Norway Chess 2014: Last Day Impressions
Winning the Norway Chess Tournament for the second time in a row is no joke. That's what world #6 Sergey Karjakin did in Norway 2014. Karjakin beat titanic rivals such as Alex Grischuk, Anish Giri, Vlad Kramnik, and Fabiano Caruano in the final round. Nevermind the encounter Karjakin had with Lev Aronian. It was a disaster for the former! On the other hand, one might say that Karjakin's defeat in the hands of Aronian was a blessing in disguise since the unfortunate event may have motivated Karjakin to go for gold:)
What's with Carlsen?
World #1 Magnus Carlsen who was also participating in the Norway Chess Tournament had solid draws against his rivals (except for Levon Aronian and Simen Agdestein whom he both beat). On a slightly harsh note, Carlsen's game against Peter Svidler was an absolute disappointment when Carlsen had a won game and blundered his way to an inglorious draw. However, looking at Carlsen's overall performance in the tournament, there is nothing I can argue about, considering he was only a half point behind the tournament victor:)
No More "Kramnik Triumphs"?
Just last year, Vlad Kramnik had been on a roll, winning the World Cup, and nearly winning the Candidates Tournament. But now it seems that those days are over cause Kramnik hasn't been winning any yet, for this year. On the bright side, Kramnik still has more time to strut his stuff for year as we are still on the second quarter.
The Aronian Dillema
It is quite well-known that Aronian has an appetite for losing to Carlsen. Either the former is outplayed by the latter, or is simply demoralized when he starts facing Carlsen over the chessboard. Whatever the reasons for his losses are, only Aronian knows. And only he himself can find a way to finally thrash Carlsen's era and become #1:)
Games
Here are some interesting games from the tournament. The first game features Karjakin's decisive win in the final round against Caruana. And the second game features Carlsen's awesome win in the last round against Norwegian compatriot, Simen Agdestein.
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