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Carlsen draws with Nepomniachtchi in game seven to back up breakthroughPlayers agree quiet 41-move draw after Friday marathon
Carlsen leads 4-3 at midpoint of best-of-14 title showdown
Magnus Carlsen played to 41-move draw with Ian Nepomniachtchi on Saturday in Game 7 of their world title match in Dubai. Photograph: Kamran Jebreili/AP
Bryan Armen Graham
@bryanagraham
Sat 4 Dec 2021
Magnus Carlsen played to a quiet 41-move draw with Ian Nepomniachtchi on Saturday in the seventh game of their world championship match in Dubai, only hours after the Norwegian champion dramatically took control of their deadlocked best-of-14-games showdown with a marathon game-six win that ended after midnight.
Nepomniachtchi, marshaling the white pieces, played 1 e4 before the pair blitzed out their opening moves into the same anti-Marshall line of the Ruy Lopez that had featured in each of the Russian’s three previous games as white (1 ... e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 O-O Be7 6 Re1 b5 7 Bb3).
Magnus Carlsen draws with Ian Nepomniachtchi in Game 7 of World Chess Championship – as it happened
Carlsen took lengthy thinks of 33 combined minutes before his 12th and 15th moves, falling more than 20 minutes behind his opponent on time. But not long after the world No 1 gave up his stronghold in the center with the committal 17 exd4, a flurry of rapid simplification began and the action fizzled out fast.
After the players agreed to a peaceful result after 2hr 30min, Carlsen admitted his energy was low after Friday’s gruelling back-and-forth marathon, which surpassed the 124-move stalemate in game five of the 1978 title match between Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi as the longest contest in the 135-year history of world championship matchplay.
“I couldn’t really sleep yesterday,” Carlsen said. “I was way too excited. But all the way today I was thinking, ‘I’m tired but it’s probably a lot worse for him.’”
Nepomniachtchi was quick to dispel the notion that Friday’s taxing affair affected his opening choice for Saturday’s game (“Absolutely not!), but noted: “It was quite a new experience to play two games in the same day.”
He also pointed out, with a hint of pique, that the late finish for game six was enabled by the late 4.30pm local start times, chosen for the convenience of other time zones.
Carlsen, who turned 31 on Tuesday, has been ranked No 1 for more than a decade and was considered the world’s best player even before he defeated Viswanathan Anand for the title in 2013. He’s making his fourth defense of the world championship against the 31-year-old Nepomniachtchi, the world No 5 from Russia.
The overall score at the midpoint of their €2m ($2.26m) showdown at the Dubai Exposition Centre is 4-3 in favor of Carlsen, who will have the white pieces in Sunday’s eighth game ahead of Monday’s rest day.
“Obviously with [Friday’s] result it’s going pretty well,” Carlsen said. “It’s a long way to go, half the match still. But I’ve made my breakthrough so the state is good.”
Carlsen draws first blood against Nepomniachtchi in world title battle
Carlsen edges longest game in world championship history
Both players miss chances in 136-move game-six epic
Bryan Armen Graham
@bryanagraham
Sat 4 Dec 2021
Magnus Carlsen played to a quiet 41-move draw with Ian Nepomniachtchi on Saturday in the seventh game of their world championship match in Dubai, only hours after the Norwegian champion dramatically took control of their deadlocked best-of-14-games showdown with a marathon game-six win that ended after midnight.
Nepomniachtchi, marshaling the white pieces, played 1 e4 before the pair blitzed out their opening moves into the same anti-Marshall line of the Ruy Lopez that had featured in each of the Russian’s three previous games as white (1 ... e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 O-O Be7 6 Re1 b5 7 Bb3).
Magnus Carlsen draws with Ian Nepomniachtchi in Game 7 of World Chess Championship – as it happened
Carlsen took lengthy thinks of 33 combined minutes before his 12th and 15th moves, falling more than 20 minutes behind his opponent on time. But not long after the world No 1 gave up his stronghold in the center with the committal 17 exd4, a flurry of rapid simplification began and the action fizzled out fast.
After the players agreed to a peaceful result after 2hr 30min, Carlsen admitted his energy was low after Friday’s gruelling back-and-forth marathon, which surpassed the 124-move stalemate in game five of the 1978 title match between Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi as the longest contest in the 135-year history of world championship matchplay.
“I couldn’t really sleep yesterday,” Carlsen said. “I was way too excited. But all the way today I was thinking, ‘I’m tired but it’s probably a lot worse for him.’”
Nepomniachtchi was quick to dispel the notion that Friday’s taxing affair affected his opening choice for Saturday’s game (“Absolutely not!), but noted: “It was quite a new experience to play two games in the same day.”
He also pointed out, with a hint of pique, that the late finish for game six was enabled by the late 4.30pm local start times, chosen for the convenience of other time zones.
Carlsen, who turned 31 on Tuesday, has been ranked No 1 for more than a decade and was considered the world’s best player even before he defeated Viswanathan Anand for the title in 2013. He’s making his fourth defense of the world championship against the 31-year-old Nepomniachtchi, the world No 5 from Russia.
