Youthful Viking on top of world
Saturday, December 5, 2009 3:07 AM
By SHELBY LYMAN
Astonishingly, a 19-year-old is the highest-ranked chess player.
Magnus Carlsen has catapulted to the top of the World Chess Federation’s rating list, first with a two-point victory in the Pearl Spring Tournament in Nanjing, China, in September; and, more recently, with a finish just a half-point from the top in Moscow’s Tal Memorial tournament, pitting 10 of the world’s best players.
The Norwegian prodigy is the youngest grandmaster to reach No. 1.
Carlsen said he appreciated ex-world champ Garry Kasparov’s recent guidance but noted, “I am making the moves.”
Nordic countries, with a population of about 25 million, thus continue to make a special contribution to the royal game.
Their ancestors, 10th-century Vikings plying their trade on the Volga-Caspian waterways, played a key role in introducing chess to Russia, which dominated the game during the late 20th century.
Source: http://www.dispatch.com
Okay, Magnus is the new number one. But we have to assume, had not Gary Kasparov retired in 2005 that he would still be the number one player in the world. We can also be sure that he would have won the World Championship title back in Mexico City. The only thing in doubt would be if he would have defeated Kramnik in the title match?
While Magnus’ accomplishments are great we still need to look at Gary Kasparov as the real number one and Kramnik as the real World Champion.
Now, with Gary coaching Magnus, all things are up in the air as to who is who and what is what. We have a “Mary Carlsparov” on our hands that defies easy interpretation.
Kasparov is getting older and wouldn’t have lasted forever anyway, so I guess he gave up his career the moment he felt that he was getting weaker. Magnus would have been number one sooner rather than later, so it seems like someone is beaing jealous. Kasparov is impressed with Magnus and would not have coached anyone else as he think Magnus is the best.