Is the average grandmaster better at tactics than Magnus
08-27-2016
, 02:59 AM
08-27-2016
, 12:06 PM
08-27-2016
, 01:50 PM
09-15-2016
, 11:16 AM
Quote:
It's not possible to get to #1 in the world without being well-rounded. In fact I would say this is Carlsen's strength - though his style is positional, he is able to switch to a tactical style when the position demands it.
Most of the very top guys, Caruana, Vachier Lagrave, Nakamura, are pretty universal. Maybe a few guys are less well-rounded, like Giri and Adams are very positional, and Topalov is very tactical.
But generally speaking positional/ tactical is something that applies more to amateurs. To get to the GM level you have to be good at everything.
Most of the very top guys, Caruana, Vachier Lagrave, Nakamura, are pretty universal. Maybe a few guys are less well-rounded, like Giri and Adams are very positional, and Topalov is very tactical.
But generally speaking positional/ tactical is something that applies more to amateurs. To get to the GM level you have to be good at everything.
Karpov was also extremely good at tactics. The reason he's not a top player anymore is because with age (starting from his late 40s) he gradually lost his calculation skills. Every top GM has to be good at every type of position.