Strange incident in the first round in Carlsen - Inarkiev who seemingly tried to trick Carlsen by beeing very "clever".

Yes it is strange with Carlsen and it has been going on for some months I think.My best bet is still, it is a sideeffect from his relation with his GF.Nowadays he almost smile when he has lost game,but in "the good old days" he looked frustrating and next time he was sitting at the board his opponent could use a shrink after the game...Interesting times .

And kudos to Anand who "soon" turn fifty,but young enough to take the other guys to school :)Plus Fedoseev may be a man to watch for future events !?

When wife returns to her job she will ask a colleque from Romania what Happy New Year is called in your lanquage :)

Till the enjoy and take care !

It was fun and may it continue with all its great moments in the New Year as I wish you and Maria all the best for your new beginnings. And may 2018 be a constructive years regarding a more peacefull world.As may more people enjoy the fruits of cooperation instead of fighting and competing.

Yes, what a thriller in we have witnessed!With Magnus on top with a streak only he can do.5 days in front of a fantastic norwegian broadcast ws great.

So once again:Thank you for many warm moments in 2017 ! And also many hugs to Maria as well.

I have a question that's been bothering me for years. Maybe even a decade. Then something in your profile reminded me of it:

<Was born in Elsinore,Denmark,1953.And I am still proud of it. As I hope everyone is proud of hers/his startingpoint.>

My question is, why should we be proud of where we were born?

Thanks for your question which I found is an honest and a good one too.

I knew when I wrote proud, it could raise some questions.But it was meant in the sense of"feeling gratefull to".And as my life went on,I experienced so many things connected with this very place and city.Close to the sea...discovered many of the big oceans later on.It was a place were almost veryone knew everyone...I found it easy to connect with my fellow citizens whereever I travelled.Or lived. At my beloved grandpa´s funeral,the church wasn´t big enough. Thes short travels to Sweden,mainly with my grandma who hated the swedes.But I did´nt.The travels by train to the capitol Copenhagen.I still clearly remember the steamtrains like the whole city is like a museum,or rather timebubble where almost anything can happen.Elsinore Castle and the cars passing through from all oveer the world...many years later I hitchiked all over Europe many times. The list is longer,but by now, you should have an idea,a sense.

So gratefull would,in a way be more precise,but words are also symbols which can provoke the imagination and fantasy.

Yasser Seirawan,when he,in his younger years commentated for "Schacknytt" (a Swedish! magazine)often used !! instead on only !,mainly to draw the readers attention to certain point(s) he would like to make.
I hope I have made my points,but it is not like the guy in the bookstore who purposedly puts the chessboard in the window with the wrong colour in the right corner.;)

That place sounds very nice!

Thank you for your warm wishes, and we both wish to you and Hannah all the best for 2018. So your grandmother hated the Swedes. Care to tell why?

Still no snow here, work started since a few days, but the children will return to school only on Jan. 15. Colder this morning, but still during the day warmer than usual.

We all have our memories regarding the place we were born and lived and it's great when you feel attached to people and whereabouts because you mostly had a good time and enjoyed life. And I suppose there's also a sentiment of pride for where you belong, regardless if your good memories are mixed with some bad ones.

And thanks for your New Years wishes and hugs to Hannah,who got the romanian line from one of he colleques,who happens to be romanian.And I am glad you read my little piece of Elsinore.And upbringing which mainly due to a long and tough devorce of my parents,wasn´t always sunshine,but the counterweight of my grandparents had a huge impact.

Weather has turned frosty and I prefer it that way,as you know.Right now it is dark and filled with stars outside and its a wonderfull schene to watch.

Tata soon comming,you tell me.So byb now we know it is January and the New Year is well underway.This long tradition at the dutch seaside,which goes on for 3 weeks(or so:it feels:) with the ususal mix of the elite and those from the second layer,the femamle world champion and so on.A mix that usually promises fightingchess and decisive games.Only 6 days from now.And interesting to see if the Can

didates are
peacefull towards each other,or...They will draw a lot between themselves,is my best bet.

I have been irritated in my colon(s) so not so much new to mention.Now it is better,but still gratefull to the full 5 days in a row were they broadcast from Norway from 11.45 to 18.45 !! Chess is a serious sport in Norway indeed.

Why my grandmother hated the Swedes ?
I am not shure,but probably because they were consuming a lot of alcohol when they took the little ferries from Helsingborg to Elsinore.And back again.And back again.......Compared to us,Sweden has been more strict about seeling beverage.But otherwise she was the most loving person around.

