Norwegian world chess champion Magnus Carlsen has successfully defended his title for the fourth time, clinching his match against Russian challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi with a …
Norwegian world chess champion Magnus Carlsen has successfully defended his title for the fourth time, clinching his match against Russian challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi with a powerful attack with the Black pieces in the 11th and final game of their scheduled 14-game match in Dubai Friday. Carlsen, who had a 1-4 career record against the Russian in classical matches going into the month-long contest, did not lose a game in winning the match 7½-3½. After five relatively even draws to open the match, Carlsen won an epic, record-setting 136-move clash in Game 6 and proceeded to win three of the next five games to retain the title belt he first won in 2013. Given the Russian’s strong early play, Dutch GM Anish Giri, commenting on the match for the site Chess.com, called the second half of the match perhaps “the biggest meltdown in world championship history.
