World Chess Championship 2018

For almost three weeks, two grandmasters could not determine which of them would become the new world champion. Having started the battle on November 9 and having tied 12 games, the chess players were forced to finish the championship with tie-breaks. A short series of three quick games played according to the Rapid rules (25 minutes + 10 seconds per turn), and they were marked by another victory for the current world champion Magnus Carlsen.

The World Cup in London has already become the 56th in a row. This time, the current champion, Norwegian Magnus Carlsen and the winner of the Candidates Tournament in Berlin, the American Fabiano Caruana, fought for the World Chess Championship. According to FIDE official statistics, at the time of the start, the rating of both players was almost the same - Caruana, having 2831 points, was only 3 points behind his counterpart.

Fabiano Caruana (left) and Magnus Carlsen (right), photo © chess.com

Carlsen defended his title not for the first time, being the world champion since 2013. Only in spring it was known who will became his contender, when the Candidates tournament was over. The winner was Caruana, beating a few dozen of the most talented players on the planet in a fair fight. For the American, this World Cup bacome a debut.

The intense battle, which lasted almost three weeks, on the last gaming day, November 26, ended in a draw. The three-hour 12th game, which the grandmasters played in the soundproof room, ended with the suggestion of the current champion “to remain friends” - 6: 6, and the fans of chess sports stopped in perplexity. The outcome of the confrontation was now to determine with the tie-break.

FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich visited the 12th game, photo © chess.com

Magnus's act caused a real resonance. Having priority in time and more advantageous position, he did not “squeeze” his opponent. In search of a dirty trick, Fabiano pondered the received proposal for at least five minutes, after which he agreed to accept the draw. “By that time I didn’t have a single active idea. I could not improve the situation and realized that I was losing. And suddenly - a draw. Of course, this is not bad".

The whole chess world will discuss the reasons for the incident for a long time. Garry Kasparov expressed the opinion that the champion simply “does not stand nerves” and added a sharp one: “I am no longer consider him a favorite”. Vladimir Kramnik, the former world champion, was more restrained, saying that "Carlsen behaved unacceptable". About angry and perplexing statements flying from social networks, newspapers and TV screens, the culprit of the incident aggressively said: “If the draw did not suit me, obviously, I would continue the game. I got an absolutely safe position, the outcome of which is so obvious to everyone. ”

The media had a very high interest at the latest classic game, photo © chess.com

However, no matter how hot the passions around the championship were, on the evening of November 28 the decisive match for the world chess crown ended. Carlsen began the series of games began with white chessmen, and he had three games to prove his undisputed world championship in chess sport. In addition to the coveted title, the winner received a very nice cash reward. The prize fund of the championship was 1 million euros, 60% will receive the current champion, and 40% - his opponent.

If Caruana had won the championship, he would have become the first world champion from the USA in the last 45 years. However, the miracle did not happen, and the Americans did not succeed in breaking the triumphant Indian-Norwegian march, as well as Karjakin in 2016. Bottom line: the next couple of years, like the previous five, the world chess crown will belong to the Norwegian. Bravo, grandmaster!

Victoria Romanova, Russia, Moscow

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