– They had beaten him up. That’s what Magnus Carlsen’s opponent Rauf Mamedov jokingly says to the Russian website sports.ru. He believes the Norwegian would have heard it from chess greats such as Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov, had he made the same maneuver against them. It is an incident from a game against Carlsen last week – in the weekly online tournament organized by Chess.com – that has the Azerbaijani reacting strongly. The Norwegian played with black pieces, and began the game by moving the pawn to the g5 square. That made Mamedov, who at the time was leading the tournament, see red. REPRIMAND: Carlsen receives criticism for his behavior during the match from the Azerbaijani grandmaster. Photo: ARUN SANKAR / AFP He left the party as a result of the move. – It took a couple of seconds (before I decided). But I’ll reveal a secret: I knew that Magnus sometimes plays like this. And I promised myself: “If something like this happens to me, I will resign and quit.” And unfortunately it happened in the 10th round, when I was number one. Then it hurt more, says the chess player to the Russian website. Justifies the choice But why did Mamedov react to Carlsen’s opening move? According to several chess voices, the opening move is considered the worst thing you can do with black pieces. Many therefore believe that it is degrading to open like this and shows a lack of respect for the opponent. REACTING TO THIS: This is how the position looked when Mamedov resigned. Photo: Screenshot In retrospect, there has been a debate about the strength of move “g5” initially. Chess player Aleksandr Khalifman claims that it is mathematically the weakest, and Stockfish 15 gives white pieces a +2.3 advantage, according to Chess.com – If you’ve come to make fun of us, I’ll be fine. I don’t consider myself to be right either, but I definitely don’t want to take part in something like that, says Mamedov. What do you think of Carlsen’s move? Go ahead! He must be allowed to do that. No, ugh. We want none of this. Support Mamedov’s reaction here, yes. Unsure and don’t know! Show result The experienced chess player says he did not speak to Carlsen after he had given up, and left the game – which was played over the internet – immediately. He believes Carlsen would never have made the same move if the match had been played physically. Chess player and coach Sheila Barth Stanford also believes that the maneuver is special, but adds that it is not untypical of Carlsen. OBSERVED: – I have seen Magnus play a lot of strange moves and tested where the limit is, says Stanford. Photo: Rune Stoltz Bertinussen / NTB scanpix – That all chess players agree that the g5 move is bad is beyond any doubt. I understand that Mamedov is reacting. g5 is not something you play, she says to news. Stanford believes the move gives the opponent a big advantage, and that you can compare it to being two pawns down. The chess profile says that the symbol effect is large. – What Magnus is saying is that I can beat you with my arms behind my back – that I can start with a handicap. At the same time, Standford is critical of Mamedov giving up so quickly. – I hadn’t given up. After all, I had tried to prove why that move is so bad. Several have reacted There was immediate speculation as to whether Mamedov’s resignation was an attempt to give the Norwegian a taste of his own medicine. In recent weeks, Carlsen has put the spotlight on cheating in international chess by withdrawing from a party against Hans Niemann, accused of cheating. Mamedov clarifies that it was Carlsen’s sensational opening move, in a tournament with prize money, that made him give up. The Norwegian chess set also opened with similar moves in several of the matches during the tournament. MET: Wesley So reacted to Carlsen’s move in 2020. Here from Norway Chess earlier this year. Photo: Carina Johansen / NTB Carlsen has previously also played opening moves that have caused opponents to react. In 2020, he upset Wesley So in a tournament. So called it too “humiliating” in the match he also lost. The Norwegian explained at the time that he did it partly as a joke to give his friends a reason to watch, but also because it had an effect on his opponent, according to Chess.com. news has tried to get a comment from Carlsen via his manager and father Henrik Carlsen, but has so far been unsuccessful.
ttn-69
Reacted strongly to Magnus Carlsen move – seconds later he left the match – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
