Norway Chess 2013: Ready for Battle versus Magnus Carlsen says Jon Ludvig Hammer

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi everyone,

The Norway Chess 2013 tournament will be played from May 7-18 in Stavanger, Norway. Sponsors and local authorities are investing 5 million NOK (approx 672,000 EUR) for the prize fund and organizational costs.

GM Jon Ludvig Hammer has decided to come back to top level chess and participate in the strongest closed tournament ever in his country. Right after the official announcement of Norway Chess 2013 participants list, he gave an exclusive interview for the international version of Chessdom.com.

Jon Ludvig Hammer, congratulations for playing Norway Chess 2013, and thank you for promptly agreeing on an interview for Chessdom.com. The event in May will be probably the strongest in history, chasing the record of Tal Memorial. What are your expectations?
- My goal is to have fun, win at least one game, and not finish last. I think I can do it!

You closely followed the process of the creation of the tournament, were you surprised the Norway Chess 2013 organizers managed to collect such a field?
-Honestly? Yes. When they announced they wanted the top 10 from the rating list, I thought it was the ambitions of inexperienced organizers. Boy, did they prove me wrong. They set the bar at the top, and got all the players they wanted. I’m impressed!

Minutes after the official announcement, you revealed some of your secret preparation in a tweet today, where you said “I’ve already started my preparation. First up: getting myself a decent suit for the opening ceremony.” After getting elegant for the opening ceremony, what will be your next key step?
- I’ve been focusing mostly on school the past year. I have an exam in March, but after that, pretty much all my attention will be on chess and the Norway Chess tournament. Compared to these guys, my game has some flaws – but I’ll work on all of them. I’m highly motivated by this challenge.

Are you going to beat Magnus Carlsen, as you did it in NTG Quick Grand Prix? :)
-I actually have two consecutive wins against Magnus – and three is a lucky number, right? Magnus doesn’t like losing, so he will bring his A-game. It’ll be one hell of a battle!

Read more »

Carlsen ambassador for Norway's 1st super chess tournament in 2013

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012


Hello everyone,


According to the NorwayChess website, World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen is going to play and be the ambassador for a brand new high-profile chess event in Norway from 2013 to be held in Stavanger.  


The site reads: Norway Chess is pleased to announce that our super star andNo. 1 ranked chess player Magnus Carlsen be an ambassador for Norway Chess Tournament. This of course means a lot of interest in the tournament. Carlsen, both will play the tournament and help to market the tournament to other top players in the world. Thus, a major event is in place for the Chess in Norway.


You can also read a nice report in ChessVibes who covered the press conference held on Tuesday.


"I always try to win when I play tournaments, but it would be really special to win at home," said Carlsen.

Chess is big in Norway, and it's getting even bigger. The FIDE World Cup 2013 will be held in Tromsø, and a year later the Olympiad will be held there as well.

On Tuesday night a press conference was held in a hotel in the city of Sandnes, which was attended by about 30 journalists of all the major Norwegian media. Present were the World Chess No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, his manager Espen Agdestein, Jeanette Nygård, representative for the Stavanger region, Siv Kristin Heriksytad, webmaster, Kjell Madland, managing director of Jadarhus and Jørn Holmen, marketing manager.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com