It has been a while! We’ll get this operation back up and running, and let’s start gently, with a small bit of info; namely, that a strong (but not super-elite) event is underway, the London Chess Classic. Starring two 2700+ GMs (Dommaraju Gukesh - whose recent results have been horrendous [but hey, he’s still only 17 years old; he’ll be back and then some] - and Nikita Vitiugov) and several players who are near and/or have been over 2700 (including Michael Adams, Amin Tabatabei, and Hans Niemann) the chess should be very interesting.
Round 1 took place today, December 1, and the strongest current player and the strongest player historically were the two winners: Gukesh defeated Mateusz Bartel and Adams beat Tabatabei. At a cursory glance, both players’ victories looked smooth and impressive, with Gukesh taking the tactical bull by the horns while Adams wove his characteristic spider web to grind out his victory.
Let’s keep an eye on this tournament while we wait for the mega-major Champions Chess Tour Grand Finals, starting in Toronto in a week or so and featuring Carlsen, Caruana, Nakamura and other superstars.