Magnus Carlsen is the winner of Tata Steel Chess India 2019

by Satanick Mukhuty - 26/11/2019

The Tata Steel Chess India 2019 came to conclusion with yet another stupendous Magnus Carlsen domination. The reigning World Champion proved it once again that he is truly the best in the world by finishing ahead of the rest of the field by as many as four points which included performing at an astronomical 3027 rating in the rapid and scoring an impressive 12.0/18 points in the blitz! In this brief express report we bring you the highlights of the last day, the glimpses from the colourful closing ceremony, and more.

Magnus Carlsen receiving the glittering champion's trophy from Chanakya Chaudhary, VP Corporate Services, Tata Steel Ltd | Photo: Amruta Mokal

After his stellar performances in the rapid section of the event and then in the first day of blitz, the World Champion Magnus Carlsen was already ahead of the rest of the field by five points. In order to clinch the tournament, all he needed to do was avoid a disaster and this he certainly succeeded in without much difficulty. After making quick draws in the first few rounds, the Norwegian beat Harikrishna Pentala and drew Ian Nepomniachtchi in rounds 13 and 15 respectively and that was sufficient for him to win the event with three blitz rounds to spare.

Magnus Carlsen won a prize money of 37,500 US Dollars (Approximately 29 Lakh rupees) for winning the Tata Steel Chess India. The World Champion will play the Grand Chess Tour final next in London which starts from 2nd of December | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Later it was revealed that Magnus wasn't particularly in the best of his health in the final day of the event and thus wanted to wind things up taking as little stress as possible.

Magnus shocked everyone in the very first game of the day by making a draw in just five moves against Vidit Gujrathi! This might as well be the shortest game he has ever played in his career!

Hikaru Nakamura had a phenomenal run in the blitz portion of the event. He scored an unbeaten 12.0/18 points which helped him to secure the sole second place after Magnus | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Wesley So and Anish Giri, both of whom scored 18.5 points in all, were the next best performing players in the event and they were followed by Ding Liren who secured 18 points and impressed one and all by beating none other than Magnus Carlsen twice!

Ding Liren, the man of very few words, actually proved to be the real giant-killer in the event | Photo: Amruta Mokal

All the players were duly felicitated in what was a vibrant closing ceremony. It has to be said that they truly made chess special in the last few days in the city! | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Qualifiers to the Grand Chess Tour finals

The four players who qualified for the Grand Chess Tour finals that starts from 2nd of December in London are Magnus Carlsen, Ding Liren, Levon Aronian, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Vishy Anand had to finish sixth in this Tata Steel Chess India event to make into the London finals but unfortunately he finished seventh and missed his chance narrowly.

Tania Sachdev, the official commentator of Grand Chess Tour at the venue, asks Magnus a few questions about his overall playing experience in Kolkata | Photo: Amruta Mokal

The final standings (Rapid and blitz combined)

Magnus finished head and shoulders above the rest even though he was not seen at his best on the final day of the event.

