Magnus, what happened man

what happened, he lost to caruana....

idk about you guys, but does it seem like magnus has hit a slump, 

has 2013 been a good year for him?? so far

he came in second at norway, is now in the middle at tal so far

In 2013, he's won 16 games, lost 4, and drawn 19 (standard time controls).

Interesting, all his losses were with white.

Caruana is great and still improving. I believe he will be one of the first challengers to Carlsens title. But as of now he's still under 50% vs Carlsen at classical time controls and 0-6 (no draws!) at all others. Carlsen is clearly more talented. Everyboby loses. But Carlsen wins more than any of the top players.

I think 2872 is Carlsen's best... he has slipped to 2860 now. And while it's still amazing the gap between him and the other players are slowly shrinking, especially since it looks like Caruana would get a 2800 rating after Tal 

It's still 48 points down to #2 so the gap is big enough, and the decrease is mainly caused by the last game. Had he beaten Caruana he would have been a point from his all time high, but it's clear that Carlsen has been losing more than usual lately. Playing many top tournaments in quick succession is tough, and Carlsen didn't play well against Caruana. Maybe it's difficult to stay energetic and concentrated when playing all these top games in Candidates, Stavanger and Tal Memorial.

At the same time the competition is really tough nowadays, and keeping a lead of 50-65 points on the rating list for longer periods is very difficult this century. Kasparov did, but he was Kasparov, and was rather selective with his tournaments, usually going several months between them to be able to be well prepared. And when he retired in 2005 his lead was down to 18 points.

It's hard to say 2013 has been a bad year for Carlsen in general. He won Wijk aan Zee with a margin of 1.5 point, then also Candidates, and had a decent result in Stavanger with second place and a 2834 performance.

Both Anand and Carlsen are focusing on WCC.  So they are a bit conservative with their opening choices here. 

Yes I think Magnus has lost focus on the tournies now - he is getting ready for the big one...

Interstingly Anand seems to have perked up.

Most of Magnus' losses have been caused by overpushing with white...

magnus more like failnus HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE HUE

You know your the best player in the world when....

When people start topic like this any time you don't win a tournament or anytime you lose 1 game.

Right.

"Reading tea leaves" isn't often a productive use of time.

I'm not surprised he dropped the ball--he's preparing for much bigger fish to fry getting ready for Anand, and that prep is already on his mind.  The ONLY thing that surprised me was that he was outplayed in the ending--he's been soooo precise in the ending, eeking out victories that only a computer should win (or capitalizing on every tiny mistake made by opponents until he wins).  Yesterday, he slipped.  Again, it's not a big deal.  I'm rooting for Nakamura or Morozevich, but he's my 3rd favorite. 

SO TRUE. Haha still remember how so many forum topics were created immediately after Carlsen lost the game to Wang Hao. No one really cares if Caruana or Nakamura or Anand lose a game 

Can I watch these tournaments somewhere?

Thanks.

its so funny listening to you neophyte chessplayers trying to ascertain the play of a master like Carlson or Anand..it is quite laughable

You know you also have to think about this. Being the highest rated player in the world means his rating will go down faster because everyone else is lower rated. There is a lot of pressure as the best. Think of a tournament you went to and it was the last round. You would win first place if you won this last game. There is a lot of pressure in that game. I for one have lost a few games because of that pressure. Magnus Carlsen has a lot more pressure than that every game because he is expected to win. Think about it.

I agree. He's saving for the WC

I wish I could have a bad year like Carlsen. LOL