i thought he'd bleed all the way through the end of Nanjing. and then hours after, he wins his first game at Bilbao, in totally crushing "Carlsen-before-the-fall" fashion. what's with that???? i'm about the worst predictor of chess results the world has ever seen.
Is "Mag-Town" headed for "Ouch-Town"?
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Maggie looks unhappy most of the time. I think it's his natural face! I'm sure he will be back to his best soon! 
I don't know any of the other variable to this sort of thing.
I suspect it's a very chaotic mentality that goes with being number one, at such a young age.
If there is any turbulence going on with Carlsen, hopefully it won't be the sort that burns him out.
David, don't you hate it when the unknown proves ya wrong? I just posted both games and was pretty happy when Mags won. He looked a little bit better at the board today, so maybe somebody said something to him. Perhaps Kasparov took him aside and beat him up..or down a little bit and that is what he needed. At least he won't finish dead last in this event, that is, unless he loses the final round and Shirov wins his first game of the event.
-Mark
i was also *thrilled* to see him win.
He needed the win for himself. Over the last few days on camera he was looking and feeling terrible. Today, he looked a little bit better and his play seemed more "Mag-like". I hope he makes it all the way to the WC against Anand in 2012. It would be good for him and for chess. But that is a long way away and there is *a lot* more to go through before he gets there.
-Mark
what im curious about is if carlsen get the topspot back already if anand start losing now. it was cool to have a norwegian at the top
I agree bsrasmus -- we should all just calm down a little when it comes to this kid. Also, don't foget my main point about why he was struggling: The hair-cut!!! 
As soon as someone said, "Hey Mag-Town, you don't look so scary anymore!" -- he went back to his old "I just rolled out of bed, and I am not happy to be here" look...
the expectations are way to high when people are dissapointed because carlsen loses to players like anand and kramnik
It seems a strange juxtaposition, that Carlsen has lost 5 of 12 games - to Anand, Kranmik, Sjugirov, Adams, Jobava - since the "Magnus versus the World" match (if my database is up to date). Can it be that psychologically he feels there is nothing left to achieve after having defeated the whole world? 
I predict a recovery. Unusual events can put top players off balance. I think I recall Kasparov going into a minor slide after a tough match sponsored by IBM. Later on he set the highest rating of all time.
Maybe Hammer said something to him after the show last night. It is a possibility, although I doubt that is why he finally put a win out of his hat.
dpruess wrote:
i thought he'd bleed all the way through the end of Nanjing. and then hours after, he wins his first game at Bilbao, in totally crushing "Carlsen-before-the-fall" fashion. what's with that???? i'm about the worst predictor of chess results the world has ever seen.
Well, that was one of the quickest leaps to a conclusion I've seen
Based on a few losses to the very best players when he's played so brilliantly, got to number 1 ranking beating everybody by so much (dunno now though, I thought one of the news things said he went down to number 2 or something [but since he started out at like 2826 or something, way above anybody else, I'm confused...], but anyway, just a godlike achievement) at NINETEEN? Poor guy, everyone's expecting him to beat anand or topalov with black all the time; it's hard guys!
He'll recover and refocus, he's got tons of time.
Also, about looking miserable, most good chess players look that way while playing don't they? I do! There is no way somebody could not be interested in chess if they understand the game that well.
tigergutt wrote:
the expectations are way to high when people are dissapointed because carlsen loses to players like anand and kramnik
A good point! Although it's true last year he didn't have much trouble with anyone. I agree with others, expectations are too high, hopefully he rides it out. Even the greatest players had to deal with annoying losses -- give him some time to navigate this sort of thing, he'll be back as strong as ever.
Kids only nineteen, so what if he has a bad game match or tournament.... he's got many many years yet before he even hits his prime and he's got loads of other stuff to worry about that may even be more important to him than chess as a teenager growing up and all that.
Obviously at the level he's at chess is always going to be a big part of his life and he's always going to be a top talent.
Posting this after Mag-Town's win today in the 2010 London Chess Classic... I was right! Perhaps the first time that I was right and David was wrong!! Gonna enjoy that for a few minutes :)
1st Topic of discussion on Chess.com/TV's "Pardon Our Blunders" with IMs Rensch and Pruess!
David says: Yes. Magnus is on a collision course with absolute disaster (aka "Ouch-Town"). He has had terrible few weeks (Olympiad and Bilbao Masters), doesn't seem interested in chess at all, and he even looks miserable at the board!
David is a bandwagon jumper (anonymous
)
Danny says: Everyone needs to settle down. Magnus may be an incredible chess talent. Someone who hasn't hit a single snag yet in his career. And he may look "unhappy" -- BUT he is still just a 19 year old kid. Give him time to deal with adversity, like he hasn't had to yet in his life, and he will recover... He is ONLY 19, and will certainly find his way back again. I predict immediately in his next tournament!!!
Danny is awesome (anonymous
)