London Chess Classic 2017

[Matt Mackenzie]

From clearly better at move 30 to totally lost at move 40

[JustinHorton]

Does that put MVL back in the lead in the Tour?

[Nick Ivell]

A load of old garbage from Magnus but I do feel sorry for him. He must be more under the weather than we thought.

[NickFaulks]

A load of old garbage from Magnus but I do feel sorry for him. He must be more under the weather than we thought.

Yeah, right.

[Mick Norris]

Interesting change for next year Press release

[MJMcCready]

I can't say Carlsen's choice of opening was particularly inspiring.

[Matt Mackenzie]

I can't say Carlsen's choice of opening was particularly inspiring.

But its the sort of setup where he has often outplayed his opponents in the past, when in form.

(indeed, he went some way towards doing that today - only to mess it up in very un-Magnus fashion)

[Roger de Coverly]

Interesting change for next year

Each match in London will consist of classical, rapid and blitz games. A play-off for 3rd and 4th will also be played.

That's just 4 players then. Depending on the match length and rest days, that can be spun out over the 8-10 days usually allotted.

It's only going to be a matter of a week or two/three after the Agon World Championship match, scheduled for London in November 2018.

[NickFaulks]

Interesting change for next year Press release

"The rest of the tour roster will be selected on the basis of URS ratings at January 1, 2018 and average classical FIDE ratings in 2017."

Whatever you think of URS ratings, what is the point of averaging FIDE ratings?

[David Robertson]

A load of old garbage from Magnus but I do feel sorry for him. He must be more under the weather than we thought.

My view? And my view for the past couple of years or more: Carlsen is bored.

He's bored with chess, with playing it, with playing the same guys down the same lines. He's bored with the effort of endless prep to meet players engaged in endless prep. The game rewards him well; makes him famous; and comes easily to him. He can't explain why he became so good so young. But that's then; passed. And now it's boring, boring. And by the standards set by obsessives, he is lazy.

Evidence? I thought it first when he punted the Ponziani (v. Harikrishna, Tata 2013). Since then, there have been several occasions when I felt his choice of opening had displayed, not arrogance, but frivolity - a search for something 'fresh'; that is, fresh to the jaded palate, not fresh to outwit an opponent's prep (though that could feature too).

Frankly, it would come as small surprise to me if Carlsen announced he was jacking it in. That's my gut reading. I think it's unlikely, rationally, because the rewards remain large. But if he loses No. 1 status (if not yet WC status ), why carry on as No. 2 or worse?

As I say, he looks and plays 'bored'. So good so young. Now bored

[Matt Mackenzie]

He's not going to retire as long as he is WC, for sure (and I think that actually matters more to him than being rated number 1)

But yes, I will be surprised if he even goes on as long as Gazza did.

And let's not forget that he has discovered women now......

[Kevin Thurlow]

"Carlsen is bored."

You may be right. I saw Carlsen play at Gausdal a few years ago and he lost unexpectedly horribly in one game, where most of us would be kicking the wall for the next few hours. Ten minutes later he was playing table tennis with his mates and looking quite happy. It gave the impression he wasn't that bothered, but of course, it might be his way of dealing with losses.

[LawrenceCooper]

On the other hand, had he won today it might have looked like business as usual. I suspect it was pure frustration (possibly at the tournament as a whole) and being unwilling to accept the game had turned that led to his position meltdown. I'm thankful that he is so desperate to try to win as it makes for a more interesting tournament.

[JustinHorton]

It's not the first time he's basically chucked a game away in frustration rather than reconcile himself to having squandered an advantage.

Nepo v MVL to be drawn at an early stage today, leaving Caruana to try and beat Mickey to catch up at the top?

[JustinHorton]

....and so it came to pass...