2018 CHESS: Carlsen Retains Title By Defeating Caruana In Playoff (After 12 Draws In Standard Play)

World champion Magnus Carlsen will retain his title for another two years after defeating Fabiano Caruana 3-0 in the 2018 World Chess Championship playoffs. After twelve consecutive draws in standard play of 40 moves in 150 minutes Carlsen and Caruana were scheduled to play four games of rapid (25 minutes for each side for the entire game) with the first to 2.5 points to win the title. Carlsen swept the first three games, illustrating his dominance in quicker speed games and cementing his status as the best chess player in the world (again).

Here are the three decisive matches:

Game 1

Game 2   
Game 3   
Congrats, Magnus!

2018 World Chess Championship: Carlsen versus Caruana (London, November 9-28)

The 2018 World Chess championship is being held in London starting today and should last until November 28th or so. It is between the defending world champion 27-year-old Magnus Carlsen of Norway, and 26-year-old Fabiano Caruana of the United States. Carlsen has been the World #1 ranked chess player since 2010, and first won the World Championship by defeating Viswanathan Anand in 2013 at the age of 22.

However, Caruana is the first American player to challenge for the World Chess champion title since Bobby Fischer in 1972. This is a *big* deal and he is the real deal. I didn't know much about him but this article informed me of his bona fides.

Carlsen-Caruana is the matchup that the chess world was hoping for. It’s world No. 1 versus world No. 2—the first World Championship match between the top two since Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov went at it for the fifth and final time in 1990. Caruana only sits three Elo rating points behind Carlsen at 2832 to 2835, both the highest combined rating and the smallest ratings difference in World Championship history. If Caruana wins the match within the 12 classical games, he’ll not only take the title but also the world No. 1 spot that Carlsen has held continuously since July 2011—about which Magnus has said, “I would like to give you some boring, politically correct answer, but the truth is, yeah, it does bother me!”

This should be awesome!

Carlsen Retains World Chess Champion Title By Winning Tiebreak

Wow! On his 26th birthday, Magnus Carlsen was able to defend his world chess championship title over a challenge from Russian Sergey Karjakin by winning the 4-game rapid chess (25 minutes plus 10 seconds per move) match 3-1 today. After two draws, Carlsen won the last two games, finishing the very last game with a flashy Queen sacrifice which forces mate in two moves! (Do you see it?)

2016 World Chess Championship Tied At 6-All; Tiebreaker Games To Be Played Wednesday

The 2016 World Chess Championship is going on right now in New York City. The current champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway, who turns 26 on Wednesday while the challenger is Sergey Karjakin is already 26 and was born in the Ukraine but is representing Russia.

After 12 games (with only 2 decisive games, Karjakin won game 8 with Black while Carlsen won game 10 with white) the two are tied with 6 points each. On Wednesday, they will play in several short tiebreaker games to decide who the new World Champion is. Carlsen is expected to have the slight edge, since he has won the World Rapid Championship twice.

2013 CHENNAI WCC: Carlsen Wins Title By Defeating Anand 6.5-3.5!

The King is dead, long live the King! 22-year-old Magnus Carlsen of Norway has won the world chess championship match by defeating Viswanathan Anand 6.5 to 3.5. Carlsen won the 5th, 6th and 9th games in the 10-game match. The 9th game was the most exciting, with Anand apparently building up a huge attack and then suddenly blundering to lose the game.

Chess.com reports:

Magnus Carlsen won the 2013 World Chess Championship inChennai, India to become the 16th Undisputed World Champion of Chess. The 10th and last game of the match ended in a draw, and so the final score is 6.5-3.5 in favour of the Norwegian, who will celebrate his 23rd birthday in eight days from now.

