Carlsen Leads Convincingly After 3 Rounds at Norway Chess
So far at Norway Chess, Magnus Carlsen is looking like his peak self. After only 3 rounds, he’s gained a convincing full point lead on the field, winning two games while no other player has achieved a result higher than a draw.
Watch as the World Champion effortlessly drums up a winning attack against Levon Aronian:
Graphic: Chess.com
Carlsen when asked how he would rate today's performance vs Aronian: "A clear 9 out of 10 on the scale. The tournament so far has been as good as I could hope for." #NorwayChess
— Tarjei J. Svensen (@TarjeiJS) May 30, 2018
Carlsen scores his 15th win in his 55th game vs Aronian, now on 2,5/3 in #NorwayChess '18. Here's his last 5 tournaments with the same start:
Stavanger '16: 1st
Shamkir '15: 1st
Shamkir '14: 1st
Zürich '14: 1st
London '12: 1st pic.twitter.com/aXsybmmM0F— Tarjei J. Svensen (@TarjeiJS) May 30, 2018
Magnus at #NorwayChess pic.twitter.com/f4rP6GdANP
— Aman Hambleton (@amanhambleton) May 31, 2018
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Can the world’s top GMs cook?
In a unique rest day activity, the players competed in a Master Chef style cook off, teaming up to prepare the best fish dish. The competition took place in the kitchen of the playing venue, Clarion Hotel Air.
The Teams
Team 1:
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave & Levon Aronian
Natural chefs. Photo: Lennart Ootes / Altibox Norway Chess
Team 2:
Shahriyar Mamedyarov & Hikaru Nakamura
Nakamura looks like he’s done this before. Photo: Lennart Ootes / Altibox Norway Chess
Team 3:
Ding Liren & Viswanathan Anand
Anand, the old pro. Photo: Lennart Ootes / Altibox Norway Chess
Team 4:
Sergey Karjakin & Fabiano Caruana
An unlikely duo, Carlsen’s two most recent Challengers. Photo: Lennart Ootes / Altibox Norway Chess
Team 5:
Wesley So & Magnus Carlsen
A friendly pair! Photo: Lennart Ootes / Altibox Norway Chess
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Each team prepared the same dish of fish, vegetables, and Hollandaise Sauce.
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The recipes! #altibox #NorwayChess #hthkjøkken pic.twitter.com/sAjiZ5j6qJ
— Altibox Norway Chess (@NorwayChess) May 31, 2018
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Some teams were well balanced while others were a bit skewed…
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Mamedyarov claiming to be the worst cooker among them all. "Hikaru will do 99 % of the job" #norwaychess pic.twitter.com/a5DM6MrqdA
— Tarjei J. Svensen (@TarjeiJS) May 31, 2018
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I think Levon knows what he is doing. #NorwayChess pic.twitter.com/Pg4oSdkMI6
— Tarjei J. Svensen (@TarjeiJS) May 31, 2018
Correction: Levon THOUGHT he knew what he was doing. Seconds after the chef came and said he had to start over again 🙂 #NorwayChess https://t.co/tOC61Vxddw
— Tarjei J. Svensen (@TarjeiJS) May 31, 2018
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"I am having fun while he is working hard", @SergeyKaryakin says to his teammate. #NorwayChess pic.twitter.com/j04tmaVdk2
— Tarjei J. Svensen (@TarjeiJS) May 31, 2018
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A lot of pressure on Magnus to cut this fish. He gave up. #NorwayChess pic.twitter.com/k0yzhX0NGg
— Tarjei J. Svensen (@TarjeiJS) May 31, 2018
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A panel of judges tasted each dish and chose the winner.
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The jury (and the players themselves 😄) have been pleasantly surprised by the outcome!
But which dish will win? 🤔 #NorwayChess #AltiboxNorwayChess pic.twitter.com/gw0w8S7j9Z
— Anna Rudolf (@Anna_Chess) May 31, 2018
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"I think you worked very well"
"The sauce is really, really nice"
"The fish is great!"
"You wanna quit playing and come and work here?"
Great reviews for Anand and Ding.#NorwayChess pic.twitter.com/9JKMLpl9GL— Tarjei J. Svensen (@TarjeiJS) May 31, 2018
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"A little bit too much pepper." #NorwayChess pic.twitter.com/91BoH3UVS0
— Tarjei J. Svensen (@TarjeiJS) May 31, 2018
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In the end, Anand and Ding won the cook off with their tasty dish.
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The winner is: Anand and Ding, who had the best flavour. Credit to the 5x WC, who did most of the job, while Ding cut vegetables line a hero.
Carlsen/So second, while MVL and Aronian finished last#NorwayChess pic.twitter.com/G8WQlQ3HXM— Tarjei J. Svensen (@TarjeiJS) May 31, 2018
For more information, visit:
- The Official Website
- Chess.com’s Round 3 Report: “Carlsen Beats Aronian, Expands Lead at Norway Chess”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vanessa West is a regular writer and digital assistant for US Chess News. She won the 2017 Chess Journalist of the Year award.
You can follow her on Twitter: @Vanessa__West
Jim T |
As a former member of the Iron Fans club (for the “original” Iron Chef show hosted by Takeshi Kaga), I’m surprised that a friendly cook-off hasn’t been used more often during a Rest day.
Their idea to split players from the same country to different teams was a good one. A couple other requirements necessary given the international nature of the participants came to my mind:
1) To make it fair, the teammates must be able to speak at least one common language. Most of the top international chessplayers are fluent in at least two languages. Looking at the team pairings and recalling past interviews, I’m guessing that English was the language of choice for most of the teams.
2) The key ingredient cannot be proscribed by major religions, so no Pork, Beef, or Shellfish. And if the required ingredients include a non-vegetable(s), at least one team member must not be a vegetarian.