop being amazed by Magnus- the opener of a new era in chess!
     He makes it all look possible- living a full life, enjoying it and being the best.

     Winning the match against Anand, Magnus has not proved anything that needed to be proved. We all respected his chess and admired his simple way of pulling the best out of any situation. I think that his chess clearly shows the primordial "surviving" skill of our averted ancestors. When watching his games, I somehow get the feeling of watching those documentaries about the primary human beings who strived to get to live a new day and who step by step evolved onto being a complex civilization.

     Saying that Magnus inspires is too little- he makes us rethink all we know about chess and, for me, about life approach too.
     I am grateful to have witnessed the phenomenon of Magnus Carlsen.

     Our generation might have a chance afterall, huh?
   

Mysterious rook moves

     Wijk is such an interesting chess festival! There are too many games worth being followed. The game Giri-Caruana has caught my eye today. I think it deserves to be the game of the day! Here you can see it:


     The sacrifice of the 2 pawns followed by two amazing rook maneuvers were a masterpiece!

Anish Giri

     Ten rounds have been played by now, and Magnus Carlsen is the clear lider, having 8p. Here you can see the standings.

		Score	Rating	TPR	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14
1	Carlsen, M.	8.5 / 11	2861	2929		½	½		1	½	1		1	½	½	1	1	1
2	Anand, V.	6.5 / 10	2772	2860	½		1	½	½	½	½	½	1		1			½
3	Aronian, L.	6.5 / 10	2802	2827	½	0			½	1	½		½	1		1	½	1
4	Nakamura, H.	6.5 / 10	2769	2822		½			½	½		½	½	1	1	1	½	½
5	Karjakin, S.	5.5 / 10	2780	2775	0	½	½	½			½	½		1	½	1	½
6	Leko, P.	5.5 / 10	2735	2782	½	½	0	½			½	½		½	1		½	1
7	Harikrishna, P.	5.0 / 10	2698	2741	0	½	½		½	½		1	1		½	0		½
8	Giri, A.	5.0 / 11	2726	2679		½		½	½	½	0		½	½	1	0	½	½
9	van Wely, L.	5.0 / 10	2679	2728	0	0	½	½			0	½		1		½	1	1
10	Wang, H.	4.5 / 11	2752	2665	½		0	0	0	½		½	0		½	1	1	½
11	Caruana, F.	4.5 / 11	2781	2661	½	0		0	½	0	½	0		½		½	1	1
12	Hou, Y.	3.5 / 10	2603	2638	0		0	0	0		1	1	½	0	½		½
13	L'Ami, E.	3.0 / 10	2627	2600	0		½	½	½	½		½	0	0	0	½
14	Sokolov, I.	2.5 / 10	2667	2565	0	½	0	½		0	½	½	0	½	0

Magnus Carlsen- World's Nr.1

     Magnus has had an amazing tournament so far and he's gaining 10 Elo points. I think he might get to 2900 by the end of the year.

     There are 2 more rounds to go, but I don't think that anyone will be able to challenge Carlsen for the 1st place.