Le roi est mort, vive le roi! Magnus Carlsen is the new World Champion of chess, and follows Viswanathan Anand's reign as undisputed world champion between 2007 and 2013. From the traditional lineage of chess players who won the crown in a match, Carlsen is the 16th champion after Wilhelm Steinitz, Emanuel Lasker, José Capablanca, Alexander Alekhine, Max Euwe, Mikhail Botvinnik, Vassily Smyslov, Mikhail Tal, Tigran Petrosjan, Boris Spassky, Robert Fischer, Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik and Viswanathan Anand. If we include FIDE World Champions Alexander Khalifman, Ruslam Ponomariov, Rustam Kasimdzhanov and Veselin Topalov, Carlsen is the 20th Champion of the game.

Congratulations to Magnus on his victory!

2013 CHENNAI WCC: Carlsen Leads Anand 4-2 At Halfway Point

The Word Chess Championships is currently going on in Chennai, India between Vishy Anand and Magnus Carlsen. The 22-year-old Carlsen is challenging the defending champion who is almost twice his age. The match is at the halfway point, and after beginning with four draws disaster has struck for Anand with two consecutive losses, one with black, and more ominously, one with white. (Generally among elite chess players having white and the right to play first is considered a tangible advantage.)

Here are the two games Anand has lost, starting with Game 6:

and Game 5


It is hard to see how Anand comes back from a 0-2 deficit. There are only 6 games left. Basically he would have to do to Carlsen what what Carlsen did to him. Presumably Carlsen will be trying to draw the remaining games, while Anand will be desperately trying to win (which may lead to another loss.)

It should be noted that Garry Kasparov also won the World Championship when he was 22, and dominated chess for the next decade. We may be seeing history repeat itself....

GRAPHIC: Marriage Equality Throughout Europe

With England's completion of the enactment of same-sex marriage earlier this month, it's instructive to review the geographic distribution of marriage equality throughout the European continent. The above map indicates that Spain, Portugal, France, England, Scotland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark and Norway are all dark-blue marriage equality states. Additionally, there are many other states in Europe which have other forms of legal recognition for same-sex couples. Of the dark-blue marriage equality states only Iceland and Norway are NOT members of the European Union.

There are ten European countries (in red) which have constitutional bans prohibiting recognition or legalization of same-sex marriage: Belarus, Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia and Ukraine. Half of these countries (Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland) ARE members of the European Union.

It will be interesting to see how the European Union will resolve the question of marriage equality. I would guess that the EU will have uniform laws recognizing same-sex couples well before the United States does.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

GRAPHIC: Countries With Marriage Equality

With the passage of marriage equality in Uruguay, the above graphic is floating around the Interwebs. It is very soon to be out of date, because in addition to the imminent case of France, Great Britain will almost certainly enact marriage equality by the end of the year.

Spain's Top Court Upholds Marriage Equality Law

Good news! When the conservatives in the Popular Party (PP) won Spain's parliamentary elections last year they vowed to overturn the country's marriage equality law which has been in effect since 2005. They first did so by appointing conservative judges to Spain's high court which has been considering an appeal to the law's constitutionality that was filed shortly by the PP after the law went into effect more than 7 years ago.

Today comes word that by a vote of 8-3 the law was upheld by Spain's Constitutional Court in Madrid:

Spain’s Parliament passed the gay marriage law in 2005 when it was Socialist-controlled, with Popular Party deputies opposed. The Popular Party took power late last year after the Socialists were ousted over their handling of the economy. 

The gay marriage law angered the predominant Roman Catholic Church but opinion surveys showed most Spaniards backed it. Belgium and the Netherlands approved gay marriage laws before Spain. 

More than 22,000 gay marriages have taken place in Spain.

The PP could still try to pass a new law through Parliament repealing marriage equality in the country, but since then other countries in Europe have also ratified marriage equality, including neighboring Portugal in 2010, Sweden in 2009, Denmark in 2012 and Norway in 2008. In 2010 fellow Spanish-speaking country Argentina enacted marriage equality and France is poised to consider legislation to do so soon, although the political debate and religious opposition is growing more fractious as the possibility of marriage equality becomes more realistic in that country.

