Yesterday, Magnus Carlsen, a 15 year old Norwegian chess prodigy, unexpectedly won the Glitnir Rapid Chess Tournament in Reykjavík, Iceland, beating two-time rapid chess world champion Vishy Anand. The accomplished female chess player, Judith Polgar, also participated in the tournament which is said to have been one of the word’s most challenging this year.
Magnus won Hannes Hlífar Stefánsson in a thrilling final match.
“This is an incredibly good feeling,” Magnus told Morgunbladid, saying the win was unexpected. “Especially after the rapid chess on Wednesday when I felt that I didn’t play so well. I also believed that it would be very difficult to beat Anand,” said Magnus.
Magnus’ performance generated much interest especially his win over the Israeli grandmaster Sergey Erenburg in the semi-finals. When playing Erenburg, Magnus was able to win a position which looked like a tie to the delight of the hundreds of spectators who gave him a standing ovation.
