Having talked up Magnus Carlsen at the Paris Grand Chess Tour event, the wheels came of almost the moment I hit the 'publish' button. He was on 18/22 and looking as if he was running away with the tournament. Then there were a couple of losses in the blitz and things got a lot more interesting. He only managed to score 6 from 14 in the remaining rounds, allowing Maxime Vachier-Lagrave to lead with 1 round to play, and only catching him with a final round win (MVL drew).
But if Carlsen knows one thing, it is what he needs to do to win an event (a trait he seemingly shares with Karpov). Having tied with MVL he then won the playoff to take the winners trophy. The fact that Carlsen won the playoff is probably not a surprise, as apparently he is 8 from 8 in playoffs since 2007. MVL at least has the consolation that he split the prize money with Carlsen, earning $31000 for his efforts.
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