The Norwegian has four points after the first six rounds and is one point behind his closest competitors. Thursday’s victories came against Vincent Keymer (Germany) and Richard Rapport (Romania).
In the last game, he sacrificed his queen against Rapport’s two rooks. It turned out to be a smart move.
– Magnus has a fantastic ability to judge, said TV 2 expert Jon Ludvig Hammer.
Carlsen opened the day against Keymer with black pieces. There, the latter spent much more time than his Norwegian opponent and had 20 minutes less on the clock after 20 moves. Eventually, Carlsen gained a good advantage which he secured for victory.
In game number two, Carlsen sought revenge after he lost to Rapport in the first round. Then the Norwegian made a huge mistake.
On Thursday, he was more focused with white pieces and after 25 moves he took advantage of a blunder by his Romanian opponent. The Norwegian eventually gained a great advantage which he did not lose on the way to triumph. Rapport gave out after 32 moves.
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The tournament is played in the “quick classic” format, which means that the players have 45 minutes on the clock and get ten seconds extra for each move.
All six participants will meet each other twice initially, before there is a final, a match for third and fifth place on Easter Monday.
It is the first time the tournament has been organized after the corona pandemic. Carlsen has won the tournament twice before and is the defending champion as he won in 2019.
