Magnus Carlsen knows that going from his current 2,859 points to 2,900 points in the world rankings (comparable to jumping 10 meters in length) is bordering on the impossible because it forces him to not fail in consecutive tournaments. Starting this Saturday, the 85th edition of the Tata Festival in Wijk aan Zee (Netherlands) is a great opportunity in mathematical theory, because the very high level of your rivals can help you rise. But it’s also a big challenge, as the bottom seven (in a league of fourteen) are young stars hungry for stardom.
“I know that my goal is extremely difficult. But I need big challenges to motivate me and this one is huge,” Carlsen explained in various interviews. And it should be added that he needs that goal now more than ever because he has given up defending his title in classical chess (he just became world champion in rapid and blitz) for fear of losing to rivals who he considers clearly inferior. as the main cause. Being the undisputed number one with the greatest possible difference from the others is therefore a professional and psychological need and an additional motivation to overcome the 2,900 Elo point mark.
To maintain his current rating against opponents with an average rating of 2.732, Carlsen needs 9 points in 13 games; for example five wins and eight draws. For every additional half point he achieves from there, he gains about 5 on the world rankings. In accordance with his very ambitious goal, the multi-champion is satisfied when he scores ten or more points, which means, for example, seven wins and six draws, if he manages to remain unbeaten in thirteen rounds against noble opponents.
they all are. Especially the six already established: Liren Ding (China, 2nd in the world, 30 years old); Fabiano Caruana (USA, 6th, 30); Anish Giri (Netherlands, 7th, 28); Wesley So (USA, 8th, 29th); Richard Rapport (Romania, 15th, 26th); and Levón Aronián (USA, 17th, 40th). Missing from the top eight in the world are: Russia’s Ian Niepómniashi (32), who prefers to concentrate on preparing for the title duel with Ding in April; Frenchman of Iranian origin Alireza Firouzja (19), angry at the organizers for an incident in 2021; and American Hikaru Nakamura, who has devoted more time and energy to his facet as a streamer than to that of an elite gamer since the pandemic.
Maghsoodloo and Niemann during their World Rapid Championship match in Almaty, late 2022David Llada
But it’s likely that the seven youngest will be the most aggressive rivals against the Scandinavian because of their ambition and because they have a lot less to lose. And they’re all worth checking out: Indians Dommaraju Gukesh (24th, 16th), Arjun Erigaisi (26th, 19th) and Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa (52nd, 17th) have been inspiring since childhood and are the brightest Lights of Chess Boom in Heat Subcontinent Viswanathan Anand’s Hits; Iran’s Parham Maghsoodloo (29′, 22′) is not as tall as Firouzja, but he is very fearsome; Uzbek Nodirbek Abdusattórov (30th, 18th), 2021 world rapid chess champion and gold medalist with his country at the 2022 Chess Olympiad; German Vincent Keymer (43rd, 18), who just two weeks ago was one of the big sensations in World Rapids (second) and Lightning (13th of 176); and Dutchman Jorden Van Foreest, surprise winner of Wijk aan Zee in 2021, beating Carlsen, Firouzja and Caruana, among others.
Matches start at 14:00 in Wijk aan Zee (10:00 in Buenos Aires; 08:00 in Bogotá; 07:00 in Mexico City) every day except for the last round (Day 29), two Hours before, with three rest days (Day 18, 23 and 26). And they can be followed live on various platforms with commentators.
The Tata Festival, sponsored by a multinational steel company that compensates the residents of Wijk aan Zee for the pollution it causes, brings together more than a thousand chess players of very different categories and ages in this seaside city, usually over two weeks. from the north. In Tournament B (Challengers), three players are particularly attractive because of their youth and great talent: Iranian Amin Tabatabaei (21 years old), youngest winner of the Llobregat Open; Uzbek Javojir Sindárov (17), Olympic gold medalist; and American Abhimanyu Mishra (13), brand new bearer of the new sign of precocity in the Grandmaster title (12 years, 4 months, 25 days).
Also of note in the main tournament is the absence of controversial American Hans Niemann, 19, who has sued Carlsen for hundreds of millions of dollars after the Norwegian accused him of cheating without evidence in Match 4 in San Luis (USA), which Carlsen lost. The numbers would justify an invitation to Niemann, because with 2,706 points (35th place in the world rankings) he is ahead of Keymer, Praggnanandhaa and Van Forest and also guarantees greater media attention. But it’s very likely that Carlsen would refuse to play if Niemann was there.
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