I don't know, but he is about to beat Wesley So. With Topalov in a considerably worse position against Caruana and Aronian slightly worse against Grischuk it is likely he will be in shared first (with Aronian) after five rounds in the Sinquefield Cup.
How far will Carlsen slide?
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1 bad event in 595499 years = CARLSEN PATZER...
you people make me laugh so hard
Considering this event he lost the first game, got lucky the second game and is about to blunder the third ... ?
Quiksilverau wrote:
Considering this event he lost the first game, got lucky the second game and is about to blunder the third ... ?
Considering you cannot count up to five, your posts aren't entirely stupid... 
So just resigned. Carlsen gets lucky again.
chessmicky wrote:
Yes, he's been the luckiest player on the planet for several years in a row. I wonder why
haven't you noticed how he intimidates his opponents by bringing his "Dirty Harry" magnum and leaving it at the side of the board, while asking them: "Do you feel lucky, punk?"
If your seriously asking yourself this question, I think it's a matter of psychology. I've read Anatoly Karpov say in his best games book that once he became the World champion, he felt a strong obligation to win every game and every tournament, in order to live up to the title. Maybe that was in part because he was never actually able to play Fischer. I'm not acknowledging Carlsen has slid, that's too soon to tell. But it all depends on Carlsen`s outlook. Maybe now that he has achieved and defended the World title, he is no longer interested in `proving` anything. He was the top player in the world consistently, before winning the title. Maybe he's not interested in the level of pressure that goes along with proving this every day. Carlsen seems to be a fun loving guy that doesn't take anything too seriously, or, at least has a reasonable perspective on life. This is how I see the current situation.
GalaxKing wrote:
If your seriously asking yourself this question, I think it's a matter of psychology. I've read Anatoly Karpov say in his best games book that once he became the World champion, he felt a strong obligation to win every game and every tournament, in order to live up to the title. Maybe that was in part because he was never actually able to play Fischer. I'm not acknowledging Carlsen has slid, that's too soon to tell. But it all depends on Carlsen`s outlook. Maybe now that he has achieved and defended the World title, he is no longer interested in `proving` anything. He was the top player in the world consistently, before winning the title. Maybe he's not interested in the level of pressure that goes along with proving this every day. Carlsen seems to be a fun loving guy that doesn't take anything too seriously, or, at least has a reasonable perspective on life. This is how I see the current situation.
If he's not interested it is pretty impressive that he has so far placed first in Tata Steel, Grenke and Shamkir this year.
I'm not saying you said he's not interested. I just think he's actually been dominant in the tournaments he''s played in this year sans Norway Chess.
Arawn_of_Annuvin wrote:
I totally agree with you. Any thoughts on why he played that crazy sac against Topalov in the first game? Was it just for fun, or out of frustration, or was he trying for a quick revenge win after Norway. I haven't seen any interviews.
GalaxKing wrote:
If your seriously asking yourself this question, I think it's a matter of psychology. I've read Anatoly Karpov say in his best games book that once he became the World champion, he felt a strong obligation to win every game and every tournament, in order to live up to the title. Maybe that was in part because he was never actually able to play Fischer. I'm not acknowledging Carlsen has slid, that's too soon to tell. But it all depends on Carlsen`s outlook. Maybe now that he has achieved and defended the World title, he is no longer interested in `proving` anything. He was the top player in the world consistently, before winning the title. Maybe he's not interested in the level of pressure that goes along with proving this every day. Carlsen seems to be a fun loving guy that doesn't take anything too seriously, or, at least has a reasonable perspective on life. This is how I see the current situation.
If he's not interested it is pretty impressive that he has so far placed first in Tata Steel, Grenke and Shamkir this year.
I'm not saying you said he's not interested. I just think he's actually been dominant in the tournaments he''s played in this year sans Norway Chess.
I think Magnus has a magic monkey's paw that is the reason for his success.
I'm not acknowledging Carlsen has slid, that's too soon to tell. But it all depends on Carlsen`s outlook. Maybe now that he has achieved and defended the World title, he is no longer interested in `proving` anything. He was the top player in the world consistently, before winning the title. Maybe he's not interested in the level of pressure that goes along with proving this every day.
GalaxKing: Agreed. I think we ignore the psychological aspects at our peril when trying to understand these top players.
Not everyone is suited to dominating world chess for more than a cycle or two. It's a tough life.
Spassky said his years as World Champion were miserable. I'm not sure he would have won in 1972 even if his opponent had not been Fischer Almighty. Spassky was happy to relinquish the spotlight and rigors for a quieter, more rounded existence as a French citizen with a French wife.
We won't even talk about Fischer. He just imploded after achieving the championship.
I have no inside track on Carlsen. But if he lost the fire to be the absolute best and wanted to spend more time on relationships or something -- well, it could happen.
Poor So...
Leaving aside the miss of a simple win at move 40 (40.Nxc5) this was a flawless attacking game- one of the best Carlsen has ever played.
"In the longest game of the tournament, Carlsen needed nearly six hours, and some self-admitted good fortune, to overcome So's defenses.
"I was unbelievably lucky I wasn't losing," the world champion said. He was referring to the moment that Black could have played a pin with 36...Qb7."
Trevor-D wrote:
"In the longest game of the tournament, Carlsen needed nearly six hours, and some self-admitted good fortune, to overcome So's defenses.
"I was unbelievably lucky I wasn't losing," the world champion said. He was referring to the moment that Black could have played a pin with 36...Qb7."
An "interesting" pin that is, which loses a piece to 37.Qxc5! (back rank mate). Carlsen grumbled because he failed to consider this too when thinking, but his time was already limited.
If Carlsen slides, he slides like Ry Cooder...
Becky_the_Stabber wrote:
I'm not a Carlsen fan, but he's still the man to beat.
It will be a task for the newer generation of players I think; that golden generation of players that dominated chess for so long is about to be phased out in the next few years.
Caruana may still develop to a level where he can beat him, and who knows, maybe So will improve some more as well.
Carlsen seems to have Nakamura's number though, so I don't think it will be him.
Carlsen will lose his crown in a few years to that guy:
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After watching some of his recent performances its clear to me at least he's dropped a few levels.
What rating do you think Carlsen is playing at now? Certainly not a 2850 level.
Thoughts?