MAGNUS CARLSEN DEFENDS THE WORLD
CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE
Magnus Carlsen won two tie-break games and retained the World Championship title.
It took everything he had against a gritty opponent — Sergey Karjakin, the Russian challenger — but
Magnus Carlsen retained the World Championship by beating Karjakin in a series of tiebreaker
games on Wednesday, Nov. 30.
The match, which was held in the South Street Seaport in New York City, had a prize fund of one
million euros (about $1.1 million). Carlsen will receive 55 percent of the purse and Karjakin 45
percent.
It was the first World Chess Championship match in New York City since 1995, when Garry
Kasparov defeated Viswanathan Anand atop the World Trade Center.
During the match, a global audience of nearly 10 million people tuned in to watch on World Chess,
the official site of the match, while 10,000 spectators and VIPs watched the action live at the Fulton
Market building in the South Street Seaport.
The match was sponsored by EG Capital Investors, an institutional money manager, and PhosAgro, a
large Russian fertilizer company.
Andrey Guryev, chief executive of PhosAgro, said, “I am convinced we made the right choice when
we decided to be the global partner for what was one of the most interesting World Championship
matches in history, between two exceptionally talented young grandmasters.”
Michael Stanton, founder of EG Capital Advisors, said, “The World Chess Championship in New York
City demonstrated that chess is becoming a unifying platform for the intellectual and business
community. We are glad to be a part of it!”
The match between Carlsen, who is from Norway, and Karjakin began on November 11 as a best-o-12 series. Carlsen, who turned 26 on Wednesday, became champion in 2013 by beating Anand. He
was a heavy pre-match favorite based on his experience and that he is the No. 1 ranked player in the
world. Karjakin, who is also 26 and is known as a defensive specialist, was ranked No. 9 before the
match began.
Almost
from the
start,
things did
not
go
according
to plan for
Carlsen. He
missed
clear wins
in Games 3
and 4 after
brilliant
defensive
efforts by
Karjakin.
Then, in
Game 5,
Carlsen
made
a
mistake that Karjakin failed to exploit.
Finally, after seven draws, it was Karjakin who took the lead in Game 8 after Carlsen, clearly
frustrated by his inability to break through Karjakin’s defenses, overpressed.
Now on the ropes, Carlsen barely escaped in Game 9. But in Game 10, things finally went Carlsen’s
way as Karjakin missed a sure-fire line that would have led to a draw. From there, Carlsen milked a
small advantage to wear down Karjakin and finally beat him, levelling the score.
After a tussle in Game 11 ended in a draw, Carlsen had White in the last regulation game. Rather
than press again, he seemed content to steer toward a quick draw and take his chances in a series of
tiebreaker games. The tiebreakers began with a series of four rapid games, and as the two-time
defending World Champion at that time control, Carlsen seemed sure to have an advantage.
In the first game, Karjakin had White but was unable to gain an edge and the game ended in a draw.
In Game 2, Carlsen built up a large advantage, but missed a win in the endgame.
In Game 3, Karjakin’s luck finally ran out as he blundered in a difficult position, allowing Carlsen to
immediately win a piece and seal the victory.
In the last game, needing a win, Karjakin played the Sicilian Defense as Black. But the opening is not
consistent with Karjakin’s style and Carlsen had no trouble seizing control of the game. In the end,
he finished up with a stylish queen sacrifice to checkmate Karjakin and retain the title.
In the press conference afterward, Carlsen was relieved and admitted that the match was the most
difficult of his career and congratulated Karjakin on how well he played.
Karjakin, asked if he would try to win the Candidates tournament again so that he could again
become the challenger for the title, laughed and said, “That’s the plan.”
By Dylan Loeb McClain
Photos: Max Avdeev