Each time Magnus Carlsen gets defeated in a chess game, it reverberates as news in the chess world. Why? Because he is the highest-ranked player worldwide at 2830, and a world chess champion. Carlsen never lost the world title; rather he gave it up when he refused to engage Ian Nepomniachtchi, whom he had trounced previously.
Nepomniachtchi was the official winner of the 2021-22 Candidates Tournament, so Carlsen was obliged to oppose him. Instead of contesting the match, Carlsen stepped away, allowing for another world champion to be identified. The International Chess Federation (FIDE) called on the No. 2 player of the 2021 Candidates Ding Liren to face Nepomniachtchi for the world championship. Liren became the world chess champion in 2023.
Last week, American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura defeated Carlsen in an Armageddon game on time in the 2024 Norway Chess Tournament. Armageddon games are basically lightning chess. I neither like them nor respect them. To me they spoil the naturalness of chess. But such is the trend in these modern times. Classical chess is gradually giving way to speed and lightning chess.
At the time this column was being written, Carlsen was leading in the 2024 Norway Open Chess, which ended on Friday. He is a Norwegian and the local tournament means a lot to him. He has won the competition five times ever since it began in 2013. The Norway Chess super-tournament was conducted concurrently alongside a women’s event with an identical number of players, six in total. Both the Men and Women’s world champs, Ding Liren and Ju Wenjun participated.
In local chess, the New GPC Inc sponsored National Chess Championship is continuing at the National Racquet Centre. I replayed most of the games which are of good quality. After four rounds Taffin Khan leads. Ethan Lee drew with him. In the game between Roberto Neto, white, and Ronuel Greenidge, white left a rook hanging on move 23 and black gratefully accepted it. That in essence was the end of the game in black’s favour. Play continues today.
