Altibox Norway Chess

Today is the first day of the classical portion of the Altibox Norway Chess tournament in Stavanger, and could be the beginning of a historical ten days. With Magnus Carlsen a mere 14 points a way from the highest Elo rating ever achieved (naturally his own, from May 2014), a stellar performance in his home country could push him back to those heights, with breaking the 2900 barrier than being firmly in sight. He has already had a near-unbelievable start to 2019, winning three major tournaments without losing a game, but he’ll need a rating performance of close to 3000 in Stavanger to overtake his previous peak in the live ratings, and those kinds of performances are rare.

Watching Carlsen grind down the best in the world is always a pleasure, and I will be firmly rooting for him all week.