Magnus on his way down ?

Magnus lost his game vs Mamedyarov who went on to WIN the 51st Biel tournament. Magnus took second place..is this the beginning of the end for Magnus?

Originally posted by @pjmasks
Magnus lost his game vs Mamedyarov who went on to WIN the 51st Biel tournament. Magnus took second place..is this the beginning of the end for Magnus?

I don't think he's on the way down. A few off form tournaments just proves he's human like the rest of us.

He was trying to win the game against Shak with the black pieces. Always a risky proposition, but the only strategy that made any sense given the tournament situation.

Magnus is fine. He can't win EVERY tournament. Aside from the loss to Shak, his TPR was right at his 2840 rating.

Originally posted by @byedidia
He was trying to win the game against Shak with the black pieces. Always a risky proposition, but the only strategy that made any sense given the tournament situation.

Magnus is fine. He can't win EVERY tournament. Aside from the loss to Shak, his TPR was right at his 2840 rating.

Ya nobody can win them all.

OK but remember that I was the first to notice the downward spiral ! Just look at the old-timers...Anand & Aronian aren't even top ten anymore...Don't even mention the seniors like Topalov, Ivanchuck & Gelfend !! Bottom dwellers...

That's true.

Originally posted by @pjmasks
OK but remember that I was the first to notice the downward spiral ! Just look at the old-timers...Anand & Aronian aren't even top ten anymore...Don't even mention the seniors like Topalov, Ivanchuck & Gelfend !! Bottom dwellers...

Please define "old-timers" thank you

Old timers fall asleep during tournament games. That happened to me once. I let him sleep.

Originally posted by @ketchuplover
Please define "old-timers" thank you

well, all the ones who are obviously past their prime, and who no longer get any invitations to elite tournaments.. Like Kamsky, Short, Leko , Gelfend., Eljanov. But you never know about Ivanchuk, who can have a burst of success, at any time.

Originally posted by @pjmasks
Magnus lost his game vs Mamedyarov who went on to WIN the 51st Biel tournament. Magnus took second place..is this the beginning of the end for Magnus?

I get the impression that Mamedyarov has been working seriously hard on his game recently. I know he has a new trainer who was working with Wesley So when he had his incredible unbeaten run a couple of years ago.

I feel Magnus is suffering from the same kind of lull that over comes most sportsman who achieve everything there is to achieve in their sport. He needs to set hmself new goals. If i was his coach, i would encourage him to set himself the goal of being the first player over 2900 in classical chess. He is the only player who could realistically do this. When he reached 2880+ back in 2013, i honestly thought he'd do it.

The fact of the matter is that the rest of the top 20 have adapted to his style over the last 5 years. He has definitely been experimenting with a sharper style in recent years. I never thougt i'd see him play the Kings Indian defense (for example) but I've seen him experiment with this lately. I feel that, should he find the right way to motivate himself, he could leave the competition for dust, and really should be making a point of doing that.

. If i was his coach, i would encourage him to set himself the goal of being the first player over 2900 in classical chess.

Yes..good point(s)..a new trainer could make a big difference.. The World Championship is in November..I don't see Caruana playing any tournaments lately, so he's probably in hiding with his trainers..Why is it always a big secret who their seconds are?

There is no doubt modern chess is a young man's game.
7 of the current top 10 are under 30. But I have seen career
obituaries for Anand, Aronian, Kramnik and Topalov in the past
10 or so years and they are still amongst the best.
Of course age will catch up eventually, it's not their fault.

Carlsen still has quite a few years left. The match v Caruana will be a big test.

Originally posted by @greenpawn34
The match v Caruana will be a big test.

I think Carlsen has been waiting for a proper challenger. Anand is great, but Carlsen played him well past his best. Karjakin played a great match, kept it really close, but he was rated nearly 100 elo below Carlsen when they played. This time round it is World no1 v no2! You probably have to go back to Kasparov v Kramnik to see that. Before that it was Kasparov v Karpov.

I don't think Caruana is the person to depose Carlsen, Magnus has performed so consistently over 2800 for such a long time now, i would be surprised if he lost, but at least Carlsen is playing against a 2800 opponent this time.