Magnus Carlsen: – I played hopelessly
Magnus Carlsen felled a crushing verdict against his own game after having to accept remis against his Dutch opponent, Anish Giri, in Norway Chess on Sunday.
Carlsen avoided a second loss after the mistakes made against Levon Aronian on Saturday, but the Norwegian world champion did not have much positive to say about his own game.
– Today it was totally bad. Giri plays sub par against me every time, but I could not make him pay the price. It wexes me, an aggitaded Carlsen told TV 2.
Sunday’s party in Stavanger lasted for more than three hours. In the end, Carlsen gave up a pawn for no obvious reason..
– Fortunately, he was not able to exploit it. Finally, it was really he who had to work a little to achieve a draw, Carlsen says. The World Champion obviously did not feel comfortable at the chess table today.
Missed a move
– My mind is slow during the play and I ignore many of his moves. In addition, I am irritated over the mistakes I make. That is not constructive, says Carlsen.
The 26-year-old thought he ought to have had a clear advantage after the opening in the Sunday’s fifth round game, but that he failed to put Giri under pressure.
In front of Sunday’s round Carlsen only had two players behind him in the standings. The half point did not exactly leap-frog him up the list in Norway Chess.
– I’m not hopelessly far behind, but I play so badly that it is not even an issue. If I can make a match, we might be talking about climbing a bit, says Carlsen.
Kjell Madland, CEO of Norway Chess. Photo: Norway Chess
Remis across the board
All parties in fifth round of Norway Chess ended with a draw. The position at the top is therefore unchanged before Monday’s game plays. Japanese-American, Hikaru Nakamura, still leads the tournament with its 3.5 points.
Vladimir Kramnik and Levon Aronian both are half a point behind in joint second.
Magnus Carlsen meets Frenchman, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave next. The Norwegian starts with the white pieces.
About Norway Chess (norwaychess.no)
Norway Chess has in only a matter of a few years grown to be one of the world’s biggest chess tournaments. Norway Chess has proven from the start to be a world-class event and is celebrating its 5th anniversary in 2017. Norway Chess have had top ranked players and prominent guests such as chess-legend, Garry Kasparov visiting the tournament in Stavanger.
The main sponsors of Norway Chess is the internet and media provider Altibox and Clarion Choice Hotels.
© NTB Scanpix / norwaychess.no / Norway Today
