Magnus Carlsen won the world chess championship three times in a row

Norwegian player defeats Sergey Karjakin in final tie-break to retain world title

After 20 days of competition, the World Chess Championship has found its champion this year. And Magnus Carlsen stands on the podium again.

The final was a clash between two players with contrasting styles, despite being from the same generation (both born in 1990). The reigning world number one Carlsen favours an attacking style of play, while Karjakin favours a defensive style. Carlsen had previously won two consecutive tournaments, in 2013 and 2014, while Karjakin was the 2012 World Rapid Champion and the 2015 World Chess Cup champion.

Carlsen (left) continues to dominate the world chess village. Photo: Reuters.

The intellectual battle between the two arch-rivals thus took place in a tense and undecided manner after the first seven games. By the eighth game,Carlsen took the white pieces and appeared impatient, quickly launching a series of attacks. However, one mistakeHis 52nd move endgame gave Karjakin the chance to finish with a push of a3-a2 and take the lead.4.5-3.5. In the last four games, with two white pieces, Karjakin only needed two points to win the championship.

However,Carlsen made amends in time. He won the 10th game, before forcing his opponent todraw6-6 after 12 games and together to the tie-break series on November 30.

Karjakin missed the chance to win the world championship for the first time. Photo: Reuters.

In the first rapid game, Karjakin tied Carlsen 1/2-1/2 after 37 moves. In the second game, with the advantage of white, Carlsen attacked fiercely, forcing Karjakin into a weak position. However, Karjakin showed excellent defense, finding a draw with only four seconds left. The two players tied 1-1 after the first two games.

In the third tie-break, Carlsen made a breakthrough by winning to lead 2-1 despite holding the black pieces. At this point, Karjakin was forced to win the fourth rapid game while holding the black pieces. As a result, Carlsen won convincingly and successfully defended his world championship title on his 26th birthday.

The two grandmasters will share the $1.1 million prize money, with Magnus Carlsen receiving 60%, or $660,000, and Sergey Karjakin receiving $440,000.

According to VNE