Magnus Carlsen "Really Satisfied with 2012 Performance"!
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen has blogged that he is happy with his chess in 2012. He writes: "Looking back at 2012 on New Year’s eve, I’m really satisfied with my chess results. Compared to former years, I played much less though." The World No. 1, of course, broke Garry Kasparov's all-time rating record in December at the London Chess Classic 2012.
"In retrospect the long brake between Tata Steel Chess in January and Tal Memorial in June made me somewhat rusty. Maybe it was not a bad idea anyhow, as it provided ample time for restitution and other interesting activities. I’ve felt energized and highly motivated from June throughout the year.
"The 50 classical games I’ve played in 2012 resulted in three tournament victories (Tal, Sao Paulo/Bilbao and the London Classics), 2nd place in Biel, and shared 2nd in Tata Steel Chess. The 2012 score of +19=29-2 or 67% overall is probably the highest I’ve had ever, and certainly the highest since joining elite level tournaments late 2006. Ratingwise, the +3, +2, +4, +3 and +5 scores have brought consistent progress from 2835 in January to an expected 2861 in January 2013, and I’ve stayed the no 1 rated player throughout the year.
"Apart from the classical tournaments I came 2nd in both the Rapid and Blitz World Championships and won the Mexico City Rapid/Blindfold. I’ve enjoyed the cooperation with my main sponsors Arctic Securities, Simonsen Law and newspaper/media VG, and taken part in some great events in the US. Next year will probably be busier with regard to tournaments. In 10 days time I’ll travel to Wijk aan Zee for the 10th year in a row! I look forward to playing Tata Steel Chess 2013 and can only think of one proper way to celebrate the 10 year anniversary☺ After Tata I’ll travel to Las Vegas for the Parallels Summit 2013 early February. The rest of February and all of March I’ll be busy with the Candidates in London, and in May there’s the Norway Chess tournament in Stavanger! Last but not least, I’d like to thank my main sponsors, previous sponsors, trainers and seconds, tournament organisers in Norway and abroad, my manager Espen and my family, and everyone else that has contributed to my chess results in 2012!"
Labels: chess rating, Garry Kasparov, Magnus Carlsen
Fischer 1972 Chess Rating More Significant Than Carlsen's Current Chess Rating, Says Kasparov
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012Hi everyone,Here is an interesting observation by the legendary World Chess Champion Gary Kasparov that Bobby Fischer’s 1972 rating was 'much more significant' than Carlsen’s current rating. The 13th World Champion said this yesterday to Viktoria Korpan for Estonian newspaper Postimees.
Kasparov, who turns 49 today, is going to appear with the Estonian President at the Pärnu Finance Conference on April 19th. They will talk about "the role of innovation in the modern world".
On this occasion, Postimees spoke with Kasparov yesterday and published a lengthy interview about Russian politics, Chess in Schools and his new book. The following part was probably of most interest to chess fans. Asked 'who stands out among the young chess players', Kasparov answered:
"The most talented is Carlsen, who is of course a star of the first order. In contrast to the situation in athletics, chess records depend on “inflation”. When I was climbing to the top you’d count one or two people with a 2700 rating and that was that, while now it’s at least 45 people.
In fact, due to the increase in those playing chess the base of the pyramid has grown, and that adds points at every level. Fischer’s rating was 2785 in 1972, but that’s of course much more significant than Carlsen’s higher rating now. It can be compared to my 2851 in 1999. The evolutionary factor is having an impact, so despite the mathematical basis of ratings I nevertheless wouldn’t attribute such historical importance to them.
When Fischer was climbing to the top he’d score +6, I’d score +6-7, while Carlsen scores +3-4. That's simply enough, as the pyramid really has grown, and today’s super-tournaments are now rated above 2750. The only tournament with a similar rating was in 1996. At the tournament in Las Palmas, which featured myself, Karpov, Kramnik, Anand, Ivanchuk and Topalov, the top six were all playing. That tournament was unique, although by current standards the ratings of the top players weren’t the highest. So you have to take that into account if you want to carry out a historical analysis." Story and Translation by Colin McGourty as appearing on ChessVibes.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
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Labels: boby fischer, chess rating, gary kasparov, Magnus Carlsen
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