Photo: Lennart Ootes
He’s ready! Magnus Carlsen will play the 2019 Grand Chess Tour – and as always when Magnus plays chess, he’s the favorite to win.
We are absolutely thrilled to have Magnus Carlsen return to the 2019 #GrandChessTour! Any predictions for his performance? pic.twitter.com/RO1r6PjNnr
— Grand Chess Tour (@GrandChessTour) February 11, 2019
This year’s tour is very exciting, as it will expand from two continents to four – with Ivory Coast and India hosting tournaments. Each player will participate in five events – two with longer time controls and three featuring blitz and rapid. That will suit Magnus very well, as he confirmed his form in shorter time controls at the World Rapid and Blitz Championship in December, winning blitz gold.
Since 2018 was a World Championship year, Magnus chose to focus on the championship match instead of participating in the full tour – but he did play in the Sinquefield Cup as a wildcard. That was very successful: He won the event alongside Levon Aronian and Fabiano Caruana. A victory against Hikaru Nakamura in the very last round was crucial to catch up with first place.
Magnus Carlsen - Hikaru Nakamura, Sinquefield Cup 2018
Magnus has a pawn up in the endgame, but his king is completely out of play – being cut off by the black rook. However, Magnus devised a 20(!)-move plan to make the white king the deciding factor in the game. Can you do the same? First, figure out what is your dream scenario by moving the pieces wherever you want them. Then work step-by-step to make it happen.
Need more practice to solve the puzzle? Head over to our free Magnus Trainer app and #TrainWithMagnus!
By Jon Ludvig Hammer