Fresh from what was called an “impressive” performance on Tuesday, when Norwegian chess champion Magnus Carlsen beat his opponent from Poland at the Chess Olympiad in Tromsø, Carlsen was facing another major challenge Wednesday afternoon: A match against Armenian chess star Levon Aronian.
Armenia has won the Chess Olympiad several times and is a country where chess is a national sport and obligatory at school. Aronian is described as a national hero and superstar, and the biggest challenge so far for Carlsen, who has become a national hero himself in Norway after winning the chess world championship last year.
The two were both in deep concentration over the chess board Wednesday afternoon, their positions even at around 5pm. It was a contrast to Carlsen’s superiority when facing Polish grand master Radoslaw Wojtaszek on Tuesday, when he won again. The three other players for Norway and Poland respectively all ended in remis, leaving Norway with 2.5 points compared to 1.5 for Poland.
newsinenglish.no staff
