Carlsen edges Predojevic in rapid match

As an opening event for the Norwegian Chess Championship, Carlsen and Predojevic played a four game rapid chess match. The number one took the victory in the end, but was unable to win more than one game in a long and technical endgame. The ski town of Lillehammer now hosts the top players from Norway who are playing for the national title. Pictures and analysis.

Magnus Carlsen and Borki Predojevic played a friendly four game rapid match to open the 2013 Norwegian Chess Championship that is currently being held from June 29 to July 6, 2019. The match and the tournament are hosted in Lillehammer, a town in Oppland county, Norway.

Lillehammer is a beautiful summer touristic destination.

But it is best known for being a big ski town in the winter.

The Radisson Blu is one of the main sponsors of the event, and the host of the tournament.

Before the match the players played a friendly game outdoor game with giant pieces.

The players explained their moves while the spectators observed, or cooled off in the fountain.

A smiling Norwegian gives his input on chess, modeling and the upcoming match.

The match was much closer than most people expected. Predojevic held Carlsen to a draw in the first two games without any real problems, in both cases never being afraid to go into complications. Despite always being ahead considerably on the clock, the world number one was unable to convert in the first day of competition.

Things changed however in the third round, where an inexact opening by the Bosnian allowed Carlsen to slowly build up an endgame advantage that he was able to cash into a full point.

Despite trying his best, Predojevic fell the the World number in game 3.

Predojevic was described by Carlsen as his "childhood hero".

The players were allowed to do some light skittles after they finished their games.

The last game ended in a draw as well and Carlsen took the match 2.5-1.5

A video of the games can be found here. Aditionally there are plenty of interviews with Carlsen, Predojevic and even some of the sponsors. Most of it is in Norwegian but several snippets are in English.

The Norwegian championship has started and the rating favorite, Jon Ludvig Hammer, won his first game. However there are several other grandmasters in the mix and the tournament should be very close. The official website has all the pairings and the schedule.