Carlsen delivers a ‘Magnus Opus’ at Tata Steel Chess India 2024

Magnus Carlsen once described chess in three words: “I am him.”

Was he being arrogant? Overconfident? Was it just a casual flex after winning a minor tournament? No.

For Carlsen, it was pure honesty — a statement of fact from a man who, in his own words, has arguably “completed” chess.

With five Classical World Championships, four Rapid titles, and six Blitz Championships, Carlsen’s accolades are unparalleled. Add to them his triumphs at the Candidates Tournament, the World Cup, the Sinquefield Cup, Norway Chess, and Tata Steel Chess, among hundreds of others, and the list of achievements feels endless.

For someone who once admitted to finding chess “boring,” what keeps him motivated to continue and remain the best? “I like to play chess. It’s my favourite hobby in the world,” he said with a sheepish smile, his words belying the relentless dominance he exhibits on the board.

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“It’s very satisfying that I can still be quite good, especially against the younger generation. For me, that’s motivation enough in itself. Coming to each new event, it’s like I’ve never won anything before.”

At the Tata Steel Chess India 2024, Carlsen’s passion for the game was evident as he secured both the rapid and blitz titles, claiming victories with a round to spare.

Carlsen’s slow start to the tournament proved to be an illusionary prelude. After drawing his first two games in the rapid round against R. Praggnanandhaa and Nihal Sarin, the Norwegian maestro unleashed a six-game winning streak, crushing opponents one after another.

Of all his victories, Carlsen singled out his sixth-round triumph over Arjun Erigaisi as his personal favourite. Playing with black pieces, he employed a rare line of the Taimanov Sicilian, demonstrating exceptional positional understanding and tactical awareness to outmanoeuvre the young Indian star.

“Arjun is an extremely dangerous player when he has the initiative and gets to attack. I willingly got into a position where he had the initiative, and while my play wasn’t perfect, I’m very happy I managed to handle the resulting complications better than he did.”

Carlsen also weighed in on the much-anticipated clash between D. Gukesh and reigning World Champion Ding Liren.

“Based on current form, Gukesh is a significant favourite. But based on peak chess ability, I think it’s quite even. So if Ding can regain that form, he has a good chance. Also, Gukesh was quite vulnerable in the last tournament that he played. But all that aside, if I were to make a prediction at this point, I’d go with the guy who’s played by far the best chess of these two players over the last couple of years, which is Gukesh,” he said.

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However, he didn’t rule out Ding’s chances of retaining his title. “Each World Championship has its own rhythm. It’s something he hasn’t experienced before, so I think he might take some time getting into it. Ding probably justifiably feels that he’s the underdog, so maybe he doesn’t have that much to lose. Overall, it’s not a foregone conclusion. I believe that some people think this match is almost a formality at this point, but I think there is more than a 50 per cent chance that this match is quite even.”

Carlsen also reaffirmed his disinterest in returning to the World Championship cycle, regardless of who holds the title. “A long-form classical match doesn’t interest me against anybody. Whoever wins the Championship, it will be tremendous, but it’s not something I’ll seek to challenge,” he said.

Addressing criticism from Garry Kasparov, who dismissed the match as unworthy of the Championship title, Carlsen offered a different perspective.

“They qualified for the World Chess Championship match, and they are deserving of being there. The World Championship in the past has very often been the contest to determine who the best player in the world is, but it has not always been that way, and the fact that it may not be this time just is the kind of way it is. As a chess fan, it is a great spectacle regardless.”

A staunch advocate for creativity on the chessboard, Carlsen has been championing freestyle chess, a variant that eliminates reliance on opening theory. The format, inspired by Bobby Fischer’s vision, excites Carlsen far more than traditional classical chess.

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“I’m very excited about the future of freestyle. The idea itself of sitting down at the chessboard and thinking for a long time does not bore me — that’s not the reason why I’m not into standard and classical chess so much. It’s more about the preparation and the difficulty of actually getting inside the game.

“But when you play freestyle, you’re guaranteed that because there’s no opening theory. So we’ve got a lot of tournaments coming up next year. I am playing Fabiano Caruana in Singapore as an exhibition, so hopefully that will be fun. Overall, I believe, not only for myself but also for other top players, it is a format that everyone is excited about.”

HOW THE TOURNAMENT UNFOLDED

Upsetting Carlsen in a game is a monumental feat. Beating him in a tournament to claim the title ahead of the all-time great? That’s an even taller order.

Although Erigaisi managed the former — stunning Carlsen in a blitz round at Tata Steel — stopping the Norwegian maestro’s storm proved impossible as Carlsen swept both the rapid and blitz events.

In his second appearance at this marquee event in India, Carlsen mirrored his 2019 performance, leaving Kolkata with two titles in hand.

A masterclass in Kolkata

At the stunning new venue of Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium in Kolkata — a city renowned for its passionate love of sports — Carlsen found himself in a unique spotlight. Chess took centre stage as a spectator sport, and the crowd’s admiration for the 33-year-old legend was discernible.

After a slow start, where Praggnanandhaa and Sarin held him to draws, Carlsen shifted gears. The four-time World Rapid Champion unleashed a ruthless streak, dismantling some of the brightest talents in chess — including Vincent Keymer, Daniil Dubov, Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi, S.L. Narayanan, and Wesley So. Seven consecutive wins followed, sealing his triumph in emphatic fashion. In blitz, the time controls may have changed, but the outcome remained the same.

Carlsen led the leaderboard almost wire-to-wire, barring a brief moment when Erigaisi overtook him, also handing him his sole defeat of the tournament. Carlsen, however, quickly regained his footing, leaving no doubt as to who was in control.

Wesley and Erigaisi impress

Former World Fischer Random Champion Wesley So had an impressive tournament as well. He finished third in the rapid event behind Praggnanandhaa and surged to second place in blitz.

Erigaisi, despite a strong showing, will rue his missed opportunities. Leading the blitz event after 15 rounds, he suffered a heartbreaking collapse, losing his last three games and slipping to third.

Russian resilience

In the Women’s section, Russian dominance was the central theme. Aleksandra Goryachkina’s consistent play saw her capture the rapid title, while three-time World Blitz Champion Kateryna Lagno exhibited her trademark poise and control to win the blitz crown, both with a round to spare.

Among Indians, only Vantika Agrawal had a strong showing in both time formats.

She finished third in the rapid, while just missing out on a podium finish in blitz due to an inferior tiebreak with third-placed Goryachkina.

FINAL STANDINGS