Magnus Carlsen wins 2015 World Rapid Chess Championships

Magnus Carlsen is the 2015 World Rapid Chess Champion

Reigning World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen once again showed why he is the best player in the World, by winning the 2015 World Rapid Chess Championships, in Berlin. Carlsen successfully defended his title which he won last year, reports Chessdom. The Norwegian was at his best, tallying 11.5 points with eight wins and seven draws, and finishing a point clear of Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia, Teimour Radjabov of Azerbaijan and Leinier Dominguez of Cuba who all scored 10.5 points each and finished second to fourth respectively.He said that although he had powered through all fifteen matches in the tournament without losing a single game, almost none of the matches had been an easy ride. “It is important not to let the results affect you too much and you shouldn’t be afraid of draws when you play in a tournament of 15 rounds. There were many games which could have gone either way for me, but I always had a little more time and a little bit of control of position”, he remarked. The World number 1, who hates losing, says he has the potential to win games from different positions. “I’m becoming a fox, an experienced player. I win most of the games that could tilt either way”, he continued. The 24-year old will be looking to come good in the World Blitz Championship, which starts immediately after the Rapid tournament, and will play hard to again defend his crown. India’s number 1 Grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand ended the World Rapid Championship on a positive note, scoring four points out of five games on the final day, after losing his way in the first two days. Anand scored 9.5 points in all, had a relatively good last day, considering his performances in the first two days were below par. India’s revelation in the tournament was youngster Vidith Santosh Gujrathi who scored nine points and finished just a spot behind Anand. Gujrathi impressed one and all with his performance, which included a win over recent World Cup semi-finalist Ukrainian GM Pavel Eljanov and a draw against top GM Levon Aronian. Anand will be gunning for a podium finish in the Blitz Championships, which is his favored category. The former world champion will be joined by India’s number 2 GM Pendyala Harikrishna, who is on a personal high, after winning the strong PokerStars Isle of Man International Chess Tournament.