It is time to hit the pillow and it has been nice to be in your company.

<<>Tata Steel 2018 begins Saturday January 13th<>>

3 days to go!

Countdown to the Tata Steel 2018...

https://www.timeanddate.com/countdo...

♘Tata♘Tata Steel 2018♗Tata♗

https://www.tatasteelchess.com/

This tournament will run from Jan. 13th thru Jan. 28th 2018. (13 Rounds)

Participants include: Adhiban, Anand, Carlsen, Caruana, Giri, Hou, Jones, Karjakin, Kramnik, Mamedyarov, Matlakov, So, Svidler & Wei

Average rating: 2750(as of 1/3/18) - Category XX

*****
*****

<<> Tata Steel 2018 <>>

Schedule - https://www.tatasteelchess.com/play...

Round 1 (Sat. 1/13) starts @ 1:30pm Wijk aan Zee time(7:30am chessgames time)

< 3 Prediction Contests: (Win virtual medals - Gold, Silver & Bronze) >

*** User: lostemperor - Predict the order the players will finish. Run & hosted by <lostemperor>. (3 categories to medal in) ***

**User: Golden Executive - Predict the result 1-0, 1/2, or 0-1. Run & hosted by <Golden Executive>. (3 categories to medal in)

This year will be the 11th Anniversary for this contest! (from 2007 to 2018 - 11 years running)**

*User: OhioChessFan - Predict the result 1-0, 1/2, or 0-1 & the number of moves. (4 categories to medal in). This contest is run by <chessmoron> & hosted by <OhioChessFan>.*

*****
*****

Also, don't forget about <chessgames> ChessBookie game for this event. She can't wait to take some or all of your chessbucks. ;)

ChessBookie Game

For now I'm reading an autobiography of one of my former idols in local literature, Breban. I also sent him a letter. Some chess here and there, tv, very little music and...what else? No snow at all, at least not where I live, it's been a very mild winter up to now. Weekend though it's supposed to bring it back to normal.

Here was supposed to be a fine and lenghty post,but I somehow hit a wrong button and it @#$%* disappeared.Something about the best day for weeks and wife watching "My big fat greek wedding and an old donkey in Africa who got the ladies because the younger ones were too busy fighting.And about looking forward to Tata.Can hardly wait.13 rounds and going deep is just up my alley and are you ready too !?And about a winter which has never been here.

Didn´t know you have skipped your wine ,but I understand that the prize is way too high.Almost the same story here.Only when in town with JWH and PK(who on his behalf only smokes,when he is with me:) Met several people in the bus today and it was nice after being at the den here for 3-4 weeks.Especially a long conversation with a teenager who happened to live in my village too.We both hoped to see each other in the bus next week and I am again surprised how mature they young generation is,compared to us way back in the 70ties and 60ties.

Well somehow I made a 50% reconstruction and send you all my best wishes and hope to see you at Tata and up the road!?

And if you like to tell about your child hood town,you are welcome.

Also ready to start another chess blitz over the net as my mind is getting clear after some Panadol. Cold has finally arrived in Iasi, minus 7 Celsius this morning, still almost no snow.

My childhood town is called Barlad, that's where my early childhood memories come from (up to 9 years old, when we moved to Iasi), there I've got my first two very good friends, especially one with whom I still keep in touch today (on FB, as he's settled in Spain since some 20 years). I used to play football on a playground in front of my blook apartment and also took long biking journeys with this friend I was telling you about, in and around the town. Sometimes we were just wandering on a hill nearby, eating crude small fruits from the trees or maybe going to the zoo (sometimes the lion's roaring could be heard right from my apartment, the zoo was not far away from where I lived).

Maybe some more of it later, I've got a lot of memories from that beloved town...I remember also that when my parents decided to move to the bigger city I was very sad as I didn't understand why, my best friend was in Barlad and I really liked the places and got used to them...:)

And thanks for sharing your childhood memories with me.I could almsot smell the hills and the fresh air and the vibrations from the friendship and the bikingtrips.Perhaps just like a very good friend I had from school.We shared many things and later we went to the same footballclubs and also went biking twice during summer holidays.Ah,those were the times and I recall it all so clearly...(There is a cute little movie with Mat Damon "We bought a Zoo,if you are interested!?-could imagine you have had some zoo-jokes in your house."virgin! If you dont eat your food we will give it to the lions and if it goes on like this we will give YOU to the lions " ;)

How our memory works is very interesting and in a perfect world I would investigate it imperically.Cause so far when I asked friends and foes about how their memory works,there are all kind of answers.

