Magnus Carlsen was in sensational form at the Norwegian Team Chess Championship, scoring 3/3 for Offerspill on the final weekend. He was utterly dominant, bagging wins against GM Simen Agdestein, IMs Kristian Stuvik Holm and Alparslan Isik.
His results saw him bag 4.1 rating points, as he rose to 2837.1 in the classical chess rankings, further cementing his position as the greatest of all time.
Also Read: D Gukesh goes bald, offers Darshan to God; drops ‘improve in all formats’ verdict after winless Freestyle Chess run
Magnus Carlsen 50 points ahead of D Gukesh
He is in pole position as usual, 35 points ahead of American GM Hikaru Nakamura and 50 points clear of D Gukesh.
Since D Gukesh’s victory at the World Chess Championship against Ding Liren, fans have been pitting the 18-year-old GM to the World No. 1. Gukesh recently finished in second place at the Tata Masters, but then endured a winless run at the Weissenhaus Freestyle Chess Grand Slam. His performances in Wijk aan Zee saw him climb to World No. 3 and India No. 1.
Recently, Carlsen appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast and weighed in on Gukesh’s playing style. He said, “He doesn't play casual games at all. He just studies his ass off all the time. He's not good at rapid chess, he's not good at blitz, he's not good at other forms, but he has made all his studies about classical chess. He didn't even own chess software on his computer before he was like 13, and he was a grandmaster at that time. It's interesting to see that there are such different ways to develop even these days.”
{{/usCountry}}Recently, Carlsen appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast and weighed in on Gukesh’s playing style. He said, “He doesn't play casual games at all. He just studies his ass off all the time. He's not good at rapid chess, he's not good at blitz, he's not good at other forms, but he has made all his studies about classical chess. He didn't even own chess software on his computer before he was like 13, and he was a grandmaster at that time. It's interesting to see that there are such different ways to develop even these days.”
{{/usCountry}}The pair met in the final round of the round-robin stage at Weissenhaus, with Carlsen outplaying Gukesh with ease. It was their first meeting since Gukesh beat Liren, and Carlsen was soaked in glory after the game. Speaking to Take Take Take app, he said, “He was really brave, and then when it was time to be brave again, he retreated. But by the time he retreated, it was very difficult to hold his position in practice. And at that point, I thought my winning chances were great.”