Shelby Lyman on Chess: Impressive Performance by the Norwegian Wunderkind
Sunday, December 22, 2013
The road to the world chess championship for 22-year-old Magnus Carlsen has been without the sturm and drang experienced by many past world champions.
The dominant player in the world for several years, Carlsen had little trouble disposing of the reigning champion, Viswanathan Anand, in their recent two-week match in Chennai, India. Anand, clearly past his prime and off his game, is almost twice Carlsen’s age.
A 2-1 favorite, Carlsen pleased chess statisticians with a predictably easy 61/2- 31/2 victory.
Determined to be an active champion, the Norwegian wunderkind will be back at the board in January for a tournament in Zurich.
Focusing on opening and early middle-game preparation before the Chennai event, the new champion was clearly confident that he would prevail in the endgame, where the real battle would be fought.
During the match, Carlsen spent a modest 90 minutes a day — outside of the games, themselves — on chess analysis.
Curiously, Carlsen came to Chennai unaccompanied by a second, an unusual approach in elite chess events.
Surrounded by friends and family for personal support, he received assistance on chess matters from Norwegian grandmaster Jon Ludwig Hammer via Skype and e-mail from Norway.
Source: http://www.vnews.com
Nakamura is clearly better.