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The Champions Showdown began on November 9, but Carlsen and Ding Liren started their match two days later than the other six players because the World Champion was scheduled to play a handicap simul in Hamburg. But the longer Carlsen is in St. Louis the stronger he seems to play. The first three rapid games with a time-control of 30 minutes for the whole game ended in draws but then Carlsen won game four.
On the second day of the match Carlsen won three and drew three of the six games with a time-control of 20 minutes for the whole game. The third day of the match saw eight blitz games with a time-control of 10 minutes for the whole game.
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Magnus Carlsen vs Ding Liren | Photo: Lennart Ootes
After scoring his first win of the match in the first 10-minute game it seemed as if Ding Liren could bounce back. The Chinese number one had Black in a Sicilian Taimanov and convincingly outplayed the World Champion to reach a won endgame:
The Sicilian Tajmanov-Scheveningen
The Sicilian has been known for decades as the most reliable way for Black to obtain an unbalanced but good position. Among the most popular Sicilians at the top level the two that certainly stand out are the Najdorf and the Paulsen.
But then Carlsen hit back and won the next four games.
Master Class Vol.8: Magnus Carlsen
Scarcely any world champion has managed to captivate chess lovers to the extent Carlsen has. The enormously talented Norwegian hasn't been systematically trained within the structures of a major chess-playing nation such as Russia, the Ukraine or China.
In game 3 Carlsen followed in the footsteps of Bobby Fischer by playing and winning a fine Kings Indian Attack against Ding Liren's Sicilian:
Master Class Vol.1: Bobby Fischer
No other World Champion was more infamous both inside and outside the chess world than Bobby Fischer. On this DVD, a team of experts shows you the winning techniques and strategies employed by the 11th World Champion.
Grandmaster Dorian Rogozenco delves into Fischer’s openings, and retraces the development of his repertoire. What variations did Fischer play, and what sources did he use to arm himself against the best Soviet players? Mihail Marin explains Fischer’s particular style and his special strategic talent in annotated games against Spassky, Taimanov and other greats. Karsten Müller is not just a leading international endgame expert, but also a true Fischer connoisseur.
After Carlsen had gained the momentum everything went his way:
Ding Liren managed to draw game 6 but then Carlsen won games 7 and 8 to complete Ding Liren's debacle.
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Magnus Carlsen vs Ding Liren | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Today, November 14, Ding Liren and Carlsen will finish the match with 12 games with a time-control of 5 minutes for the whole game. One can only hope that things go better for Ding Liren. After all, should the Chinese win the Candidates Tournament in Berlin in March 2018, memories of his blitz-debacle against Carlsen might turn out to be a heavy psychological burden when fighting for the World Championship.
But the Champions Showdown match is decided: after three days Carlsen leads by 50-18 and this is enough to win the match and the 60,000$ prize-money. Even if Ding Liren won all 12 blitz-games on the final day of the match he would not catch up to Carlsen.
Illustrating the effect of no increment time control, last week GM commentators Alejandro Ramirez and Christian Chrila played a trio of bullet games.
You can also find each days complete commentary in the playlist menu (click or tap the icon in the upper left of the video player).
2017 Champions Showdown playlist | Source: CCSCSL on YouTube
Translation from German: Johannes Fischer
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