Magnus Carlsen has gone an entire year without losing a classical game of chess! Well, it’s almost true, as his last loss was July 31st, 2018. Since his next classical game is in the Sinquefield Cup starting August 17th, we can start the celebrations early.
The unbeaten streak is a testament to the amazing form Magnus has shown this past year – most recently displayed at the Croatia Grand Chess Tour tournament. In the final round against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, a draw would have been good enough for first place, but Magnus had bigger ambitions: He won his game, beat the field by a full point, remained unbeaten for a full year, and tied his rating record from 2014. That’s what I call a successful day at the office!
Magnus is now racing to reach 2900 before his 29th birthday. He’s also at 79 games in a row undefeated – will he be able to make it to 100? We’ll find out pretty soon, as Magnus is expected to have several classical tournament participations this fall.
Sinquefield Cup (11 rounds) – August 17-29
World Cup (knockout system) – September 10 - October 4
Grand Swiss (11 rounds) – October 10-21
Do you think he can make it 100 undefeated games in a row AND get to 2900 in these events? Let us know on our facebook page.
Photo credit: Lennart Ootes