Magnus Dominates in Nanjing, Crosses 2800 Barrier

Magnus Carlsen didn't keep up his blistering pace after starting 4.5/5 in Nanjing, but he did more than enough to win, finishing at 8/10, a full 2.5 points ahead of second place Veselin Topalov. Carlsen went an incredible 5/5 with White and also took a win with Black against Dmitriy Jakovenko without losing a single game throughout the event.

Not only did Carlsen put on a historical performance, he also crossed the 2800 barrier for the first time on the live rating list. If he hangs on to his 2801 rating until the November rating list, he'll be just the 5th place to cross that barrier on a FIDE rating list in history. The other four - Kasparov, Kramnik, Topalov and Anand - have all become world champions. Can Carlsen be far behind? He'll have to wait at least one more cycle, but all signs are pointing towards Carlsen following their path.