Magnus Carlsen keeps the crown

by Antonio Pereira
11/29/2018 – The 2018 World Championship match in London concluded on Wednesday. Two days before his 28th birthday, Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen confirmed his status as World Champion for at least two more years. And he did it in style, getting a 3:0 wipe-out in the rapid tiebreaks over Fabiano Caruana. Both players were deservingly praised for their efforts afterwards, in what was considered one of the most far-reaching chess events in recent history. GM DANIEL FERNANDEZ and GM YANNICK PELLETIER analysed all the games of the tiebreaks. | Photos: World Chess

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Tour de force

A lot can be said about what happened during the classical portion of the match, especially about the fact that it ended without a single decisive result. However, the palpable tension and the increasing rise of expectation established before the tiebreaks gave way to a fascinating final showdown scenario. For the chess world, Wednesday was clearly the most important date in this year's calendar — a champion was to be crowned no matter what. For such high-class competitors as Magnus and Fabiano, it probably would not have made much of a difference if the tiebreaks would have been played on a desert island...

But they were far from isolated. Chess fans all over the world tuned in to follow the action, while mainstream media outlets also showed up in London to report for a much wider general audience — networks as big as NBC, ABC, CBS, USA Today, the New York Times and Eurosport were present. Lucy Hawking, the daughter of one of the most influential scientists of the twentieth century, Stephen Hawking, made the first move — she shared a childhood experience:

I used to play chess with my father, but since I was a little girl I didn’t understand that he was a genius…I was mystified [by] why he always won.

Lucy Hawking almost played 1.c3? for Magnus, but then corrected to 1.c4

For those of us more in touch with the game, Carlsen's decision to so intentionally go for the rapid tiebreaks made a lot of sense. After all, we have seen through the years how dominant he is when it comes to accelerated time controls. And not only that — we have also seen how this is clearly not Fabiano's forte. Before the games, the difference in rapid ratings between the two contenders was no less than 91 points (now the gap has widened to 136, with Magnus having an outstanding 2902 live rating!)

Nevertheless, Fabiano had shown great nerves throughout the match, and Magnus did not appear to be at his best. Everything was still possible.

Four games with 25 minutes per side plus a 10-second increment were to be played, with blitz mini-matches and Armageddon to follow in case of a tie. The first game started at 3 p.m. in London, so it was not hard to imagine for things to wrap up by around 9 or 10 in the evening, particularly if we take into account how close and tense the classical games had been. 

But a different plot was in store...


Tiebreak summary

GM Daniel King presents a brief summary of the games


Game 1

Carlsen had the white pieces and opened with 1.c4, taking the battlefield to his terrain of controlled positional struggles — the Norwegian used a rare line with 4.e4 to reach this goal. Soon enough, it was clear that Fabiano was having problems in handling the position, and by move 27 the players reached a rook endgame in which White was a pawn up:

 
Carlsen vs. Caruana - Rapid game #1
Position after 27...Kxd7

Would Magnus manage to convert this? After all, he could not take advantage of a very favourable position in the first classical game. 

The maxim "all rook endgames are drawn" seemed close to being once again proven true, as Fabiano put up great resistance. However, first he let Magnus' king off the back-rank with 34...Rc3 — "not losing, but a bad idea" (D. Fernandez) — and then completely gave away his drawing chances when he grabbed the e-pawn:

 
Position after 37.Rc7

37.Kxe4? turned out to be the losing blunder, when it was necessary to check White's king with 37...Ra2+ — the idea was to create mating threats on h1 with the kings on f3 and h3. Carlsen showed good technique and took the full point after 55 moves.

This was the first decisive game of the match, and one that was a definite turning point — Magnus' boost of confidence provoked by this victory was key in what was to come.

Magnus showing he is well-versed in rook endgames

Game 2

The pressure was now on Caruana, who opened 1.e4 for the seventh time in London, and Magnus offered to explore a similar Sveshnikov Sicilian as the one seen in game twelve — the champion did not change his strategy after getting the advantage in the match. Fabiano, true to the nature of the position, played 12.h4, a move favoured by the engine but also a manoeuvre that according to Judit Polgar was not easy for Fabiano, as "he couldn't feel the dynamics of the position".

