Best of CLO 2013 #2- Rogers on the Sinquefield Cup
January 27, 2014
IanRogerslead.jpgThe #2 article in Best of CLO 2013 is Ten Things We Learned From the Sinquefield Cup by GM Ian Rogers. Rogers was a commentator at the strongest ever tournament held in the US, at the Saint Louis Chess Club. It was also Magnus Carlsen’s last tournament before he became World Champion. 

Four players tournaments are always a risky proposition; if one or both games are boring and/or short then fans feel ripped off. The Sinquefield Cup had a 30 move rule - no agreed draws before move 30 but that is no insurance against dull games.

Fortunately all four players displayed the one characteristic you need to have a successful four-player event - fearlessness. Even the lowest rated player in the field, Gata Kamsky, did not try to shut his opponents down and in a parallel universe at least one of the four attacks he generated might have crashed through
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GM Rogers is a frequent contributor to CLO and Chess Life Magazine. He wrote about the World Championship for CLO as well as the February cover story. His latest contribution for CLO was on Tata Steel a nd his next piece will be on Zurich. He also earned Best of CLO honors #10 for another 2013 piece, “Reykjavik Open Ends With a Whimper.” 

The Judges Sound Off
(More on the judges here) 

Well-written with good content. Grandmaster Ian Rogers communicates effectively, his ten points are organized on the page in a way that make sense to the reader. His ideas weave logic and flow to tell a charming story.”- Galen Pyle

Grandmaster Ian Rogers reviews the Sinquefield Cup with a light-hearted Top 10 list of highlights.  The chosen format fits the writer's witty style better than a simple chronology of the chess happenings in St. Louis.  Five critical positions, each lightly annotated to illustrate a key point, provide insight to the strengths, weaknesses and personalities of the World #1 and #2, Carlsen and Aronian.  For those who couldn't travel to St. Louis, GM Rogers shares his eyes and ears to bring this exciting event to life.    
-Michael Aigner

This was somewhat humorous. I did live commentary with Ian on this event.  Maybe I should have written a similar article. –GM Ben Finegold

GM Ian Rogers definitely has sense of humor! He presents to us in a authentic way ten remarkable truths of one of the best tournaments of 2013.
-    Carla Heredia

Best of CLO Countdown 2013
1. ????
2. Ten Things We Learned From the Sinquefield Cup by GM Ian Rogers
3.
Dinos to the Slav: Silman on Apple Apps by IM Jeremy Silman (Judging article)
4. The Scoop on SuperNationals V from the US Chess Scoop (Judging article)
5. Summers at the US Chess School by Matan Prilleltensky (Judging article)
6. On the Mat, Over The Board by Melinda J. Matthews (Judging article)
7. Greg on Chess: Magnus & Openings by IM Greg Shahade (Judging article) 
8. On the Way to Breakthrough by IM Justin Sarkar (Judging article) 
9. Melinda's Swan Song to SuperNationals by Melinda J. Matthews  (Judging article) 
10. Reykjavik Open Ends with a Whimper (or why Greg Shahade is Wrong, Again) by GM Ian Rogers (Judging article)