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The official blog of Magnus Carlsen: Sinquefield Cup 2017: Sinquefield Cup 2017



Today is a rest day in Sinquefield Cup. And I think in general it is quite deserved. Ten decided games in 5 rounds (40%) is quite impressive for such an elite event with mainly top-10 players. With few exceptions it is not due to poor play either. I think the players have shown great fighting spirit.

With four rounds to go Vachier-Lagrave is leading with 3,5/5, half a point ahead of Anand and me.

I managed to get a pawn-up rook ending against Anand in round 3 with black, but it was not enough to win against decent defense. Round 4 and 5 has been quite a rollercoaster. As white against white against Vachier-Lagrave I suffered a painful loss from a winning position having gained the advantage around the time control.

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The official blog of Magnus Carlsen: Sinquefield Cup 2017: Sinquefield Cup 2017



I’ve been playing elite tournaments for more than a decade, and it is interesting to see how the composition of events has changed while continuing to offer attractive opportunities throughout the calendar year.

I was fortunate enough to join the elite in time to play in Linares (2007-9) and Melody Amber (Rapid & Blindfold) (2007-11). While these and other intermediary events (like Nanjing) has stopped or taken a break, there are a number of new great events already starting to boast five (and some ten) year anniversaries.

Turning to tournaments I’ve participated in 2017: Among the real classics, Tata Steel Chess in Wijk aan Zee continues its proud 80-year tradition. Grenke Chess Classics, Norway Chess and Sinquefield Cup all started in 2013, and the Paris and Leuven Rapid & Blitz began last year.

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The official blog of Magnus Carlsen: Grand Chess Tour 2017 – Post Leuven reflections: Grand Chess Tour 2017 – Post Leuven reflections



After two days of rapid in Leuven I was in a good mood, coming off two wins in a row. The third day however, turned out to be a difficult one. First I had the black pieces against the notoriously solid Anish Giri, and I played the King's Indian in search of a complicated struggle. I did not really get what I aimed for though, but after he missed the right moment to sac a pawn for a dangerous attack, which we both had seen and underestimated, mass exchanges and a draw quickly followed. In the next game against Vishy Anand, I decided to play the English opening, and perhaps still reeling from losing a winning position against MVL earlier that day, Vishy played rather carelessly and soon got a very difficult position. To his credit, he then realized what was happening, and forced me to play very concretely and sac a piece, rather than slowly increasing my advantage.

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The official blog of Magnus Carlsen: Grand Chess Tour 2017 - Paris and Leuven: Grand Chess Tour 2017 - Paris and Leuven



The Paris tournament finished last Sunday, and I have had some time to digest the overall result as well as how I tackled the challenging Blitz stage. I still have mixed feelings about the event, but fortunately the achievements shine stronger and miserable moments gradually fade away.

Having won the first four Blitz games Saturday, 9 wins and 4 draws overall gave me a solid lead. Collapsing midway both Saturday and Sunday losing several games in a row was highly frustrating. Not handling the delay instead of increment acceptably, was only a minor contributing factor. I simply couldn’t handle losses adequately.

The Paris tournament finished last Sunday, and I have had some time to digest the overall result as well as how I tackled the challenging Blitz stage.

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The official blog of Magnus Carlsen: Grand Chess Tour 2017 - Paris Rapid Chess mission accomplished!: Grand Chess Tour 2017 - Paris Rapid Chess mission accomplished!



With two wins and a draw on day two as well, and another quite good day today, I scored an unbeaten 14 points in nine rounds to win the Rapid portion of the event, ahead of Grischuk at 13, Nakamura at 12 and Vachier-Lagrave and Mamedyarov at 11.

In round 7 this afternoon I got an endgame a pawn up against Karjakin after a very complicated middlegame where we both missed a promising continuation for him. Not surprisingly Karjakin defended the ending excellently and despite good chances I had to settle for a draw. Caruana has had a miserable event (3 draws, 6 losses), but against me he played reasonably well. With the black pieces in a calm 6 d3 Ruy Lopez I managed to get a slight edge in the endgame. He defended well at the critical moments, and my extra pawn and rook ending didn’t cut the mustard.

