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Magnus Carlsen, nan world No 1, had his worst tourney consequence since 2015 past week erstwhile nan 35-year-old ended up 4th of six successful nan $178,000 Norway Chess arena astatine Oslo, losing 4 games retired of 10.
There were reasons for his disappointing showing. Previous editions of nan arena were successful distant Stavanger, acold from nan hometown pressures of Oslo, while Carlsen is nan begetter of a babe son, and he arrived astatine respective games seemingly unprepared.
He often took excessively agelong complete his opening moves. The accelerated clip power was 40 moves successful nan first 2 hours, followed by a specified 10 seconds per move increment from move 41 until nan extremity of nan classical game.
Drawn games were replayed nether Armageddon rules, wherever White had 10 minutes connected nan timepiece and Black 7 minutes, but a tie connected nan committee counted arsenic a triumph for Black. Norway’s scoring strategy was 3 points for a classical win, 1 for a classical draw, 0 for a classical loss, 0.5 for an Armageddon triumph and 0 for an Armageddon loss.
Carlsen respective times entered nan confession booth wherever players could sound their thoughts to nan audience. During 1 game, which he later lost, he summarised his time truthful acold as: 1 Woke up. 2 Had breakfast. 3 Had a nap. 4 Felt really old.
He made a typical effort against Gukesh Dommaraju, nan Indian 20-year-old who now holds Carlsen’s abdicated position arsenic world champion but has grounded to make an impact. Gukesh vanished sixth and past successful Oslo, and location was nary repetition of 2025 erstwhile Carlsen mislaid to nan Chennai subordinate past thumped nan table successful frustration.
Their last information crippled was vintage Carlsen, contempt mishandling his timepiece clip and playing a agelong ending connected increment. It was a textbook objection of really to triumph pinch bishop v knight and an extracurricular passed pawn. In the last position nan extremity would beryllium 65…Ng7 66 Kf6 Ne8+ 67 Ke7 Ng7 68 Bg4! and Black’s knight is trapped.
Gukesh’s compatriot Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, who was successful past spot aft six rounds, enjoyed a purple spot of 4 consecutive wins which, pinch nan assistance of nan scoring system, took him each nan measurement to first.
Praggnanandhaa’s wide shape is strange, though. His stellar 2025 made him 1 of nan favourites for nan 2026 Candidates, but he was ne'er successful contention there. His Oslo occurrence only takes him to No 11 successful the unrecorded ratings, pinch Gukesh a dismal 25th. In contrast, Carlsenhas been an unchallenged No 1 for 15 years.
Carlsen’s adjacent arena will beryllium nan Fide World Team Rapid and Blitz championships, starting connected 17 June successful Hong Kong. The arena was played successful Central London past year, erstwhile nan blitz was won by nan apical seeded WR squad founded by nan German chess sponsor Wadim Rosenstein.
Teams of six person mandatory women, junior, and amateur boards. WR are again nan apical seeds, and see nan No 1 classed woman, Hou Yifan, arsenic good arsenic Carlsen. Teams for nan €500,000 arena besides characteristic 3 young stars who could each beryllium nan beforehand runners for chess successful nan 2030s: Turkey’s Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, 15, Argentina’s Faustino Oro, 12, and Russia’s Roman Shogdzhiev, 11.
Erdogmus and Oro person already qualified arsenic grandmasters, while Shogdzhiev collapsed an property grounds which has stood for 18 years past week erstwhile he scored his first of 3 required GM norms successful nan Asian Championship astatine Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The Russian had already narrowly missed his first norm a fewer months agone astatine Tashkent and made nary correction successful Mongolia wherever he was unbeaten against nan six GMs he played and drew confidently against India’s knowledgeable Krishnan Sasikiran successful nan last round.
Shogdzhiev now has nan world GM property grounds of nan USA’s Abhimanyu Mishra, 12 years and 4 months, firmly successful his sights. The Russian still has astir 12 months to people 2 much GM norms and scope an wide 2500 rating. That achievement, if it happens, will beryllium sweeter because Oro grounded to execute his ain last norm earlier this twelvemonth and break nan grounds successful Aeroflot Moscow. Oro had to hold until his adjacent arena successful Sardinia past period earlier qualifying for nan GM title.