Regardless, today we can celebrate that Spain has marriage equality, which is one of the reasons why my husband and myself spent a week visiting the country (Barcelona and Madrid) earlier this year!

GRAPHIC: Interactive Map Of Global Marriage Equality

France is poised to join the list of countries in which same-sex marriage is legal by 2013, and in light of the debate which is about to start in that country when the marriage bill is introduced in Parliament in October, the news service France24 has published an interactive map demonstrating the countries around the world which allow full marriage equality or civil unions.

hat/tip to Joe.My.God

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Norway Dissolves State Church

More good news about the rise of Godlessness (or decline of "organized religion") from around the world. Apparentl in Norway, the legislature has voted to support a constitutional amendment which would dissolve the official state Church of Norway:

In an unprecedented move, the Norwegian Parliament has voted to abolish the state-sponsored Church of Norway with a constitutional amendment.


[...]


The nation will not have an official religion, and the government will not participate in the appointment of church deans and bishops.

[...]


Traditionally, every citizen of Norway became a member of the Church of Norway upon baptism. 79 percent of Norwegians are registered members, but only about 20 percent make religion a large part of their lives and only two percent attend church regularly, according to 2009 and 2010 data. A 2002 study done by Gustafsson and Pettersson revealed that 72 percent of Norwegians "do not believe in a personal God."

Congratulations, Norway! (Sounds like a country I might want to visit someday!)

Denmark PM Sets Date Marriage Equality Legalized

Excellent news! As I blogged about last October, the Government of Denmark has announced that it will be enacting marriage equality in the near future, and today comes word that the date will be June 15th, 2012.

At her weekly press conference, Tuesday, Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt said the government is putting the finishing touches to a bill that will come into force on June 15th, allowing homosexuals and lesbians to walk down the aisle in the church of their choice – if they can find a priest who’s willing to conduct the ceremony.

“It will always be up to the individual priest as to whether he or she is prepared to bless gay couples but this legislation provides homosexuals with the same rights as heterosexuals,” said the PM.

Way back in 1989, Denmark was the very first country in the world to have state-sponsored recognition of same-sex couples when they enacted registered partnerships, which was essentially what we would now call civil unions or comprehensive domestic partnerships. Now, there are well over a half-dozen countries which have full marriage equality, led by the Netherlands in 2000 and followed by Canada, Argentina, South Africa, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Sweden and Norway.

Denmark is a European country of 5.5 million people, about the size of Minnesota or Wisconsin. When Maryland and Washington defend their marriage equality laws at the ballot box later this year, even more people (5.8 million and 6.8 million, respectively) will gain access to marriage equality.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

Portugal President Enacts Marriage Equality

Portugal will become the tenth jurisdiction in the world (sixth country in Europe) where marriage between same-sex couples is legal after President Anibal Cavaco Silva agreed to allow the measure become law today, the International Day Against Homophobia, despite direct lobbying from the Pope, who had decried gay marriage when he visited the country last week.

The bill was a priority of Portugal's recently elected prime minister Jose Socrates who had included the measure in his election portfolio. However, to become law the measure needed the assent of the President.

"I feel I should not contribute to a pointless extension of this debate, which would only serve to deepen the divisions between the Portuguese and divert the attention of politicians away from the grave problems affecting us," Cavaco Silva said.

He said that, in ratifying the law, he was setting aside "personal convictions."

Elsewhere in Europe, gay marriage is permitted in Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Norway.

Five U.S. states and the District of Columbia have legalized same-sex marriage, as have Canada and South Africa.

Portugal is nearly 90 percent Catholic. However, only around 2 million of its 10.6 million people describe themselves as practicing Catholics and in recent times Portugal has drifted away from the church's teachings.

The current Socialist government has defied the church before. It passed a law in 2007 allowing abortion. The following year, it introduced a law allowing divorce even if one of the spouses objected. It has argued that the legislation is part of Portugal's "modernization."

