Carlsen is always a dangerous opponent, says coach Nielsen

MAGNUS Carlsen’s ‘second’ or coach Peter Heine Nielsen, who helped the Norwegian prepare for his match against Sergey Karjakin at the recent FIDE World Championships in New York, said the 26-year-old felt slightly uneasy after losing the eighth game.

“He became a bit nervous. It was the first time he was behind in a World Championship match. He wasn’t used to that feeling, but he managed to recover quickly. I can’t remember the last time he played nine games in a row without winning a single one. That was also a bit strange for him,” said Nielsen. 

But Qatari Grandmaster Mohammed Al Medaikhi felt the 26-year-old world champion was always a dangerous opponent. 

“Give him a slight advantage and he’ll be on the board for 10 hours. He’ll drag the opponent to the extreme. He enjoys every second of it,” said Al Medaikhi. 

Nielsen, a Danish Grandmaster, said Carlsen was a difficult player in tie-break.

“I think he was confident against Karjakin in the tie-break. He was focused and wanted to play his best without thinking about winning or losing. If you start thinking about results, you start getting nervous. When Magnus plays freely and doesn’t care too much, you see his best side. The play-off speaks for itself as he made the moves confidently,” he added. 

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