{"id":4156,"date":"2026-05-24T21:40:47","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T19:40:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/skolasachu.com\/?p=4156"},"modified":"2026-05-25T16:41:57","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T14:41:57","slug":"a-normal-tournament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/skolasachu.com\/en\/takovy-normalni-turnaj\/","title":{"rendered":"Just a regular tournament"},"content":{"rendered":"

The recently concluded tournament in Malm\u00f6, Sweden, literally gave many Carlsen fans food for thought! Their favourite not only finally played a classical tournament after a long time. He won it! The ovations were endless, especially since at one point it did not look good for the \u201estrongest chess player of all time\u201c \u2013 the Chess GOAT. After four rounds played, he had only 50 %. Fans had to swallow the disappointment. But all's well that ends well! Magnus finished the seven-round tournament with three wins and then \u201ecrushed\u201c Erigaisi in the tiebreak. \u201eThe true king continues to reign and the youngsters?\u2026 you know what they can do!\u201c But how was it really? Let's take a look at this interesting and very strong tournament from \u201etwo perspectives.\u201c.<\/p>\n

One from the viewpoint of an enthusiastic fan, and the other from a critical supporter and observer! And why not go to two opposite extremes? At least we will not only learn from many very interesting moments and games but also have a good laugh...<\/p>\n

Depending on the view of the current direction of chess, the reader can choose what adjective to actually add to the supertournament in the Swedish metropolis. Yes, a supertournament! Not only did two players from the world top five participate here, and half of the starting field were super grandmasters rated 2700+, but it was a category XIX tournament just like in Wijk aan Zee or Prague 2026.<\/p>\n

The participants and their draw numbers were<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
No.<\/strong><\/td>\nPlayer<\/strong><\/td>\nCountry<\/strong><\/td>\nRating at start<\/strong><\/td>\nYear of birth<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
1<\/td>\nJorden van Foreest<\/td>\nNetherlands<\/td>\n2735<\/td>\n1999<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\nZhu Jiner<\/td>\nChina<\/td>\n2546<\/td>\n2002<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\nAndy Woodward<\/td>\nUSA<\/td>\n2635<\/td>\n2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\nMagnus Carlsen<\/td>\nNorway<\/td>\n2840<\/td>\n1990<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\nArjun Erigaisi<\/td>\nIndia<\/td>\n2751<\/td>\n2003<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6<\/td>\nNils Grandelius<\/td>\nSweden<\/td>\n2662<\/td>\n1993<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7<\/td>\nNodirbek Abdusattorov<\/td>\nUzbekistan<\/td>\n2780<\/td>\n2004<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8<\/td>\nYa\u011f\u0131z Kaan Erdo\u011fmu\u015f<\/td>\nTurkey<\/td>\n2708<\/td>\n2011<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Magnus probably could not have wished for a better draw! In such a short tournament \u2013 I believe that \u201eproper\u201c single-round tournaments, from whose results conclusions could be drawn, should have at least 10 players \u2013 it is extremely advantageous to play the biggest rivals with the white pieces! And that is exactly what Caissa granted Magnus! With three 2700+ players, he got white<\/strong>, with the theoretically weaker opponents he then had a great chance to cope with the black pieces!<\/p>\n

And how did it all end?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The tournament started on 1 May 2026, that is already on the day the May FIDE list became valid. Therefore, the organisers and Chess-Results worked with the May ratings, which is not reflected in this table.<\/em><\/p>\n

While Carlsen thus drew the ideal pairing for such a short distance, the absolute worst was for Nodirbek Abdusattorov. So after a mandatory win in the first round against Zhu Jiner, he was unable to \u201esqueeze\u201c anything out of anyone in the next five rounds. True, even the ex-world champion failed to do so in the Carlsen vs. Abdusattorov game, but... well, the tournament is simply too short!<\/p>\n

How to know how to finish?<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

When in round 4 Carlsen \u201esensationally\u201c lost to the unpredictable Dutchman Jorden van Foreest, he had only two points to his name, but on the other hand the second half of the tournament and at the same time its conclusion suggested that he could boldly try to score 3\u00d7 in the last three rounds. The draw was already made with the white pieces against Erigaisi and Abdusattorov, he defeated Grandelius in his best game (who \u201estarted 0 from 4\u201c, but then \u201eunderstood\u201c and drew the rest of the tournament), but lost in that sensational game.<\/p>\n

And the assumption became reality! A crushing finish followed, and Magnus thus climbed to +3. He almost did not become the sole winner, because the leading player of the tournament Erigaisi lost his nerves in the last round (Arjun will probably always have problems with that) and just barely saved his game with the white pieces!<\/p>\n

I am not a fan of tiebreaks in the form of blitz games, although I understand that spectators demand drama and entertainment (I hope I will not live to see the day when the winner is decided by bullets). However, the tiebreak was quite dramatic, so dear readers, I of course cannot deprive you of it, although you may have already seen it.<\/p>\n