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The official blog of Magnus Carlsen: Grand Chess Tour 2017 - Paris Stage: Grand Chess Tour 2017 - Paris Stage



Altibox Norway Chess 2017 was one of my worst performances since joining the chess elite. I continue to appreciate the great efforts made by Kjell Madland and the other organisers to stage such a great event, and it remains somehow inexplicable how I could go from 7th place in 2015, win outright in 2016 and again do poorly in 2017. The field was very strong this year, and having -2 after 7 rounds, the 8th round win against Karjakin was not sufficient to significantly lighten the feeling of being in a slump when it comes to classic chess. Confidence is a key ingredient, and it is partly missing these days.

In Rapid and Blitz the situation is different, and fortunately both the first two stages of the 2017 Grand Chess Tour are Rapid and Blitz events. Six of the main nine GCT participants play each Rapid and Blitz. Here in Paris all six of us (So, Caruana, Lagrave, Nakamura, Karjakin and me) played in Stavanger as well. We are joined by four wild cards; Mamedyarov, Grischuk, Topalov and Bacrot.

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The official blog of Magnus Carlsen: Norway Chess 2017 Blitz Kick-off: Norway Chess 2017 Blitz Kick-off



This year Norway Chess is important for many reasons. Already celebrating the 5th edition, Norway Chess has become a main feature on the elite chess calendar. The more than impressive line-up with the Top 10 players on the February 2017 rating list (in June all still within top 12), undoubtedly makes it the strongest tournament this year. After the World Championship match I’ve ended 2nd or 3rd in all events. While not bad, it is not the standard by which I judge myself.

Coach Peter Heine, my father and I arrived in Stavanger by car from Oslo Saturday after a successful evening stop in Sirdal to watch Real Madrid win the 3rd CL trophy since 2014.

Most of the event takes place in the Clarion Energy hotel outside Stavanger city this time. It is a nice hotel in a nice location albeit outside walking distance to the city center.

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The official blog of Magnus Carlsen: Grenke Chess Classic 2017 - Baden-Baden: Grenke Chess Classic 2017 - Baden-Baden



Cudos to Levon Aronian winning the Grenke Chess Classics in style with a +4 score. Caruana and I shared second place with a modest +1. This is of course a disappointment for me, in a tournament marked by making far too many blunders in promising positions.

Fortunately it is not all dark. I did play well most of most games, although I realize that highlighting this puts the bar below where my expectations are and should be. Elite chess requires zealous dedication and focus to avoid serious mistakes throughout each game. This is generally one of my strengths, but maybe not so this time.

In the first game against Matthias Bluebaum I had equalized from the opening with black. His defense was solid and seemed impenetrable for some time, but when I continued to pose questions he went astray just before the time control. In a momentary lapse of concentration I considered the game won, and blundered back with e5 after which he could exchange material and reach a drawn ending.

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The official blog of Magnus Carlsen: Grenke Chess Classic 2017 - Karlsruhe: Grenke Chess Classic 2017 - Karlsruhe



Baden-Baden Schachzentrum has been a power house in German chess for decades, organizing events and fielding the strongest team in the chess Bundesliga, a team for which I have played earlier in my career.

The eight-player 2017 Grenke Chess Classic takes place 15.-22.April with three rounds here in Karlsruhe and four rounds in Baden-Baden. The Karlsruhe part coincides with maybe the largest Open chess event in the world this year, a compact nine rounds in five days event that started yesterday. Some of my friends takes part.

In 2015, after we both reached 4,5 points in 7 rounds, I won an intense late night play-off against Arkadij Naiditsch. As in 2015 we are this year joined by Caruana and Aronian. The other players are Vachier-Lagrave, the best female player Hou Yifan and two strong German Grandmasters Bluebaum and Meier.

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