Odds for both loosing are 125.

Could not get a post in - but yeah, Carlsen should have lost 4 games here, yet still managed to come out on top, which tells a lot if not all but the whole story. I like to remember the details, though.

For thAt you might want to check out frogbert's latest contribution on the Carlsen site. First class! ;)

Take care moro, and thanks for being a host, a very pleasant one at that. Looks like we got our dream WCC match-up now; after that time for perhaps Caruana, Karjakin, Giri??

Yup.A hell of a ride and one has to give kudos to Magnus who can not be blamed for the foolish tiebreaksyste. Perhaps the best tournament I have witnessed with all the drama and ups and downs.

So thank you for being with me on this historic ride and it would be a delight to do it all over again,and if not before, then at the autum when a certain indian is on the menu ;)

Just to get some of the excitement out of my system, a few closing remarks and thoughts. ;)

Let's face it, Chess is hard; even Magnus - although he was quite generous in the double extra bonus interview with Trent - admitted that following his absolutely brilliant win with lots of long and precise calculations vs Gelfand(rd 10), he did have to pay the price, energy-wise... That is how much energy must be invested when you are as talented as he is, in order to deliver an almost perfect game, annihilating a world class opponent as if he were a mere amateur. Caissa is a very stern mistress! Her demands can become gruesome at times.

Consequently the home stretch was extremely bumpy, and quite by a "Kramnikian" miracle Magnus managed to get over the line without a wheel coming off, but it was darn close, as we saw. A wheel did come off, 2 losses in the last 3 rounds, but Kramnik wasn't exactly fresh as a daisy anymore, to put it mildly.

Radja missing a sure win as well as a sure draw; a series of only moves vs Kramnik to save the hide; three bland games vs Aronian and the 2nd Kramnik game; and in fairness his pristine record since October suddenly became an endangered species, potentially dropping 4 games in 14 rounds, three in the home stretch... It all goes to show that this was one of the most memorable tournaments of the last few decades, all players tested to the limit of their ability and energy reserves, and even the runaway record rating leader was struggling to stay at a high level down the homestretch following his rd 10 masterpiece, showing us that he <is> very human after all, and thank goodness for that.

What remains to be seen is if it is possible to even gain in strength from here, invest more in preparation? At what price? How much is to gain from it? Personally I feel that Carlsen will mature, will learn how to handle certain situations better, and if he retains his burning ambition, then we may see Carlsen improve even quite a bit, and it will be up to the new generation if they can start catching up, and stay with Magnus in the big tournaments. It seems that Carlsen wins 2-3 out of 4 Tier 1 tournaments he participates in, and one can only predict a possibly reduced schedule due to the defence of World Championship titles that from now on will appear on his menu. Lots of cash at stake, expectations, new levels and types of pressure, and we know how he will respond to that once the time comes, while Carlsen will no doubt be prepared for it as best he can. And he will respond. History compels him to, and Carlsen can't help but respond in kind. Carlsen and Caissa are locked in a unique embrace, or is it a Judo grip? - for quite some time to come.

Congratulations! I shudder to even think of what would have happened if I'd touched worldbucks during this tournament :)

<The other 7 runner-ups all win a free one-year Chessgames membership and automatically qualify for the 2013/2014 championship.

Nice betting! The Lady seems to like us again, too :-)

something to browse with a smile when we retire from chessbookie 10 years from now :)

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