Wife has been away since yesterday and it will be great to have her back.As always.

We got a tiny bit of snow yesteryesterday,but nothjing compared to you but a lot compared to nothing :)

Following Tata and also some other stuff in the mean time. Today another whistled snippet recorded in the morning (which I think it's pretty good) and now looking Carlsen about to make to draw with white against Hou Yifan. But who knows, let's wait and see, at the moment Kramnik is presenting his win against Anand.

Of and did you follow yesterday draw Svidler-Carlsen (and also the long postmorten between the two - it's posted somewhere on Youtube)? What a game!

Maria left for Onesti again so I'm alone until tomorrow evening. Tata of course left and maybe also some novel reading and possibly a documentary on DocQ.

And today my old body cooperates well.E.g. Hannah and I were having brunch at the seaside for the first time in a month,Ior more. The body issue was/is my eye who have got a tiny skratch inside,but seems to be healing fine(OMG how annoying it can be.A hell of an energy sucker).

So, chicken and potatoes waiting in the oven while I wish you a pleasant trip in Holland and inspiration with your whistled snippet !

Some fighting chess yesterday, Magnus willing indeed to keep equal to first place and succeeding. And on Saturday we will have Wozniacki and Halep in the final of the Australian open! Let's make predictions!;)

Minus 17 Celsius yesterday morning here, ouch! No snowing but we still have a lot of what fell last week. Today's a bit better, "only" minus 11 this morning...

At Tata for the moment and enjoying the eye is making small progress,but longing for it to be ok again.Knock a lot of wood :)And sincerely hope your routine check will be of a positive nature !

3 finals comming up.The one with 5 players in contention we have here and the one in Australia tomorrow:Romania-Denmark !! ;) starting 8 o´clock in Romania-so it should be easy to get out of bed ;) And on top of that Denmark-Sweden in the semis,handball... Hopefully the nervesystem can take it...But first of all a privelledge to be in such a position.

Any thoughts on who will take Tata !?
(they play a tie break if it is a draw).

Little windy here.Not really winter,nor prespring.But that is what we have got;)

If I am forced to make a prediction i would say Wozniacky in 3.She is in the best shape for years and I think Haleps style fits her.But she hasn´t even won a G.S and that may bother her too much.But all in all they are evenly matched.

Either way:May you(and your dear Maria) have a the best possible weekend with a lot of joy and good health !

p.s.:just saw a documentary about a man who after he got a head injury,played and composed on the piano as a professionel.Something he never was able to before the accident!

But not shure about the morale in this story...
But a couple of years ago I went to a violin concert with my sister and Hannah.A huge concert in our big music house. Afterwards sister and H were trailing and there in front of me I spotted a familar face.The man with the violin in the doorway to his highclass hotel. Immediatedly we connected and had a fine chat.E.g. about his violin!And how it is to perform for such a huge crowd.....Nice fellow he was and I´ll never forget the faces of my sister and H when the caught up with me .:)

Nice shared memory with that violonist. The morale may be that you've managed to catch the right opportunities in your life which, some of them, brought unexpected changes to you? Or that you were always ready to react to destiny's signs, be they strange or unexpected?

Just got back with Maria from the theatre where we've seen a recent movie on Churchill (forgot the name, that one centered on the Dunkirk episode), it was pretty good. That meant I've missed the last part of 11th round in Wijk, I'm going to take a look at some of the games now.

<Nice shared memory with that violonist. The morale may be that you've managed to catch the right opportunities in your life which, some of them, brought unexpected changes to you? Or that you were always ready to react to destiny's signs, be they strange or unexpected?>

Good call from you-thank you.And it covers huge part of my life.The inner and outer one.Plus it makes it easier to grow older when not so many destiny signs anymore and a bunch of good memories,with not so many regrets.

Oh,and you saw that movie portraying good old Winston,perhaps the only hero I have."The Darkest Hour" is the title,I think.Did you like it ? (It is #1 on mine "must see list").

Dont need to see no more thrillers for the next 10 years.That swede game made Hannah and I 5 years older and we never got these years back after our miracle come back ): But we lost to a better team on the day and it stays in the Scandinavian family.

Magnus winning again and now only sharing with Anish the first two places. Strange early draw by Mamedyarov. And I'm sorry for your countrymen losing against Sweden, but at least, as you said, they're Scandinavian too and now maybe fingers crossed for them winning the final?