Carlsen turned 32 today. I wonder how much longer heāll be the best.
Iām guessing of course, but I donāt think much longer. A few years at most. Magnus seems bored and unmotivated recently. He has nothing at all to prove, to the point that he can decline participating in the WCC but that also means he has nothing left to do. Heās letting stuff get to him like the Niemann thing. Iād be surprised if he can keep this up for much longer.
I think that will be true in 2 years. Once he is top 5, weāll see if that is good enough. It might motivate him again or disappear from competition. I think Anand has been giving it everything he has and it amazingly still the top Indian. Top 10 must be good enough for him.
Itās not just Magnus who might be coming to an end of his time. Hikaru just lost at Blitz.
Hikaru won the speed chess championship for the 5th year in a row. I wonder where he ranks all time among Americans. It doesnāt seem like the orher players really like him, lol. Probably because he is weird. I wished heād won the candidates.
Have you seen his videos? He is very irritating. He will never be popular but he is a great player.
Yes. Heās quite irritating. I still rooted for him. I find him not boring. I probably would have rooted against him in candidates.
Edit. I mean championship.
I have not gone to chess in weeks. Someone went weeks ago and infected the crew with the flu. I guess he wasnāt feeling well, but went anyways. Iām not sure if it is allowed, but Iād consider kicking him out of the club. I think it will happen by default. I will refuse to play him and I think others will, too. I guess he was sneezing coughing and sweating and asked to leave.
I have been working 60 hrs a week and doing yoga 3 or 4 days a week. I did go to a wedding, dogsat and a 4 year old bday party. So chess should resume in probably February. I usually play in a tournament in February and will be out of practice for 3 months, lol.
I think itās important to remember that this was normal behaviour until about 2020. Staying home because you were sick meant you were weak, and sometimes it meant you would be mocked. The world has improved on this point since covid.
Isa and I are sick. We just bailed on a Christmas dinner we were invited to because we donāt want to get everyone there sick, too. These days it just seems like common sense, but for 55 of my 57 years, it wasnāt.
This is true. Most of us that I know have adjusted. We had 3 sick calls at work today.
If you are coughing at the chess club, you will be asked to leave. They made it official.
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Iām not sure thatās the best move. Some coughs are not related to viruses. That said, perhaps they have to do something. Iāve just turned down my third Christmas dinner invitation because we donāt want to infect anyone. Not virtue signaling, just saying we need to suck it up when weāre sick and not infect others and Iād rather have a quiet dinner alone with Isa than risk doing that. Itās the new normal, and itās a better normal.
What happened to following WHO/CDC guidelines and wearing a mask?
Iām so sorry, Reg. I had no idea you were so sick. Definitely, stay in, if you can. No dinner is worth it and I commend you for making a noble sacrifice for the health of the community. I wouldnāt do this on my most honorable day but then I wholeheartedly believe in herd immunity.
Everyone around here has rsv/flu and that is before holiday travel.
Carlsen just won the world rapid chess championship for the 4th time. He totally dominated. He seems bored.
luck of the draw/bad game setup:
- carlsen didnt even get to play and thus lose from niemann
- some players didnt even lose a single game (like hikaru)
Or win. Like hikaru.