On Chess: Carlsen taken down a notch or two
Saturday, October 23, 2010 02:57 AM
After dominating world chess for the past year and a half, Magnus Carlsen – the highest-rated player in the world – has dramatically lost his touch.
After dropping three of eight games at the recent World Chess Olympics in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, he suffered defeats against Vladimir Kramnik and Viswanathan Anand in his first two games at a tournament in Bilbao, Spain.
Recalling a similar collapse in recent decades by a player of Carlsen’s stature is difficult.
What gives? Is this a turning point in his career? Have older rivals suddenly discovered that the 19-year-old whiz is more vulnerable than they had suspected?
Sniffing blood after Carlsen’s olympic debacle, Kramnik and Anand played almost impeccably against him in Bilbao. Their performances underline the magnitude of Carlsen’s ascendancy. After all, Anand is the present world chess champion, and Kramnik is a former champ – and the only human to defeat Garry Kasparov in a match.
Carlsen has been busy recently enjoying a new career as a model for the G-Star clothing line. Perhaps his stumbles are simply a result of a temporary lack of focus.
Source: http://www.dispatch.com
Carlsen will be #1 forever.
This is already out of date. Carlsen is back!
As if he was gone. Yeah, people try to talk you down whenever they can.