Arctic Chess Challenge

Submitted by SonofPearl on Mon, 08/18/2008 at 12:59pm.

The Arctic Chess Challenge in Tromsø, Norway, recently ended with GM Igor Kurnosov winning with a score of 7.5/9.

This tournament is surely one of the most northerly tournaments in the world, and spectating this year was a certain Magnus Carlsen, who was supporting his former trainer Simen Agdestein (pictured) as well as his father, Henrik and his sisters Ellen and Ingrid.

Simen Agdestein, who finished second in the event, is a multi-talented fellow - besides being a chess Grandmaster (current rating 2583 Elo) he also played football (soccer) for his native Norway for many years at international level and even starred in Norway's version of the popular 'Dancing With The Stars' show.

An interview with Simen and an example of his prowess on the chessboard, rather than the dancefloor, is shown below, from the last round of this year's event.