Who is Magnus Carlsen's inspiration at the Isle of Man?

by ChessBase India - 02/10/2017

Off late Magnus Carlsen has had a string of bad performances. His rating came down to a low of 2822 and he was knocked out of the World Cup by Chinese GM Bu Xiangzhi in just the third round. When things are not working your way, you need to change the way they are done. And Magnus did exactly that. Instead of travelling with his usual team of father, second and Manager, he decided to go to Isle of Man with someone special. And after seven rounds, he is in the sole lead with 6.0/7. Who is Magnus Carlsen's inspiration? Read the article to find out!

On July 23rd Magnus Carlsen posted the following photo on his Facebook profile page:

This was the first time that Magnus Carlsen had made a public announcement about his girlfriend. Prior to that around March 2017 he had changed his Facebook personal profile relationship status. However, it was not so clear to the chess world who is his girlfriend.

Meet 22-year-old Synne Cristian Larsen, Magnus Carlsen's current girlfriend. Magnus and Synne have been in a relationship since the Valentine's Day of 2017.

Usually Magnus travels to tournaments with his father Henrik Carlsen and second Peter Heine Nielsen | Photo: Amruta Mokal

After his debacle at the World Cup 2017, where he was knocked out in the third round by Bu Xiangzhi, Magnus decided to play in the Isle of Man International 2017. But this time he made some changes. Instead of his usual team, he took along with him his girlfriend Synne Christin Larsen.

Alan Ormsby chats with Magnus Carlsen and his girlfriend Synne | Photo: chess.com/Maria Emelianova

It is a general notion in the chess world that your play tends to suffer when you have a girlfriend. The general idea being that you are distracted and being distracted is not good for your chess! However, we have seen innumerable cases where having a girlfriend with you at an event has worked well for the player. And Magnus Carlsen proves that with his fantastic performance of 6.0/7 at the Isle of Man International.

Magnus with a rating performance of 2893 is already gaining 7.4 Elo points. He faces a stiff challenge in the penultimate round in the form of Fabiano Caruana.

With the right inspiration, everything is possible! \ Photo: Magnus Carlsen's Instagram

With 5.5/7, India's Vidit Gujrathi does have a chance of finishing first, but if there is someone after him whom we are rooting for....

...it is definitely the team of Magnus and Synne! | Photo: chess.com/ Maria Emelianova

Rank after Round 7

Rk.	SNo		Name	sex	FED	Rtg	Club/City	TB1	Rp	n	w	we	w-we	K	rtg+/-
1	1	GM	Carlsen Magnus		NOR	2827		6,0	2893	7	6	5,26	0,74	10	7,4
2	3	GM	Caruana Fabiano		USA	2799		5,5	2873	7	5,5	4,90	0,60	10	6,0
	5	GM	Nakamura Hikaru		USA	2781		5,5	2800	7	5,5	5,36	0,14	10	1,4
	8	GM	Eljanov Pavel		UKR	2734		5,5	2803	7	5,5	4,87	0,63	10	6,3
	12	GM	Vidit Santosh Gujrathi		IND	2702		5,5	2797	7	5,5	4,68	0,82	10	8,2
	16	GM	Sutovsky Emil		ISR	2683		5,5	2728	7	5,5	5,01	0,49	10	4,9