My Answers to the 10 Questions for Norway Chess, Revised

As I said I would do, I will give you my changed opinions. Of course, they are quite different than was expected.

1. Can anyone stop Magnus Carlsen?

Maybe. His name was Veselin Topalov and he reigned for eleven days. I still don't believe in his success.

2. Will Nakamura, Anand, and Caruana continue their great form?

Nakamura and Anand certainly did, and I have yet to see a serious slump (one as great as that of MVL or as afflicting as that of Magnus) in Caruana's performance. Maybe when he is 24 he will slump for a month (or two). The tournament certianly didn't go well for him, but I think he will be able to manage in Dortmund.

3. Can Anish Giri maintain his positive score against Magnus Carlsen?

Unless Anish makes it to the World Championships, I doubt Magnus is going to beat him (more than once) anytime soon. Perhaps he will finally get his revenge in London this winter, where Magnus does remarkably well.

4. Will anyone confess in a monastery?

More than one of the players probably would have, but I don't think that day was known for its confessions.

5. What difference will the Grand Chess Tour make?

It has the power to make Topy sink back to the bottom.

6. What can Aronian, Grischuk, and Topalov offer?

As far as Veselin Topalov goes, we all konw that he could offer a loss-on-time victory. As for the other two... Grischuk gave Magnus a semi-carefree point and Aronian let Magnus escape. Levon also managed to make Fabiano's preformance go downhill, and both were able to get themselves into some very interesting time troubles.

7. Can Maxime Vachier-Lagrave prove he belongs?

He had for the first round, but after that, he was "the new MVL" again to most people. I think he can still get up again.

8. Can Jon Ludvig Hammer achieve his goal?

Sure, he beat Magnus, but he wasn't particularly pleased about it. He said he was happy, but one always knows. Maybe he'll try some other time. I don't think he's in the mood to brag about it, seeing as some of the more-than-honest things he said...

9. Can the Grand Chess Tour winner rival the World Champion?

Topalov doesn't particularly want to, and as for the others, we will have to see what happens next.

10. Will anyone persuade Kasparov to push a chess piece in anger?

Maybe now the "in anger" part would seem more fitting, but one can always go back to my previous response.