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Wesley So (27) became a party brake on Magnus Carlsen’s 30th birthday. From a secret but obviously hot spot, the Norwegian lost the digital Champions Chess Tour final.
HOTTER Latitudes: Magnus Carlsen is obviously enjoying his 30th birthday, in a secret location. Photo: Chess Tour of Champions
Early Monday, the Carlsen team posted a photo of the chess profile on a bare torso with a blue sea in the background. However, the world champion has not revealed where he stands.
– Then he became a worthy winner. Paired me all the way, came back three times. I make a lot of mistakes, but it’s extremely impressive anyway, says Carlsen on TV 2 broadcast.
– It’s good enough to beat me when I’m not at my best, and this time I wasn’t.
The final had to be decided in blitzkrieg, as there was a draw after the total of eight rapid chess games on Sunday and Monday.
Magnus Carlsen is the reigning world champion in blitzkrieg, and he was the favorite. But the American So showed that he too can play fast. With white pieces, the American won the first game.
The birthday boy had struggled to win with white pieces in the last blitzkrieg game: whether to make a decision about Armageddon. Carlsen was unsuccessful. The game ended in a draw.
Wesley So was Carlsen’s outfield man also in the final of the Fischer World Chess Championship in Høvikodden a year ago.
On Sunday, both players won their games with White, and finished 2-2.
But on Monday, Magnus Carlsen had a dream start when he won with black pieces in the first game.
– Class, exclaimed Jon Ludvig Hammer as an expert in broadcasting TV 2.
DIGITAL: Wesley So and Magnus Carlsen played the deciding games on Monday. Photo: Facsimile of Champions Chess Tour
But when most people thought that Carlsen would secure control in the second game, So fought back and won with black pieces, in the same way that the Norwegian had done in the first game.
“It feels unnecessary, said Hammer,” and Carlsen showed as clearly as possible that he didn’t like it.
This meant that Wesley So had the best feelings against third, where the American had white. Magnus Carlsen arrived in dire need of time, and So had the upper hand, until the American made a serious mistake. But Carlsen failed to seize a golden opportunity, and therefore the game ended in a draw.
Magnus Carlsen thus had everything in his own hands with White in the fourth game of rapid chess. But Carlsen chose to “spill” the advantage on White, so it was 2-2 after “ordinary time”. Therefore, he was ready to make a decision with blitzkrieg.
– I was hoping to play more with intuition in the lightning jacket, but it didn’t work, Carlsen said on TV 2 broadcast.
– I’m old enough to live with the consequences, says the 30-year-old.
The winner receives 265,000 crowns, while the loser has to settle for half.
Magnus Carlsen beat Anish Giri in the quarterfinals and Jan Nepomnjasjtsjij in the semifinals.
He won four of the five tournaments on his own tour in early 2020: Magnus Carlsen Invitational (April-May), Chess Masters (June-July), Legends of Chess (July-August) and Grand Final (August).
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The Champions Chess Tour is also organized by the Play Magnus group. Skilling Open was the first of ten tournaments, all featuring rapid chess.
– I have to be even more acute from the beginning, says Carlsen before the next tournament, which is held on Christmas Eve and is broadcast on NRK.
In October, Magnus Carlsen won the only physical tournament that has been played since the closing of the crown, namely Norway Chess.
