Number 1, that's all
After Capablanca, Euwe and Fischer, the Occident was looking for a worthy representative able to stand up to the powerful Soviet and post-Soviet armada. Vladimir Kramnik, who ended the reign of the Garry Kasparov generation, subsequently lost the world title against the Indian Viswanathan Anand. With the latter, the sceptre returned to his homeland but the Europe of old has had no say since the short reign of Max Euwe, the Dutch world champion from 1935 to 1937. The one who has been called up to carry the hopes of an entire continent was born in 1990 in Norway.
After a meteoric rise, Magnus was quickly dubbed the “Wonderboy" by his first serious trainer Simen Agdestein. Grandmaster at the age of 13, he has seen neither landing nor stagnation in his ascent to the world number one spot which he reached at 19. Having won almost every tournament, such as Wijk aan Zee, the Melody Amber in Monaco, the Pearl Spring in Beijing, the London closed tournament or the Biel Festival, Magnus Carlsen can have no goal but becoming world champion.
He did not wish to enter the current cycle because he disagrees with the fact that the reigning world champion has the right to wait for his challenger in the final, but Magnus will be able to try his luck again in the next cycle. In the meantime, in addition to a promising modeling career for the G-Star company, which made him famous worldwide, Carlsen plays tournaments he fancies to keep in touch with competition. Biel was fortunate to receive him after having placed faith in him in 2005 (he was 14), giving him the chance to take on stronger players. Magnus won in 2007 and has remained faithful to the organisers since then.
This edition of the Festival will be an interesting test to see where his game stands. Indeed, having warmed up with a unique progression in the history of chess, the young Norwegian started the second half of 2010 with some opening licences that reminded him that he really was stronger than all the other players, but that he should at least pay respect to Caissa, the goddess of chess. He soon strengthened his game and improved his openings, but some reminiscences of a more flamboyant style remain here and there.
Garry Kasparov, who was Carlsen's coach for a short time, would thus complain at the London tournament in 2010 – a tournament he just won ahead of Anand and Kramnik (the last two world champions) – that his ex-protégé wasn't working enough. Having played only in Wijk aan Zee, at the Melody Amber and in Bazna in 2011, Carlsen has had ample time to meet the wishes of his illustrious adviser. In this respect, his opening choices and his play in Biel will be a very exciting indication of whether he will be the clear favourite for the next cycle or if he'll merely be another contender.
A first answer to this question has certainly been given in Bazna, in June, where the young Norwegian Mozart (the nickname he's always had) played head and shoulders above all his opponents to sit again on top of the July Elo rating list. In this regard, he is the first active world number one player to take part in the Biel Festival. If he keeps it going, perhaps he'll be able to show up one day in Biel as a world champion.
Alexandre Vuilleumier
(Translation : Nils Delmonico)