World champion’s win on Friday puts him back at the top of the table as his attempt to break the 2900 rating barrier gets under way, while co-leader Shak Mamedyarov unleashes the bizarre opening 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 g4?!
Magnus Carlsen’s campaign to score a record eighth victory at Tata Steel Wijk, the “chess Wimbledon”, and so launch his campaign to break the 2900 rating barrier which he narrowly missed in 2014 and 2019, was back on track after Friday’s sixth round despite a the No 1’s earlier sluggish start to the elite tournament.
The world champion used his favourite
Catalan Opening to demolish Hungary’s Richard Rapport in 31 moves. The 31-year-old Norwegian had been too variable in his earlier games, missing a clear win in one and allowing a tailender a strong chance in another.