The overall score at the midpoint of their €2m ($2.26m) showdown at the Dubai Exposition Centre is 4-3 in favor of Carlsen, who will have the white pieces in Sunday’s eighth game ahead of Monday’s rest day.
“Obviously with [Friday’s] result it’s going pretty well,” Carlsen said. “It’s a long way to go, half the match still. But I’ve made my breakthrough so the state is good.”
Carlsen draws first blood against Nepomniachtchi in world title battle
Carlsen edges longest game in world championship history
Both players miss chances in 136-move game-six epic
Magnus Carlsen (right) earned a decisive victory over Ian Nepomniachtchi in a fluctuating sixth game which lasted nearly eight hours.
Photograph: Giuseppe Cacace/AFP/Getty Images
Bryan Armen Graham
@bryanagraham
Fri 3 Dec 2021
Magnus Carlsen fought back from the brink of disaster to draw first blood against Ian Nepomniachtchi in the sixth game of their world championship showdown in Dubai, scoring a decisive result in a heart-stopping encounter that spanned 136 moves – and parts of two days – before ending after midnight in Dubai.
The gruelling back-and-forth marathon was the longest game in the 135-year history of world championship matchplay – surpassing the 124-move stalemate in game five of the 1978 title match between Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi – with both players missing winning opportunities under extreme clock pressure at the first time control.
Magnus Carlsen defeats Ian Nepomniachtchi in Game 6 of World Chess Championship – as it happened
Carlsen, playing a version of the Pseudo-Catalan opening with the white pieces, opted for 10 Nbd2!, sacrificing a pawn in exchange for long-term initiative, same as in the first two games. Nepomniachtchi matched him blow for blow with precise defending but Carlsen pulled his opponent into dangerous waters after trading his queen for a pair of rooks (26 Qxc8 Rxc8 27 Rxc8) around the three-hour mark, pitting his rook, knight and two pawns against black’s lone queen.
From there Carlsen outplayed and outlasted his Russian rival throughout a tense endgame, only for the playing hall at the Dubai Exhibition Centre to erupt in applause when Nepomniachtchi resigned after 7hr 45min.
“It shouldn’t be easy in a world championship match,” Carlsen said. “You have to try for every chance, no matter how small it is. And part of it was by design at some point. I thought I should make the game as long as possible so that we would both be as tired as possible when the critical moment came. That turned out to be a good strategy.”
Nepomniachtchi said: “I would say that Magnus managed to capitalise on the very few chances he got.”
Carlsen holds a 3.5-2.5 lead in the best-of-14-games match with eight contests remaining. Play continues with games on Saturday and Sunday before Monday’s rest day.
The Norwegian defending champion’s breakthrough win marked the first decisive result in the classical stage of a world title match in more than five years. The five straight draws to open this year’s title match in Dubai had extended a record streak of 19 consecutive draws in classical world championship games, including Carlsen’s final two games with Sergey Karjakin in 2016 and all 12 against Fabiano Caruana in 2018.
Bryan Armen Graham
@bryanagraham
Fri 3 Dec 2021
Magnus Carlsen fought back from the brink of disaster to draw first blood against Ian Nepomniachtchi in the sixth game of their world championship showdown in Dubai, scoring a decisive result in a heart-stopping encounter that spanned 136 moves – and parts of two days – before ending after midnight in Dubai.
The gruelling back-and-forth marathon was the longest game in the 135-year history of world championship matchplay – surpassing the 124-move stalemate in game five of the 1978 title match between Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi – with both players missing winning opportunities under extreme clock pressure at the first time control.
Magnus Carlsen defeats Ian Nepomniachtchi in Game 6 of World Chess Championship – as it happened
Carlsen, playing a version of the Pseudo-Catalan opening with the white pieces, opted for 10 Nbd2!, sacrificing a pawn in exchange for long-term initiative, same as in the first two games. Nepomniachtchi matched him blow for blow with precise defending but Carlsen pulled his opponent into dangerous waters after trading his queen for a pair of rooks (26 Qxc8 Rxc8 27 Rxc8) around the three-hour mark, pitting his rook, knight and two pawns against black’s lone queen.
From there Carlsen outplayed and outlasted his Russian rival throughout a tense endgame, only for the playing hall at the Dubai Exhibition Centre to erupt in applause when Nepomniachtchi resigned after 7hr 45min.
“It shouldn’t be easy in a world championship match,” Carlsen said. “You have to try for every chance, no matter how small it is. And part of it was by design at some point. I thought I should make the game as long as possible so that we would both be as tired as possible when the critical moment came. That turned out to be a good strategy.”
Nepomniachtchi said: “I would say that Magnus managed to capitalise on the very few chances he got.”
Carlsen holds a 3.5-2.5 lead in the best-of-14-games match with eight contests remaining. Play continues with games on Saturday and Sunday before Monday’s rest day.
The Norwegian defending champion’s breakthrough win marked the first decisive result in the classical stage of a world title match in more than five years. The five straight draws to open this year’s title match in Dubai had extended a record streak of 19 consecutive draws in classical world championship games, including Carlsen’s final two games with Sergey Karjakin in 2016 and all 12 against Fabiano Caruana in 2018.
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