Article #49756

The world No 1’s setback in Oslo and reduced participation coincides with the emergence of a new star

Magnus Carlsen, the world No 1, had his worst tournament result since 2015 last week when the 35-year-old ended up fourth of six in the $178,000 Norway Chess event at Oslo, losing four games out of 10.

There were reasons for his disappointing showing. Previous editions of the event were in distant Stavanger, far from the hometown pressures of Oslo, while Carlsen is the father of a baby son, and he arrived at several games seemingly unprepared.