Magnus Carlsen fails quite frequently in the first days of tournaments. But not with as much noise as this Thursday in the World Rapid Championship, which he has won five times (including those in 2022 and 2023), and only five days after sweeping the final of the Champions Chess Tour circuit in Oslo. In New York he is 83rd out of 180 participants, with 2.5 points in five games of the thirteen scheduled. For the Norwegian’s prestige, succeeding in the rapid modalities is essential because he barely competes in classical chess tournaments and has renounced that world title.
Thursday noon was cold (3º above zero) but radiant sunshine in Washington Square, the Manhattan park where chess is most popular and interclass, because it brings together homeless people, professionals and millionaires; For example, the legendary actor Humphrey Bogart (1899-1957) spent many hours at these tables, playing for a few dollars each game to survive before becoming famous.
Marcel Anderson, professional chess coach, was sitting in front of the board and pieces, with the competition clock ready to his right, eager to supplement his income with amateurs willing to spend a little money for a time of very intense fun. “My place is this. I would love to go to the Wall Street building [el Cipriani, junto a la Bolsa] where the World Rapid Championship is being played starting this afternoon, but that is very far from my financial possibilities,” he explained to Morning Express.
Indeed, entering the great elegance of the Cipriani during the World Cup is very expensive: from 66 dollars (63 euros) for a single round (220 for the day of five) to 1,500 for a VIP pass for the five days (after the World Cup Rapids, from the 26th to the 28th, the Relámpago will be held on the 30th and 31st). But Anderson and millions of fans around the world follow the games for free, live or delayed, online.
And this Thursday they began seeing striking events, but not surprising for the regulars. Carlsen arrived late, as usual; or, rather, on the edge of the knife, when the Kazakh millionaire Timur Turlov, president of Freedom Holding, the main sponsor, already had his hand prepared for the kick-off at the first table. His rival was not easy at all: the American Awonder Liang, 21 years old, sometimes trained, when he was a youth, by the former champion and living legend Gari Kasparov, exiled in New York since 2013 because his life was in danger in Moscow.
As always, Carlsen squeezed his resources to the last drop, but Liang held firm and snatched a draw. An hour later, the Norwegian made Montenegrin Denis Kádric pay the price, whom he unceremoniously and brilliantly swept off the board. Everything seemed on track after the typical stumble (even in slow games) of the number onein the first round.
But not this time. Carlsen stumbled again in the next one against a rival who was much inferior in theory, the Hungarian Gleb Dudin, who took another half point from him after wasting a winning position. The same thing happened to the Scandinavian next against the Russian (with the flag of the International Federation, FIDE) Alexander Shimánov. But the worst was yet to come, in the form of a defeat in the fifth round (last of the first day) against another promising young man: the Belarusian (also with the FIDE banner) Denis Lazávik, 18 years old.
After politely congratulating his executioner, Carlsen left in terror. His father and representative, Henrik, has not responded to this newspaper until the time of publishing this chronicle to the question of whether there is any logical reason (time difference with Oslo, for example) that could explain the disaster. There is a similar precedent, but not as bad in terms of the number of points: in the 2018 World Rapid Championship, Carlsen lost the first two in Saint Petersburg (Russia), but won the next three, although his comeback did not serve to take the title. gold medal (finished 5th).
Given that he is one of the best chess players in history, no one doubts that his comeback is possible in New York, where the four provisional leaders (with 4.5 points) are unexpected: the Russian (with FIDE flag) Volodar Murzin, the Armenian Shant Sargsyán and the Americans Leinier Domínguez (of Cuban origin) and Daniel Naroditsky; the Spanish Alan Pichot has 3.5; David Anton, 3; and the Argentine prodigy Faustino Oro, 11 years old, 2. In the Women’s World Cup, Sara Khadem and Marta García have two points after four rounds.
Although Carlsen is motivated by great challenges, and winning the World Rapid and Blitz Championships is one of his most important goals for 2024, one wonders if he wouldn’t be much more comfortable this Friday wandering in the park with Marcel Anderson: “A few years ago passed by here. I was not there that day, but I did coincide with the visits made by other great players, such as Hikaru Nakamura or Hans Niemann. Obviously, they do not come to play for money but as a courtesy to us, those of us who are there every day. It is also a sign of respect, because chess should be for everyone, not just for those who can pay very expensive tickets.”