Results of blitz rounds from ten to eighteen

Round 10 on 2019/11/26 at 01.00 P.M.
Bo.	No.	FED	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	FED	Rtg	No.
1	10	IND	2617	GM	Harikrishna Pentala	½ - ½	GM	Aronian Levon	ARM	2818	1
2	9	RUS	2830	GM	Nepomniachtchi Ian	1 - 0	GM	Anand Viswanathan	IND	2791	2
3	8	CHN	2840	GM	Ding Liren	½ - ½	GM	So Wesley	USA	2763	3
4	7	NOR	2828	GM	Carlsen Magnus	½ - ½	GM	Vidit Santosh Gujrathi	IND	2744	4
5	6	USA	2871	GM	Nakamura Hikaru	½ - ½	GM	Giri Anish	NED	2740	5
Round 11 on 2019/11/26 at 01.30 P.M.
Bo.	No.	FED	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	FED	Rtg	No.
1	6	USA	2871	GM	Nakamura Hikaru	1 - 0	GM	Harikrishna Pentala	IND	2617	10
2	5	NED	2740	GM	Giri Anish	½ - ½	GM	Carlsen Magnus	NOR	2828	7
3	4	IND	2744	GM	Vidit Santosh Gujrathi	½ - ½	GM	Ding Liren	CHN	2840	8
4	3	USA	2763	GM	So Wesley	½ - ½	GM	Nepomniachtchi Ian	RUS	2830	9
5	2	IND	2791	GM	Anand Viswanathan	½ - ½	GM	Aronian Levon	ARM	2818	1
Round 12 on 2019/11/26 at 02.00 P.M.
Bo.	No.	FED	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	FED	Rtg	No.
1	10	IND	2617	GM	Harikrishna Pentala	0 - 1	GM	Anand Viswanathan	IND	2791	2
2	1	ARM	2818	GM	Aronian Levon	0 - 1	GM	So Wesley	USA	2763	3
3	9	RUS	2830	GM	Nepomniachtchi Ian	½ - ½	GM	Vidit Santosh Gujrathi	IND	2744	4
4	8	CHN	2840	GM	Ding Liren	½ - ½	GM	Giri Anish	NED	2740	5
5	7	NOR	2828	GM	Carlsen Magnus	½ - ½	GM	Nakamura Hikaru	USA	2871	6
Round 13 on 2019/11/26 at 02.30 P.M.
Bo.	No.	FED	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	FED	Rtg	No.
1	7	NOR	2828	GM	Carlsen Magnus	1 - 0	GM	Harikrishna Pentala	IND	2617	10
2	6	USA	2871	GM	Nakamura Hikaru	½ - ½	GM	Ding Liren	CHN	2840	8
3	5	NED	2740	GM	Giri Anish	½ - ½	GM	Nepomniachtchi Ian	RUS	2830	9
4	4	IND	2744	GM	Vidit Santosh Gujrathi	1 - 0	GM	Aronian Levon	ARM	2818	1
5	3	USA	2763	GM	So Wesley	0 - 1	GM	Anand Viswanathan	IND	2791	2
Round 14 on 2019/11/26 at 03.00 P.M.
Bo.	No.	FED	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	FED	Rtg	No.
1	10	IND	2617	GM	Harikrishna Pentala	0 - 1	GM	So Wesley	USA	2763	3
2	2	IND	2791	GM	Anand Viswanathan	0 - 1	GM	Vidit Santosh Gujrathi	IND	2744	4
3	1	ARM	2818	GM	Aronian Levon	½ - ½	GM	Giri Anish	NED	2740	5
4	9	RUS	2830	GM	Nepomniachtchi Ian	0 - 1	GM	Nakamura Hikaru	USA	2871	6
5	8	CHN	2840	GM	Ding Liren	1 - 0	GM	Carlsen Magnus	NOR	2828	7
Round 15 on 2019/11/26 at 03.30 P.M.
Bo.	No.	FED	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	FED	Rtg	No.
1	8	CHN	2840	GM	Ding Liren	0 - 1	GM	Harikrishna Pentala	IND	2617	10
2	7	NOR	2828	GM	Carlsen Magnus	½ - ½	GM	Nepomniachtchi Ian	RUS	2830	9
3	6	USA	2871	GM	Nakamura Hikaru	1 - 0	GM	Aronian Levon	ARM	2818	1
4	5	NED	2740	GM	Giri Anish	1 - 0	GM	Anand Viswanathan	IND	2791	2
5	4	IND	2744	GM	Vidit Santosh Gujrathi	½ - ½	GM	So Wesley	USA	2763	3
Round 16 on 2019/11/26 at 04.00 P.M.
Bo.	No.	FED	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	FED	Rtg	No.
1	10	IND	2617	GM	Harikrishna Pentala	½ - ½	GM	Vidit Santosh Gujrathi	IND	2744	4
2	3	USA	2763	GM	So Wesley	½ - ½	GM	Giri Anish	NED	2740	5
3	2	IND	2791	GM	Anand Viswanathan	½ - ½	GM	Nakamura Hikaru	USA	2871	6
4	1	ARM	2818	GM	Aronian Levon	0 - 1	GM	Carlsen Magnus	NOR	2828	7
5	9	RUS	2830	GM	Nepomniachtchi Ian	0 - 1	GM	Ding Liren	CHN	2840	8
Round 17 on 2019/11/26 at 04.30 P.M.
Bo.	No.	FED	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	FED	Rtg	No.
1	9	RUS	2830	GM	Nepomniachtchi Ian	1 - 0	GM	Harikrishna Pentala	IND	2617	10
2	8	CHN	2840	GM	Ding Liren	1 - 0	GM	Aronian Levon	ARM	2818	1
3	7	NOR	2828	GM	Carlsen Magnus	1 - 0	GM	Anand Viswanathan	IND	2791	2
4	6	USA	2871	GM	Nakamura Hikaru	½ - ½	GM	So Wesley	USA	2763	3
5	5	NED	2740	GM	Giri Anish	1 - 0	GM	Vidit Santosh Gujrathi	IND	2744	4
Round 18 on 2019/11/26 at 05.00 P.M.
Bo.	No.	FED	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	FED	Rtg	No.
1	10	IND	2617	GM	Harikrishna Pentala	½ - ½	GM	Giri Anish	NED	2740	5
2	4	IND	2744	GM	Vidit Santosh Gujrathi	0 - 1	GM	Nakamura Hikaru	USA	2871	6
3	3	USA	2763	GM	So Wesley	½ - ½	GM	Carlsen Magnus	NOR	2828	7
4	2	IND	2791	GM	Anand Viswanathan	½ - ½	GM	Ding Liren	CHN	2840	8
5	1	ARM	2818	GM	Aronian Levon	½ - ½	GM	Nepomniachtchi Ian	RUS	2830	9

A more comprehensive report on the event with extra photos, game analyses etc will be published soon on our website. Stay tuned!

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