The new law removes the previous legal stipulation that marriage is between two people of different sexes.

Portugal's Constitutional Court validated the bill's legality last month.

[...]

Portugal lifted a prohibition on homosexuality in the early 1980s. In 2001, it passed a law allowing "civil unions" between same-sex couples, which granted couples certain legal, tax and property rights. However, it did not allow couples to take a partner's name, nor inherit his or her possessions or state pension.

Congratulations! Anyone fancy a trip to Lisbon to celebrate?

Carlsen Tops World Chess Ratings With 2810

1	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2810	16	1990
2	Topalov, Veselin	g	BUL	2805	4	1975
3	Anand, Viswanathan	g	IND	2790	9	1969
4	Kramnik, Vladimir	g	RUS	2788	16	1975
5	Aronian, Levon	g	ARM	2781	17	1982
6	Gelfand, Boris	g	ISR	2761	25	1968
7	Gashimov, Vugar	g	AZE	2759	21	1986
8	Ivanchuk, Vassily	g	UKR	2749	13	1969
9	Wang, Yue	g	CHN	2749	8	1987
10	Svidler, Peter	g	RUS	2744	27	1976

The January 1, 2010 FIDE rating list is out and chess wunderkind Magnus Carlsen is at the #1 position with 2810 points ahead of former World Champion Veselin Topalov
at 2805 and current World Champion Visnwanathan Anand at 2790. Only 5 players in history have ever broken the 2800 rating barrier (Carlsen, Topalov, Anand, Kramnik and Garry Kasparov.) The top American player is Hikaru Nakamura at #28.

Happy 19th Birthday to World's #1 Chess Player, Magnus Carlsen!

Today, November 30th, is Magnus Carlsen's 19th birthday. Carlsen, the teen grandmaster from Norway is currently the World's highest rated chess player, and is also the youngest person to reach that mark.

From The New York Times:

Mr. Carlsen, who turns 19 on Nov. 30, is only the seventh No. 1-ranked player since the ranking system began in 1970. Garry Kasparov, the Russian former world champion, became No. 1 in January 1984, when he was 20 years and 9 months old. He held the spot for 18 months, lost it, and then regained it and held it for 20 consecutive years before retiring in March 2005.

The other players to be No. 1 are all former world champions, including Bobby Fischer, Anatoly Karpov, Vladimir Kramnik and Viswanathan Anand.

Rankings are based on cumulative performances, measured by something called a rating. Mr. Carlsen’s rating is now 2,806, and Mr. Topalov’s is 2,805. Mr. Anand, 39, the current world champion, finished in a tie for fourth in Moscow and is now No. 3, with a rating of 2,790.

Although he is the world's highest rated player, Carlsen can not become World Champion for a few years. In April, Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria and defending champion Viswanathan Anand of India will play a world championship match of several games in Sofia, Bulgaria to determine the next World Champion. Carlsen is expected by many to become World Champion in the next few years.

18-year-old Becomes 5th Chess Player Over 2800 Rating

Teen chess sensation Magnus Carlsen of Norway blew away the field in Nanjing, China by winning 6 games and drawing the rest for an amazing 8 points out of 10, a full 2 1/2 points ahead of the top-ranked player in the world, Veselin Topalov. Most tournaments at this level are won by a 1/2 point or 1 point.

Carlsen's victory gives him an insane performance rating of 3002 and an actual rating of 2801, which is only the fifth time in history anyone will have had a published rating above 2800. At 18, Carlsen is far younger than Garry Kasparov, Viswanathan Anand, Topalov and Vladimir Kramnik who have achieved this feat (and all of these players have been World Champion, with Anand currently scheduled to defend his title against Topalov in a match scheduled for next year).

Already most chess columnists are speculating on when, not if, Carlsen will become the first Western chess champion since Bobby Fischer. Interestingly, Kasparov, who retired in March 2005 from chess to focus on politics in Russia has recently been coaching Carlsen and the Norwegian's results have been spectacular ever since.