Magnus Carlsen "Really Satisfied with 2012 Performance"!

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi everyone,

World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen has blogged that he is happy with his chess in 2012. He writes: "Looking back at 2012 on New Year’s eve, I’m really satisfied with my chess results. Compared to former years, I played much less though." The World No. 1, of course, broke Garry Kasparov's all-time rating record in December at the London Chess Classic 2012.

"In retrospect the long brake between Tata Steel Chess in January and Tal Memorial in June made me somewhat rusty. Maybe it was not a bad idea anyhow, as it provided ample time for restitution and other interesting activities. I’ve felt energized and highly motivated from June throughout the year.

"The 50 classical games I’ve played in 2012 resulted in three tournament victories (Tal, Sao Paulo/Bilbao and the London Classics), 2nd place in Biel, and shared 2nd in Tata Steel Chess. The 2012 score of +19=29-2 or 67% overall is probably the highest I’ve had ever, and certainly the highest since joining elite level tournaments late 2006. Ratingwise, the +3, +2, +4, +3 and +5 scores have brought consistent progress from 2835 in January to an expected 2861 in January 2013, and I’ve stayed the no 1 rated player throughout the year.

"Apart from the classical tournaments I came 2nd in both the Rapid and Blitz World Championships and won the Mexico City Rapid/Blindfold. I’ve enjoyed the cooperation with my main sponsors Arctic Securities, Simonsen Law and newspaper/media VG, and taken part in some great events in the US. Next year will probably be busier with regard to tournaments. In 10 days time I’ll travel to Wijk aan Zee for the 10th year in a row! I look forward to playing Tata Steel Chess 2013 and can only think of one proper way to celebrate the 10 year anniversary☺ After Tata I’ll travel to Las Vegas for the Parallels Summit 2013 early February. The rest of February and all of March I’ll be busy with the Candidates in London, and in May there’s the Norway Chess tournament in Stavanger! Last but not least, I’d like to thank my main sponsors, previous sponsors, trainers and seconds, tournament organisers in Norway and abroad, my manager Espen and my family, and everyone else that has contributed to my chess results in 2012!"

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com
Don't miss Chess Queen™
YouTube Channel