Magnus Carlsen has etched his name in gold once again! The 6th game of the world championship match between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Magnus Carlsen spilled over midnight as Carlsen sealed his dominance as the World Champion. Held in Dubai, the match reflected Carlsen's patience over 136 moves. The inspiring victory took 7 hours and 45 minutes. First time in history, Game 6 became the longest game of the world championship carrying a legacy of 135 years.
Magnus held up the pace of the match and took advantage to make it the best, winning the 11th out of the 14 games of the match. For Carlsen who turned 31 during the competition, this is the fifth consecutive time with the crown that he first won in 2013.
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The face-off: Carlsen v/s Nepomniachtchi
The Norwegian grandmaster and reigning world champion defended his crown at the FIDE World Championship that was held between 16th Nov - 10th December. The challenger, Russian GM Ian Nepomniachtchi had the chance to rewrite history, but blundered in the finals, giving Carlsen a smooth ride into his victory. As Carlsen later remarked, ‘everything clicked and it all went his way’. He won 60% of the prize offered in the tournament - a whopping amount of €2 million.
In the history of chess, the final score of 7½-3½ with the three games margin is the most one-sided win in a world championship match. 100 years back, José Raúl Capablanca had won against Emanuel Lasker by a four-game margin - that too without a single defeat. Carlsen matched Capablanca’s feat by a stunning margin. Out of the six games the first five had ended in draws. Also, Carlsen won one additional match than Wilhelm Steinitz, the first World Chess Champion ever. Till date, only two of the former world championship title winners had won six matches - the 13th world champion Garry Kasparov and the second world champion Emanuel Lasker.
Nepomniachtchi, on the other hand, had a painful fall. As he later contemplated on “losing some stupid games”, ‘things that went wrong (in the match) never happened (to him) at any events’.
Carlsen managed a win in a game that otherwise appeared as a draw. In his usual brilliant tactfulness, Carlsen tired out his opponent by stretching the game. He got hold of the smallest opportunity and turned it to his favour, waiting patiently to force long moves and finally exhausting his challenger.
As he put it post the win, one needs to try for every chance no matter how small it is. "Part of it was by design, stretching the game as long as possible so that both would be exhausted by the time the critical move had to be made.” The strategy clearly seems to have taken a toll on his opponent who slipped at the crucial move.
Nepo’s flip side:
Ian Nepomniachtchi, for the first time, played Italian which seemed to be a smart choice. Carlsen, as an opponent, responded with all charm and smartness. To many commentators, Nepo wasn’t playing it well enough to his advantage. In the game, 13.Bb5 is more ambitious than 13.Bxe6 for starters. GM Fabiano Caruana felt that it was surprising that Nepo was playing so quickly and it showed that he had lost interest.
Nepo’s loss can be attributed to a few blunders he made in the match – like playing too fast. Over 568 moves, while Carlsen on average spent 2 mins and 17 secs per move, Nepo spent 2 mins 5 secs. While Carlsen took a total of 21 hours and 38 mins to assess and strategize, it was 19 hours and 47 mins for Nepo. Surprisingly, Nepo thought for 9 and a half minutes before he made the blunder that cost him his game.
Several chess players expressed concern over Nepo’s loss. To quote American GM Robert Hess, "It was gift-wrapped to Magnus”. He said it was not how he ever wanted to remember any chess event. Carlsen, ironically, had broken his right armrest before all this unfurled. Talking about the 3rd biggest blunder in the match, Nepo exclaimed that it was hard to score better when one makes such little mistakes which one may not even consider in blitz.
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Conclusion
Patience and strategic thinking are virtues that Magnus Carlsen epitomizes. His sharp observation to get hold of the smallest opportunity and turn it into his favor, assessing his opponents’ patience and stamina helps him to outrun them. While Carlsen stretched the moves, Nepomniachtchi was clearly losing patience and interest and hurrying the moves. The lessons are clear for any young chess player. At Mind Mentorz, we prune the young and upcoming talents with real-time experience at competitions and a systematic curriculum that blends competitive skills with cognitive thinking. To know more about our chess coaching classes in Bengaluru, reach out to us at +91 9606847428 or Email: info@mindmentorz.com