Magnus Carlsen

All aspects of the Amber tournament are of high quality, and the free day excursion to Cannes and the island St Honorat today was no exception. 
On the way along the coast line via Antibes we got an introduction to local history. The seaside location of towns like Nice has been both a blessing and a threat.
Back in 2003 Magnus played a round robin in magnificent Taormina in Sicily, and we leaned that it had been conquered by at least ten different folk groups since 600 B.C.
Conquerors have treated Nice slightly better, but it has had much the same history starting with the Greek seafarers followed by the Roman period and several folk groups during the dark ages.  


The Greeks brought vine and olive to Nice and the monastery of St Honorat makes it own products.
Upon arrival on the island we were treated with the 2007 red and white wines produced locally.
After a light lunch and a walk to the monastery and ferry back, we had one hour in Cannes before returning to Nice.
Impressively, nearly half the Amber participants had joined the excursion despite the relatively early start, and I think all enjoyed it very much in the perfect spring weather. 

After the first free day Kramnik was leading with +3, but during the next four double rounds, Anand has gone straight from 50% to +5 and looks like a clear favourite the was he is playing.
Kramnik, losing to Anand in the blindfold yesterday, is still at +3, while Magnus and Aronian are at +4 in shared second place.
Leko in 5^th at +1 is still in contention for the top places while the rest has a minus score with three double rounds to go. 

In round 5 against Aronian, Magnus played well in the blindfold as black and secured a draw in a sharp battle.
As white in the rapid, he outplayed black in the middle game, won a pawn and thought he was winning.
However, he took an additional exchange a bit too quickly, and the game became very complicated as his bishop was trapped on b8. Continuing to play for a win Magnus in the end lost.
After the long game he was both tired and a bit devastated by losing this way and hence being pushed back to 50%.
At this stage he showed great determination to start a new trend and decided to focus on playing quickly and staying relaxed in the next rounds.
In round 7 in a fairly equal position Wang Yue fell for a trick in the blindfold and Magnus subsequently won in style also in the rapid.
He was also very satisfied with his blindfold win over Morozevich the day before.
Against Topalov yesterday, the position he entered in the opening did not allow him to continue the strategy of playing fast. His position was 'loose' and he had to check it properly for every move.
Topalov played a bit hesitantly, but by the time Magnus got a clear advantage he was also down to increments in a complex position.
In the ensuing complications both players lost control. Magnus somewhat foolhardy avoided a repetition, but as Topalov blundered last, Magnus managed to win the game in the end.
In the rapid he had the black pieces and as he commented after the game, he had had enough excitement for one day and was inclined to play safe. Draw. 
Amazingly Magnus is currently at +5 and a one point lead in the blindfold while he has -1 and 7^th to 10^th place in the rapid. The surprisingly great difference must partly be explained by having had the margins on his side in the blindfold while clearly not so in the rapid. 

Tomorrow Magnus has the black pieces in the blindfold against Karjakin at 4 PM.
The day after, he plays Kramnik, and lastly Radjabov in the final round. 

Nice, March 23^rd 2009,
Henrik Carlsen