Bruadaran a thoirt foirm : An saoghal a rèir I

So won the London Chess Classic thanks to a draw in the final round. Caruana drew against Giri, although it was touch and go at one point. Giri missed a chance to make things awkward for world number 2 but it petered out to a draw. Anand and Kramnik finished with a draw also. With the only decisive game going to Topalov. Who got the consolation of a victory against Levon Aronian. After Topalov suffered one of his worst tournament performances in a long while.

Wesley So wins the Grand Chess Tour thanks to a draw with current world number 2 Fabiano Caruana < round 8-link > . With one game to go he can win the London Chess Classic as well. Leading by half a point, from Fabiano Caruana with one round to go. Caruana would have to win and if So ties then there would be a tiebreak to decide or if So lost then Caruana would win by half a point. If Wesley wins there is nothing else anyone else can do and he takes home the full house. If Wesley So lost then Caruana would only need to draw to be tied with first place and tiebreaks would ensue. If Wesley So lost, highly unlikely, but you never know. There would be the outside possibilities of Nakamura, Anand or Kramnik also joining them in a tiebreak if they in turn won their games. An intriguing matchup between two ex world champions Vishy Anand and Vladimir Kramnik may be the tie of the round, out with the top 2. Caruana plays Anish Giri and Wesley So plays MVL in the last round. Al...

It seems only a matter of time before USA gets a new world champion. With 2 rounds to go, Wesley So is leading the field in London. With Fabiano Caruana closing in fast on Magnus Carlsen's number 1 spot and half a point behind Wesley So. Nakamura after a bad start is also on winning form after beating MVL in the previous round. All to play for going into the last two rounds with Vladimir Kramnik also in the mix. Outside chances still remain for Aronian, Anand and Giri.  MVL's loss to Nakamura has put him out of contention with  Michael Adams. Michael Adams has played solid after a poor start losing to Wesley So and Anand. After his win against Topalov and draws with Fabio Caruana has certainly justified his wild card entry. Topalov aswell as MVL are having a poor tournament. Topalov's performance is a shame as he has produced some really interesting games, with non standard attacking moves creating novel positions which seems to have backfired against the...

Just a shout out to Andrew Newton. Who won his first game at the London Chess Open, during the week. One of many I hope. Climbing the ladder, lets hope for many more. Struggling a little since.

Back to chess: https://youtu.be/D5QQvx-UKKc

As a follow up to my previous post, feel free to comment and or send me feedback if I make any factual errors. Like declaring that Wesley So is US #1 and not US #2 and that the current ranking in US chess is Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So and Hikaru Nakamure. All in the top 10 of world chess at the moment. The ranking of which is always in flux. Check out www.2700chess.com to keep up to date with the top rankings in chess.

One thing I would like to comment on with regards to chess. Is blunders, mistakes and errors in chess. And comment on the incredulity that goes along with it among commentators and audiences that a human being can make mistakes. With the chess engine whirring a way in the background mistakes appear elementary. The chess engine easily exposes the mistake. However when we play we all know how easy it is to make mistakes and the unique thing with chess is that anyone may make mistakes. These mistakes may, or may not be punished. The current example of failure to spot a mistake, is Karjakin's failure to spot the drawing line in game 10 of the world chess championship. As I have said before to err is to be human. Without errors chess would be boring. The ability to handle errors. To spot them when they happen. Handling them. Having the ability to respond to these set backs correctly. Errors and the failure or success in spotting these mistakes makes chess exciting. Who will come out...

The London Chess Classic got underway yesterday with victories for Wesley So, Levon Aronian, and Vladimir Kramnik. I first want to apologies for any criticism of Wesley So I may have given in a previous post, which I may have deleted. I shall check more thoroughly later. I realise he was feeling his way into the elite world of chess and think he IS a possible contender for the throne of Magnus Carlsen.   Since then he has gone on to win a number of major tournaments including the Sinquefield Cup, and somewhat eclipsed Hikaru Nakamura as the US #2 behind Fabio Caruana. He played Nakamura in round 1, which he won quite easily.  Thanks in a large part to Nakamura "forgetting or getting his home preperation mixed up". Nakamura is quite capable of coming back from such a set back. So watch out for him, in the coming rounds. Round 2 begins today.

Fascinating article on the BBC news website about Chris Gardner: The homeless man who became a multi-millionaire investor - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38144980

If the world chess championship is whetting your appetite for following and taking on the elite of chess. Don't forget that the London Chess Classic is on, on the 9th until the 18th of December, in London. Where the grand chess tour concludes. Tournament is being held at the Olympia in london .

I apologies for not keeping regular updates on the world chess championship. What with actually viewing the matches, having a part time job and a son to keep entertained. One does not always have the time to sit in front of a screen and type. Even the professionals seemed to be struggling with their sleep patterns throughout the tournament. The championship kept us on the edge of our seats. The match ebbed and flowed.  With Carlsen losing on game 8. The championship hung in the balance. If Sergey hadn't missed the draw on game 10.  The conclusion of the championship may have been a lot different.  Upon the conclusion of the classical time controls Magnus's decision to take a draw in round 12 and then conclude the match on tiebreaks seemed a risky one. But his confidence in himself was proven right in the end. The other conclusion I would like to bring is that Magnus throughout the tournament was the player searching for the win in almost every game. Where as Se...