Magnus Carlsen, Aerosvit winner, nears championship level
By Jack Peters, International Master
June 29, 2008
Magnus Carlsen of Norway took first prize in the Aerosvit tournament in Foros, Ukraine, with a very impressive 8-3 score. Carlsen built a two-point lead midway through the 12-grandmaster round robin. His margin of victory over Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine, who finished second at 7-4, is misleading, as Ivanchuk won his last two games while Carlsen was content to draw most of his games in the second half.
Carlsen and Ivanchuk have been the most successful players in the last few months and should move into second and third places on the July rating list. World champion Viswanathan Anand leads by less than the result of one game.
Carlsen, 17, does not play in the style of former champions Bobby Fischer, Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov. He takes occasional short draws but seems fearless, rarely misses hidden tactical opportunities, frequently cedes material to avoid passivity, and regularly wins from slightly inferior positions. Those qualities describe Veselin Topalov, but Carlsen seems sounder and less fanatical. And he’s improving rapidly.
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Kasparov played more attractive, and it’s good to be said: he indeed doesn’t mind short draws now and then. People seem to forget that when it comes to Carlssen. Nevertheless, at 17, wow!, he sure is impressive and both the future- and present-man!