Magnus Carlsen is the new World Champion!

FIDE World Chess Championship Anand-Carlsen 2013

The FIDE World Chess Championship match between defending champion Viswanathan Anand and his challenger world number one Magnus Carlsen is taking place from November 9 to 28 2013 in the the Hyatt Regency, Chennai, India. The match is over twelve games, with time controls of 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, 60 minutes for the next 20 moves and then 15 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move 61. The games start at 3:00 p.m. Indian Time, which is 4:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (New York), 10:30h Central European Time (Paris), 1:30 p.m. Moscow Standard Time. Find your local time here.

Round ten report

After yesterday’s painful loss, several of the top players said they would be neither shocked, nor upset, if Game Ten were a quick draw, a mere formality in the succession. This might have seemed realistic for any circumstances or players other than the present ones. The reason was simply that on one side you had Magnus Carlsen, a consummate fighter and declared opponent of ‘grandmaster draws’, and on the other there was world champion Vishy Anand, playing in front of his home crowd and unwilling to disappoint them. He might go down, but not without a fight.

After the security check under his arms, in his shoes and behind the ears, he is freed

When the Challenger opened with 1.e4, Anand was ready and responded with 1…c5, promising a fight ahead. Magnus played his early Bb5+ leading to the fairly positional Moscow variation and it soon developed into a classic hedgehog, a structure that has fascinated generations of players of all levels. In spite of quick play, and ample preparation, Black was unable to get more than equality, and many expected the dreaded quick draw to take place any time then.

The moment of truth

Imprecisions and then a mistake took place, issues that have plagued Anand’s game of late, and the online community got excited as as the engines all whispered Carlsen had a win now. He too showed he was not above a bit of nerves, and a couple of moves later lost his advantage, and the fight was renewed.

A massive liquidation then took place and on move 35 they entered into a very complex knight endgame. The problem, if one can call it that, is that only Magnus could hope to win it. Reminding many of his refused draw against Aronian in the Sinquefield Cup shortly before the match, when a draw would suffice to take clear first, here too there was no sign he wanted to call it quits. And sure enough it was clear Black was going to have to fight hard and well to acquit himself of half the point.

Relishing the moment

On more than one occasion, there was significant debate on whether Carlsen had chosen the best continuation to press his advantage, and at least once it would appear he missed a concrete path to victory. Assuredly it would change nothing in the final outcome of the match, whether draw or win, and a non-chessplayer might even wonder why insist so much on a game that could not affect the outcome. The reason is simple, as any reader here knows: we are chess players, competitors, fighters. We relish the thrill of combat and the pursuit of truth.

Refusing to relinquish his advantage, Magnus pressed on, taking risks as he has been known to do, though none that might genuinely endanger him. This fighting spirit has long characterized his play, and is a demonstration one need not have an explosive style to reap the rewards of victory. As he explained in the press conference after, it has long been this way with him: players would wilt under the pressure of his doggedness, and mistakes would cost them the game.

When they finally shook hands, all that was left were the kings, and a new World Champion had emerged.

The media goes crazy

Magnus Carlsen is thrown in the swimming pool, yelling in celebration 

A second recording of the scene

His victory brought massive congratulations from around the world, from articles and news everywhere, to Twitter where he thanked everyone for all the support.

As to Vishy Anand, there is an expression in Brazil: “he who was once king, never loses his majesty”.

Compilation of Tweet congratulations

Report by Albert Silver / Pictures by Anastasiya Karlovich

Score

Tournament details

Schedule: the match will be played over a maximum of twelve games, and the winner of the match will be the first player to score 6.5 points or more. If the winner scores 6.5 points in less than 12 games then the closing ceremony will take place on the day after the World Championship has been decided or one day thereafter.