4 ms·

Can someone please explain to me (someone complete out of the world of chess) why he doesn’t like to compete in the World Championship but likes to compete in o

by soneca 4y ago

Can someone please explain to me (someone complete out of the world of chess) why he doesn’t like to compete in the World Championship but likes to compete in other tournaments?

kriops 4y ago
WC requires copious amounts of high-intensity prep, close to a year from what he has said before, so this is a ROI thing for Carlsen. He has spent half-ish (emphasis on the ish) of his adult life preparing specifically for WC matches.
- tgarv 4y ago
  Why does the WC take so much more prep than other tournaments? Is it because of the format, or just the pressure to win?
  - aaronblohowiak 4y ago
    Between candidates (the tournament) and the event (the championship between current champ and challenger) there is a large gap so the top two can have time to study each other. Other tourneys you aren’t putting in so much prep about all your possible opponents because there are too many of them.
  - fernandopj 4y ago
    In terms of preparing against your opponent, at their level and with enough time to think over the board, one has to know so much theory about many lines, that as white you're forced to find "novelties", which are brand new or mostly never played lines that might never come up in the game, in the hopes of throwing your opponent of their preparation. With black, you have to prepare a few opening lines and know them so well as to avoid surprises and maximize chances of at least a draw. This takes a lot of time and energy and memorization becames a huge factor. When you face many opponents, the ROI of deep studying a few lines doesn't pay off against people who have a myriad of styles, so memorization plays a lesser role; and you play many tournaments so having a few bad ones isn't such a big deal, comparing to playing for WC.
aaronblohowiak 4y ago
The preparation. Studying your opponent’s history for 6 months without spending time actually _playing_ is not fun.
darkwizard42 4y ago
The format of world championships (almost all classical games with very long time) mean that preparation is key to going far. Additionally in modern chess with the way points are structured, draws are increasingly common and even aimed for by players when they sense they cannot eke out the win (and they can set them up VERY far in advance at times). This means to do well in the WC you have to prepare a LOT and with the format, the games are more draining and more difficult to get through (there are a number of stories of players who "break" mentally or make critical errors in game 8+ just due to sheer mental/physical fatigue). Just seems like the format is draining and the games aren't interesting/fun for Magnus.
__s 4y ago
Most tournaments are swiss format, so if you draw all your games you won't win the tournament because the person who wins the tournament will be the person who gets a few wins on top of their draws In WC it's zero sum, so there's less pressure to find wins

by soneca 4y ago

Can someone please explain to me (someone complete out of the world of chess) why he doesn’t like to compete in the World Championship but likes to compete in other tournaments?

kriops 4y ago

WC requires copious amounts of high-intensity prep, close to a year from what he has said before, so this is a ROI thing for Carlsen. He has spent half-ish (emphasis on the ish) of his adult life preparing specifically for WC matches.

tgarv 4y ago
Why does the WC take so much more prep than other tournaments? Is it because of the format, or just the pressure to win?
- aaronblohowiak 4y ago
  Between candidates (the tournament) and the event (the championship between current champ and challenger) there is a large gap so the top two can have time to study each other. Other tourneys you aren’t putting in so much prep about all your possible opponents because there are too many of them.
- fernandopj 4y ago
  In terms of preparing against your opponent, at their level and with enough time to think over the board, one has to know so much theory about many lines, that as white you're forced to find "novelties", which are brand new or mostly never played lines that might never come up in the game, in the hopes of throwing your opponent of their preparation. With black, you have to prepare a few opening lines and know them so well as to avoid surprises and maximize chances of at least a draw. This takes a lot of time and energy and memorization becames a huge factor. When you face many opponents, the ROI of deep studying a few lines doesn't pay off against people who have a myriad of styles, so memorization plays a lesser role; and you play many tournaments so having a few bad ones isn't such a big deal, comparing to playing for WC.

aaronblohowiak 4y ago

The preparation. Studying your opponent’s history for 6 months without spending time actually _playing_ is not fun.

darkwizard42 4y ago

The format of world championships (almost all classical games with very long time) mean that preparation is key to going far. Additionally in modern chess with the way points are structured, draws are increasingly common and even aimed for by players when they sense they cannot eke out the win (and they can set them up VERY far in advance at times). This means to do well in the WC you have to prepare a LOT and with the format, the games are more draining and more difficult to get through (there are a number of stories of players who "break" mentally or make critical errors in game 8+ just due to sheer mental/physical fatigue). Just seems like the format is draining and the games aren't interesting/fun for Magnus.

__s 4y ago

Most tournaments are swiss format, so if you draw all your games you won't win the tournament because the person who wins the tournament will be the person who gets a few wins on top of their draws In WC it's zero sum, so there's less pressure to find wins