Nice commentary! May the best underdog win! lol
Rooting for Naka over Magnus in the MC Tour Finals!! Naka Leads 1-0 in Best of 7
Sort:
Magnus has an aura of invincibility. And that gives him a huge psychological edge. It will be quite an accomplishment if Naka can pull the upset and win 4 rapid sets over the ferocious Viking of Chess.
Nice post
Wow. Just saw the last part of Set#5. Naka wins On-Demand with the Black pieces in the Blitz portion in Game 6 to tie the match 3-3 to send it to the Armageddon Tie-Breaker. Magnus chooses White in the Armageddon where there's no time increment and he has one more minute on the clock than Naka.
And Naka pulls it off!! He wins Set #5 to go up 3-2 in the Best of 7 series!! Oh my goodness. One more victory by Naka and he'll achieve the greatest victory in his chess career. It would be an epic match victory by Naka if he could pull it off.
And I use the word "if" purposefully in the last sentence. Because Magnus is a ferocious competitor who always comes back strong after a setback. No way does Magnus roll over in Set #6. The crown has to be yanked hard from Magnus's powerful death grip. This is Magnus's tour, it's during the historic Coronavirus pandemic, legions of chess fans are watching with delight, and Magnus desperately wants to win the inaugural Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour.
Today was epic, and I can't wait to see these two legendary heavyweights battle it out to the end!
Go Naka!
infestationPit wrote:
I support Carlsen
Magnus will certainly come out guns blazing tomorrow.
Big win by Magnus today in Set #6, 3-1.
Tomorrow will be deciding set. Go Naka!!
Looking bad for Naka. He loses with White in Game 1. Magnus will likely steamroll and win the Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour.
Oh my gosh!! So crazy. Naka wins game 3 to tie the match 1.5 to 1.5. Magnus gets White in game 4 of the Rapid. I'm watching with great excitement!
Lol. Naka draws with the Black pieces in the last game of the Rapid against Magnus's English Opening!
Onto the Blitz portion now!
Oh my gosh!! Magnus blundered a pawn, and Naka converts in game 1 of the Blitz! Magnus is in must win situation in the 2nd game of the Blitz, meaning Naka simply has to draw with Black to win the championship!
Go Naka!!!
Epic!! Drama city. Magnus wins on demand. Therefore... Armageddon! This time Magnus picks Black with one minute less with draw odds.
Oh my gosh.
olJoshie1 wrote:
Extremely exciting
Most exciting chess match that I've ever seen. I was rooting for Naka, but it showcases the legendary greatness of King Magnus. Long live the King!
What happens in an Armageddon game in a serious match. In Yesterday’s Armageddon game Nakamura needed to win and Carlsen had a fortress, they both had about 50 seconds no increment, what would happen if Nakamura just played on and on in this dead position eventually hoping Carlsen’s clock would go. Would the director step in or does Carlsen have to play 50 moves without captures and pawn moves?
OxonChess wrote:
What happens in an Armageddon game in a serious match. In Yesterday’s Armageddon game Nakamura needed to win and Carlsen had a fortress, they both had about 50 seconds no increment, what would happen if Nakamura just played on and on in this dead position eventually hoping Carlsen’s clock would go. Would the director step in or does Carlsen have to play 50 moves without captures and pawn moves?
Good question. Suppose Hikaru flagged Magnus in a fortress position that had sufficient material and the position did not repeat and the 50 move rule didn't apply. Does Naka win?
https://www.chess.com/news/view/magnus-carlsen-chess-tour-finals-final-day-1
I like Magnus Carlsen as World Champion a lot. He's been a really great WC because he's such a great ambassador for the game. He plays frequently, he plays all the different time controls, he even competed for the very first FIDE 960 Chess Championship (which he lost in the finals to Wesley So), he invests back in the game in a variety of ways... so all in all he's been a fantastic and a most worthy World Champion.
So why am I rooting for Naka? It's really weird. It's because Magnus has "adopted" Naka. I think "adopted" means when you have a huge plus score against someone. And Magnus has a huge plus score against Naka in Classical Chess games. So much so that it's reasonable to say that Magnus owns or "adopted" Naka.
And I typically and usually root for the underdog. And even though Naka is a great, great blitz player, one of the greatest of all time, Magnus is the World Champ in Rapid, and Naka is still the underdog here.
But what makes my rooting for Naka weird is that Naka adopts people himself!! I think he even has youtube videos or twitch streams called the Adoption Chronicles where he tries to beat someone 10 consecutive games in blitz or bullet. It's just brutal. A total humiliation. I mean, I watch Naka just hum or sing along, answer questions from the twitch chat, and commentate during a blitz game... SIMULTANEOUSLY!! I mean, it's utterly remarkable to watch how incredibly fast his brain works. And he adopts IMs, FMs, and NMs like it's nothing.
So why would I root for Naka, an adoptee of Magnus's, since he adopts others like he's nonchalantly brushing his teeth? Answer: Because I feel sorry for adoptees, lol. Chess adoptees, that is.
Chess Adoptees are the ultimate established by head-to-head record underdog. And I have a soft spot for underdogs.
And so that is why I'm rooting for Naka. So that he can get a little payback for the huge plus score that Magnus has over him.