Magnus Carlsen

Short - Cheparinov was the big talk of the day on ICC. What is the story down there, what do the other players think of it?

I totally agree with the rule.
If Cheparinov does not want to be fair play because of the "Toiletgate" then he should not play.
You can show your anger on the chessbord with your moves but not using these low hand Dainailov tricks.
Indeed, it is psychologocaly not nice to start a game in that way.
Anyway,
congratulations for Magnus excellent start, I wish him all the best for the rest of Wijk ann Zee.

Nicholas from Switzerland

Forget Short vs Cheparinov game - in my opinion Cheparinov is just a twat and he deserves to lose, there is no need for it, whats wrong with shaking hands with opponents? theres a few players i have met OTB and did not like very much, but shaking hands was not a problem, so well done short for claiming the win, this will teach cheparinov in the future, and all the other arrogant Players.

Anyway,

Magnus
well done, that was another impressive game, a bit of a shame that he did not win in the end, is he dissappointed at not winning it Henrik?
In the lead with 5.5/8 now, do you think henrik, that he will be able to handle the pressure that he now faces to perhaps win this tournament? i believe he can, and he is matured upon hes years, i wish him all the best. he has made chess more popular to alot of people because of his vast improvement and maturity.

Bravo Magnus! U can do it!

David

well maybe there are worse things you can do than not shaking hands too. :p but yes it got messy and that issue has been discussed a lot elsewhere.

I hope magnus is enjoying his tournament and can have fun also when he is in the lead and many great players are chasing after him. it must be more difficult to put everything aside and just have fun and play in that case.

Øivind A,
frankly I think most of the other players felt a bit amused by the Cheparinov-Short incident. as both players (or their managers) are a bit controversial or outspoken on the border of being provocative sometimes.
Many seem to have sympathy for Short but on the other hand the appeals committee seems to have got the facts right and made a wise decision.
I hope both players put their act together and play a good game tomorrow.

Tactical pro,
I think Magnus should concentrate on doing his best in each individual game left and not think about the final result.
His performance will be a success irrespective of the outcome of the final rounds.
That said Magnus has showed good nerves many times (for instance in the Candidates, in Biel and in the World Cup in 2007) and as long as he enjoys winning and isn't afraid of losing, he obvously is on the right track!

Xtra,
you're right, but anyhow it is so much better to lead a tournament after 8 rounds than being a tailender like last year so Magnus sure enjoys his stay in Wijk this year :-)

Good job so far, and good luck for the next 4 rounds, Magnus.

I hope this Short-Cheparinov mumbo-jumbo helps to reduce pressure on Magnus, since the attention is obviously diverted to them.

Basically, I think that this is the only way nigel short can win against cheparinov. I really do think that instead of analysing cheparinov's games, nigel short sat down and thought how he might trick him into this forfeit scandal.

I believe that every player has his/her own right not to shake hands with the opposing player and to make this a rule is just absurd. It is just symbolic if the players are obliged and doesnt mean anything. In the end they are both grownups. I cant believe that it really has hurt GM short that GM cheparinov didnt shake his hand. He actually looked for it I believe.

I mean who else would have tried the second time to shake hands if an opponent clearly indicates that he had no intention to do so. Nigel Short clearly does everything else instead playing chess. I mean it is being reported that he didnt want to play the game although cheparinov is ready to shake hands since he felt he is being insulted. COME ON NOW!!..

I am not a supporter of the Bulgarian player but on this matter I honestly believe Nigel Short specificly constructed this whole thing for his opponent to be forfeited. It hard to have symphaty for such a purpose.

Best

If you go to a meeting, and the guy refuses to shake your hand, do you think you would be insulted? And think about that? And perhaps let that spin around in your head during the meeting? Well, I think so. Of course Chepa should lose the game as a result. It is insulting not to shake hands, it's lack of good manners.

Nigel Short has not got the best reputation, but should Topalov refuse to shake hands with Magnus as well? Magnus signed a letter where he stood behind Kramnik in the Toiletgate case.

Stop it people. Short has himself refused to shake some hands, as shown on youtube against Kamsky (just watch) last year. I very agree with tokmakov, but come on, this is Carlsen's blog and he made the very best statement in his own reply: Let's hope for a good game today.

Its not importent what tokmakov or Gegga or most others think or belive. The FIDE rules states that a handshake is to take place, or else the part refusing will loose the game.
Short just pointed out that a FIDE rule had been violated. Nothing wrong with that.
The appeals committee made a good call, and hopefully the game will be played today.

Well, this is not a meeting first of all.. this is professional sports. And I totally agree that hand shaking is very civilized and appropriate but the fact is I believe Nigel Short was by all means expecting that Cheparinov wont shake his hands.

Therefore he actually looked for this incidence.Even in a meeting where you were refused to shake hands and feel insulted, would you offer a hand shake twice?..

And the exact fide rule states that whoever refused the handshake should be warned by the arbiter and in the case of persistance of handshake refusal the game should be forfeited. But happenned was that cheparinov actually accepted the handshake after the warning but GM short didnt wanna continue!!!.. I believe this is just pathetic; like he really cares whether he shook cheparinov's hand or not.. And İ honestly dont think he is this soft to be easily borken hearted :)) he played for the title come on now.. And didnt he want to visit Kasporov when he was detained although the guy publicly clowned him at the time when they played for the title!! ( remember '' it is gonna be Short and it is gonna short '').. so he can actually forgive the worst kind of insult...

Anyway besides all these crap I am delighted to see magnus is dominating the field. It is a great pleasure to see him not lose a single game yet.. Come on boy!! he secured the games of kramnik and topalov.. If he secures the anand game the tournament is over I believe.. This would go down as the strongest tournament ever and it will be won by the youngest supergrandmaster of his time.

cross your fingers
Best

What are Anand & Ivanchuk doing in the background in the Photo? Are they discussing the weather while their games are still going on (Magnus seems to be in the opening)?

Well, the right result in the Short game. Magnus, you are doing brilliantly. Keep up the good work. A fantastic result no matter how the rest of the tournament goes.

I realy like the leopard-kind-of-jacket Susan is wearing....

Best luck to Magnus for the rest! I hope he will have good days.....