Shogdzhiev was calved successful Elista, Kalmykia, nan onshore of Fide’s erstwhile president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. He was taught chess by his begetter astatine four, his mother gave up activity to location schoolhouse him, and nan family moved to Moscow to thief him. This file mentioned Shogdzhiev respective times successful 2023-24 erstwhile he was still comparatively unknown, but was receiving typical treatment, including a bid of all-play-all blitz tournaments wherever nan boy could hone his skills against established masters.
Long agone successful nan early 1930s, nan Soviets identified Mikhail Botvinnik, past 21, arsenic a imaginable world champion. He sewage typical help, including uncommon trips to nan West and a individual trainer. In nan precocious 1960s, nan aforesaid way was followed for Anatoly Karpov erstwhile he emerged connected nan world scene.
Now it seems that Russia, which presently has nary players successful nan world apical 10, plans to reconstruct its erstwhile No 1 chess status, pinch Shogdzhiev arsenic nan spearhead. The 11-year-old has 7 grandmaster coaches, 1 for each time of nan week, led by nan two-time Russian champion Evgeny Tomashevsky, who says of his pupil: “If you play for illustration Roman astatine 11, it’s very adjacent to a unsocial case.”
Next week successful Hong Kong, Shogdhziev and Oro will play connected nan 2 inferior boards for Chess United, nan No 8 seeds, who are led by nan erstwhile world champion Vishy Anand.
Shogdzhiev says of being compared to Oro: “I’m very relaxed astir it. But, of course, I want to drawback up and surpass … We’re not friends, we don’t spot each different often. The connection obstruction is besides a hindrance.”
Shogdzhiev says that his eventual extremity is to go world champion: “I conscionable want to. That would beryllium awesome!”
The 3 super-talents Erdogmus, Oro and Shogdzhiev are each location schooled. This is simply a stark opposition pinch Germany’s world No 6, Vincent Keymer, who had to complete his last authorities exams a fewer days earlier a world title qualifier.
England’s rising talent Supratit Banerjee, 12, has to prioritise his Sutton Grammar homework earlier spending a mates of hours connected chess, while Bodhana Sivanandan, England’s No 1 classed female astatine 11, has achieved each her successes while a pupil astatine a authorities superior schoolhouse successful Harrow.
GM Danny Gormally, 50, won nan metallic badge connected his first quality successful nan European over-50 elder title astatine Acqui Terme, Italy. Gormally scored 6.5/9, pinch his only conclusion being against France’s apical seeded GM Jean-Marc Degraeve, who totalled an unbeaten 7/9. This is simply a good consequence for Gormally, whose streams connected chess are progressively celebrated and who is 1 of England’s fewer full-time master players. He had declared beforehand that his target was a spot successful nan apical 3 truthful arsenic to suffice for free introduction and expenses for nan adjacent title successful 2027.
In nan European over-65 championship, which had much well-known players than nan over-50, Georgia’s GM Zurab Sturua won pinch an unbeaten 7.5/9. GM Keith Arkell vanished ninth pinch 6.5/9, FM Terry Chapman 14th pinch 6/9, and Scotland’s IM Craig Pritchett, who was 2nd successful nan unofficial over-75 standings, 20th pinch 6/9.
Chess has almost ever decided its world champion by individual matches alternatively than tournaments of starring contenders, and nan humanities grounds supports this. Periods pinch a azygous ascendant subordinate (Wilhelm Steinitz, Emanuel Lasker, Jose Capablanca, Alexander Alekhine, Mikhail Botvinnik, Bobby Fischer, Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov and Carlsen) person been much predominant than instances wherever nan No 1 was only primus inter pares.
When, arsenic now, nan charismatic world champion seems inadequate for his role, criticisms of nan strategy quickly multiply. It remains to beryllium seen whether Sindarov, who will situation Gukesh later this year, tin beryllium arsenic awesome successful nan forthcoming title lucifer arsenic he was successful nan caller Candidates.
4028: 1 Rb7! Rxb7 2 Nc6+ Ke8 3 Rxd8 mate. If 1…Rxd4 2 Rxd4+ aliases 2 Rdc1 should triumph connected material¬although successful nan existent crippled White missed galore chances earlier drafting pinch K+R v Kv N successful 108 moves.
