Over his last 24 regulation games at a world championship, Magnus Carlsen has won only one of them. But no matter: his ability to stay afloat during regulation and pounce in fast tie-breaking games that follow have been good enough to win the last two world titles. Yes, you read that right. It’s over. And […]
For hours, the play in Monday’s Game 12 of the World Chess Championship was filthy. Then it was weird. Things did not look drawish! But because of a remarkable decision by the world’s top grandmaster, they ended in a draw anyway. Over more than two weeks, more than 600 moves, 48 hours of play, one […]
Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana, the world’s top two grandmasters, spent Thanksgiving in London in a soundproof glass box, staring at a small table, guzzling bottled water and continuing their deadlocked battle for the World Chess Championship. The match was already a record-breaker, having started with more consecutive draws than any championship on the books. […]
Magnus Carlsen got a black eye before Game 9 of the World Chess Championship. But it didn’t hinder his vision of the board as Wednesday’s play began. For the first time in nearly two weeks of play, Carlsen, the defending champion, was able to successfully command the white pieces to an attacking advantage. Throughout much […]
Game 4 of the World Chess Championship in London began with a fitting surprise: the “English Opening.” Magnus Carlsen of Norway, the three-time defending world champion and world No. 1, began the game by pushing the white pawn in front of his left bishop to the c4 square — a relatively rare move at the […]