And, he just lost again. In seven rounds, he has 0 wins, 5 draws and 2 losses.
Does the Altibox Tournament make you question Carlsen's dominance?
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Jun 14, 2017
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#3
Since the world championship match against karjakin, which ended in A draw I should add I've thought Magnus could possibly lose a match to anybody in the top ten!... besides maybe Anand 😋
tmodel66 wrote:
And, he just lost again. In seven rounds, he has 0 wins, 5 draws and 2 losses.
He lost again!!! Are you kidding? Oh my goodness. My guess: He has a girlfriend. And the girlfriend is distracting King Magnus enough to throw him off his game.
Jun 14, 2017
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#6
This will probably come as a shock to some, but...he is human. ALL chess players win games, draw games, and lose games. All champions become former champions.
Jun 14, 2017
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#7
To the posters saying Magnus is human, he may have a girlfriend, etc., all of these things are true, but his record in serious classical games in 2016 (including the world championship) as best I can tell was 20 wins, 7 losses and 32 draws (+13).
Yet, at Altibox, he has 0 wins, 2 losses and 5 draws (-2).
Also, the only player he played last year in these Super GM tournaments that he isn't playing this year at Altibox is Topalov, so the competition level is the same.
Something isn't right with Magnus.
Jun 15, 2017
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#8
He's lacked motivation for the past couple of years. Really since after defending his title the first time.
Seems normal to me.
Seems normal to me.
Jun 15, 2017
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#9
This is news to me. He could have been trying new strategies, or simply has lost the desire to dominate everyone he encounters. I suspected he would not have staying power in the field of chess, since he has other interests he pursues. The only 2 American Chess world champs both went crazy, so I don't fault him for wanting to lead a normal life (whatever that is).
Hopefully he is just allowing others to feel the joy of beating him, since his title isn't on the line. Although I would like him to stay on top for another 20 years. He is an excellent role model for the game.
There is one thing I learned about Magnus that is highly unusual and borders on supernatural at our present day level of technology. That is the fact that his moves are all on instinct and only thought through on a "verification" basis. There isn't a computer today that can match this "quantum leap" in thought process, which might open the door to future computers having biological components. As far fetched as this sounds, Carl Sagan perdicted it in his book Contact.
After six rounds at the Altibox Tournament, Magnus has posted a 2.5/6 score, tying him for last place - with four others.
Altibox is the strongest tournament this year featuring the top 10 players (at the time invitations were sent out).
There are many people who believe Carlsen is the strongest player to ever live (although I am not trying to launch that unwinnable thread), but if he doesn't have a strong finish, does this indicate (1) he is off his game, (2) the field is catching up to him or (3) anybody - even the world champion - can have a poor showing?
It should be noted that he crushed the field in the blitz warm-up to this tournament, but what gives?