Magnus Carlsen closes in on Garry Kasparov’s record rating
Leonard Barden
guardian.co.uk, Friday 2 July 2010 18.22 BST
Magnus Carlsen is closing in fast on Garry Kasparov’s all-time record rating. The 19-year-old Norwegian scored an unbeaten 7.5/10 at Medias, Romania to take his score on the daily calculations up to 2826, just 25 points shy of the great Russian’s peak mark.
And Carlsen did it while still not in optimum form. He began with two draws, then took risks including a 1 e4 e5 2 f4 King’s Gambit and a couple of dubious positions, but his inventiveness and will to win coupled with the growing Carlsen-fear of those on the other side of the board ensured another impressive outcome.
Technically his most interesting game, certainly from the practical viewpoint of competition players, was the draw below. The Romanian No1 chose the rare 3…f5 Schliemann gambit, hoping for a surprise. Carlsen’s opening knowledge is encyclopaedic and the game followed some obscure theory for 25 moves. Then Carlsen varied, but the position was always drawn.
Here is the full article.
He’s already better than Kasparov.
yep, only a matter of time it shows in the rating. Its a shame he is so potential, because we expect very much of him. Its like the matrix, he is the chosen one.
More like Carlsen’s the odd man out in chess history.
The WC line is filled with psychotics, melgomaniacs, and antisemites.
Magnus may be the end of chess as we know it because he is perfectly normal and may chase away the crazies who normally support chess.
He needs a body gaurd as someone in FIDE may decide to change Carlsen’s destiny.
Good people get killed by crazy dictators.
Remember JFK.