Norway Chess 31 May to 11 June 2022

[Mick Norris]

chess24

The Norway Chess organisers today revealed a line-up with several surprises for this year's 10th edition of the super tournament, which takes place from May 31 to June 11. 4-time winner Magnus Carlsen heads the field, as expected, but Richard Rapport and Teimour Radjabov, who will take part in the Candidates Tournament just six days after their final game in Stavanger, have both accepted invitations. So have ex-World Champions Viswanathan Anand and Veselin Topalov, and Wang Hao, who announced his retirement last year.

Pete Doggers

In a phone call with Chess.com today, Wang gave more details, saying that he has suffered for about a year from what was probably a stomach ulcer. Basically, throughout 2021, he was dealing with this, including during the Candidates Tournament, but since the start of 2022, he has been feeling better after a long time of rest.

"I did not expect this invitation at all and thought for about a week before I decided to accept it. After not traveling for a long time, I can use the fresh air!" joked Wang, who applied for a visa two days ago and is not expecting any trouble in getting to Norway.

# Fed Name Rtg Country
1 Magnus Carlsen 2864 Norway
2 Wesley So 2778 USA
3 Richard Rapport 2776 Hungary
4 Anish Giri 2773 Netherlands
5 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2771 Azerbaijan
6 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 2758 France
7 Teimour Radjabov 2753 Azerbaijan
8 Viswanathan Anand 2751 India
9 Wang Hao 2744 China
10 Veselin Topalov 2730 Bulgaria

[Matt Mackenzie]

So another chess "retirement" that happily didn't last that long.

[Mick Norris]

TWIC

I am a little surprised they didn't use the opportunity to invite another Norwegian player, likely Aryan Tari (I strongly believe that if you have a prestigious tournament if at all possible it should contribute to the development of the nations chess - if they don't invite their up and coming talent why would you expect another country's events to?)

[Matt Mackenzie]

Tari really struggled last time though, IIRC. Though you don't hear so much of Hammer these days?

[LawrenceCooper]

Tari really struggled last time though, IIRC. Though you don't hear so much of Hammer these days?

I had to look it up but he scored 3/10, comprising 1.5/2 v Nepo, =2 v Karjakin, 0.5/2 v Carlsen & 0/2 against Firouja & Rapport.

Rating wise, Hammer seems to have had his peak, reaching 2700 in 2016. Whilst he still has a very decent rating of 2621 he doesn't appear to be as active although it's a little hard to judge given the last two years.

[Mick Norris]

Rapport, who is switching federations to Romania, has withdrawn to be replaced by Tari

website

chess24

Magnus Carlsen and Vishy Anand will lock horns again as the 10th editor of Norway Chess starts in Stavanger this Monday with a blitz tournament. In the run-up to the event the organisers explained why they decided to invite a number of semi-retired and inactive players, including a surprise return to top-level action for China's Wang Hao.

Blitz today at 5 pm

[Matt Mackenzie]

What's the Rapport switch about then?

[Paul Cooksey]

What's the Rapport switch about then?

The Romanian Federation announces a surprising and high-profile change of federations: The Hungarian top player Richard Rapport and his wife Jovana, who plays for Serbia, will change to the Romanian Federation. Sacha Dragic, the owner of the Romanian gambling portal Superbet, is said to be behind this change of federations. Superbet sponsors numerous sporting events, most recently the Grand Chess Tour tournaments in Bucharest and Warsaw.

[Mick Norris]

So won the blitz

Carlsen lost to Anand and So

[Mick Norris]

What's the Rapport switch about then?

It's explained in the chess24 article

[Nick Burrows]

Fide should hold an auction each year where federations can bid for individual players to make up the international teams for that season.

[JustinHorton]

What's the Rapport switch about then?

What

[Matt Mackenzie]

Well anyway the actual chess has begun, and an impressive start for old man Vishy.

[David Sedgwick]

Today I watched the start of play live for the first time.

As Anand v Carlsen reached Move 3, a fire alarm sounded in the commentary area ...

[John Saunders]

Today I watched the start of play live for the first time.

As Anand v Carlsen reached Move 3, a fire alarm sounded in the commentary area ...

It's quite terrifying that the curse of Sedgwick, which first manifested itself in 1990, can now operate remotely from 1,000 miles away.

Anyone needing to know what I'm referring to should buy the book...