In a rich position, the Challenger showed courage with a pawn break:

 
Caruana vs. Carlsen - Rapid game #2
Position after 20...Qf5

With his king still in the centre, Caruana opened up the position with the sharp 21.c5. Here is when Carlsen showed his class, though. In the following sequence of moves, he did not falter despite the difficulties — and then he took advantage of Caruana's mistakes. The American was already in deep trouble after, once again, pushing his c-pawn:

 
Position after 25...e4

Black's knight is about to get to e5 with decisive effect, so it was imperative to defend against this strategical threat with 26.Bd4. Caruana's 26.c7?, on the other hand, was losing. It was evident that Carlsen had calculated this idea, as he immediately captured with 26...Bxc7. The game continued 27.Nxc7 Ne5, and Caruana erred again with 28.Nd5?:

 
Position after 28.Nd5

Fabiano is counting on a knight fork from e7 — Carlsen, aware of this, did not take long to play the cool and accurate 28...Kh7. Everything is hanging in White's position. At this point, Caruana looked a bit shell-shocked; he took a few glances at the clock and resigned. 

Carlsen was up 2:0 and only a miracle could save the American.

Three long weeks that followed a long preparation phase about to be over

Game 3

The previous game had proven that Carlsen was in 'beast mode', completely in control of his emotions and with his confidence up to its usual (very) high standard — that did not change in the third encounter. He set up a Maroczy Bind structure from a Sicilian and created a harmonious position, with total control over the d5-square:

 
Carlsen vs. Caruana - Rapid game #3
Position after 21.Qf2

Caruana started to look for chances with 21...Ne7, but in the long run, as it tends to happen in these situations, he only managed to give White space and opportunities. 

The position was objectively balanced, but the match situation clearly called for Black to try to muddy the waters. Carlsen did not falter, though. It was all about control, and apparently nothing could perturb the champion's concentration. By move 49, he was already winning, and he even managed to finish off the match with two queens on the board:

 
Position after 49...Qe3

The same c-pawn that caused Fabiano to lose game three promoted into a queen in the next encounter. After 50.c8Q f4 51.Qg4, Caruana resigned and Carlsen kept his title after getting a whopping 3:0 score in the tiebreaks.

Carlsen showed his strength


Tiebreak games analysed by GM Daniel Fernandez

English GM Daniel Fernandez provided expert analyses of Carlsen's three rapid victories:

 
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1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 Bb4 4.e4!? This move is extremely rare, and judging by the time situations that followed, it seems this came as a surprise to the Challenger. 0-0 4...Bxc3 is possible, but super-GM opinion coalesced against White's position in the line 5.dxc3 Nxe4 6.Qd5 Ng5 7.Qxe5+ Ne6 Black's position is slightly worse, even if from my modest perspective I consider it to be relatively easy to play! 5.Nge2 c6 This move makes sense in conjunction with ...Ba5-c7, or alternatively... 6.Bg2 a6!? At this point, if not on the move before, Black commits to a plan which might be practically interesting, but doesn't particularly inspire confidence on an objective level. 6...d6 7.0-0 a5 8.d3 Nbd7 is a more 'traditional' English follow-up. 7.0-0 b5 8.d4! This has to be critical. White is a little better, but with the murky strategic situation and the rapid time control anything could happen. d6 9.a3 9.f4?! exd4 10.Nxd4 bxc4 9...Bxc3 9...Ba5 10.b4 Bc7 11.cxb5 axb5 12.d5 may simply be a strategic disadvantage, so it's wise to try and avoid this. 10.Nxc3 bxc4 11.dxe5 It is not yet time for 11.f4 : Bg4! 12.Qd2 Qb6 11...dxe5 12.Na4 12.Qe2 was the engine suggestion, and it seems to me that Black has to play another unusual move in order to avoid being clearly worse. a5 12...Qd3? 13.Qxd3 cxd3 14.Rd1± 12...Be6 13.f4± 13.Na4! Ba6 14.Nc5 Qb6 15.Nxa6 Qxa6 White should be a little better, but nothing is too clear yet. 12...Be6! Black has to play this cold-blooded move in my opinion- recognising that Nc5 isn't quite the dramatic positional masterstroke that it seems. 12...Nbd7 13.Qc2 Nb6 14.Nxb6 Qxb6 15.Qxc4 is miserable. 13.Qxd8 13.Nc5 Qe7 14.Nxe6 Qxe6 15.Be3 Rc8! With ...c5 and ...Nc6-d4 to come; Black seems to be emerging from his difficulties now. 13...Rxd8 14.Be3 Nbd7 15.f3 White opts for a steady approach, seemingly convinced of having some kind of edge. Indeed, in practical games between ordinary mortals this would be the case. Rab8 16.Rac1 Rb3 17.Rfe1 Ne8?! This move is strategically desirable, but only if Black can also get ...f6, ...Nd6 and ... Kf7 without being interrupted. Now, he probably risks being somewhat worse again. 17...Rdb8! is better, intending to give back the pawn in a way that makes White's structure a little weaker. 18.Bf1 c3 19.Rxc3 Rxc3 20.bxc3 Rb3 21.Ra1 a5= 18.Bf1 Nd6 19.Rcd1 Nb5? 19...Nb7! was required, followed by the cold-blooded sequence 20.f4 g6 21.f5 gxf5 22.exf5 Bd5 23.Nc3 Nf6 when despite the strange location of some of Black's pieces, there is no objective problem. I suspect that Fabiano saw this, didn't notice that the Nb7 defended the Rd8 and opted for a move that stopped Nc3. 20.Nc5! This is a key move for White to see, after which he is clearly better. Rxb2 21.Nxe6 fxe6 22.Bxc4 Nd4 23.Bxd4 exd4 24.Bxe6+ The engine suggests the brutal and unfindable 24.Rxd4 Kf7 25.Kh1‼+- when Black has no defence against Red1 and Rd6; White will probably come out 2 pawns ahead. 24...Kf8 25.Rxd4 Ke7 26.Rxd7+ Rxd7 27.Bxd7 Kxd7 28.Rd1+ Ke6 29.f4 c5 Watching this position live in the 'kibitzing' area, I was shocked to discover that barely anyone else thought the position was closer to a draw than a win. 30.Rd5?! 30.Rc1 Kd6 31.a4!? is the engine opinion. Almost all these positions will come down to some version of 3v2 on the kingside with an extra a-pawn each to confuse the players; the point is to identify which versions entail Black having a worse rook! For instance, see the line Rd2?! 32.e5+ Kd5 33.e6 Kxe6 34.Rxc5 g6 35.Re5+ Kf6 36.Ra5 Ke6 37.h3 Rd6 38.Kf2+- when White is close to winning. 30...Rc2 31.h4 c4 32.f5+ Kf6 33.Rc5 h5 34.Kf1 Rc3?! Not losing, but a bad idea. Following 34...c3 35.Ke1 Rg2 36.Rxc3 Ke5= Black would have very comfortably held this ending even two pawns down. 35.Kg2 Rxa3 36.Rxc4 Ke5 37.Rc7 Kxe4? Based on a flawed trick. This is probably the decisive error. 37...Ra2+! could have been played first, and then the trick works as in the next note: 38.Kh3 Kxe4 39.Rxg7 Ra1 and since White has to think about getting mated, he is not able to stay in position to deliver Rg5+. 38.Re7+ 38.Rxg7 Ra2+ 39.Kh3 Ra1!= is the tricky point. 38...Kxf5 39.Rxg7 Kf6 40.Rg5 a5 41.Rxh5+- Now the position is winning for Carlsen. Sometimes, a flank pawn can hold off two central pawns in such cases, but definitely not when the opponent's two pawns are both on the opposite side of the board. a4 42.Ra5 Ra1 43.Kf3 a3 44.Ra6+ Kg7 45.Kg2 Ra2+ 46.Kh3 Ra1 47.h5 Kh7 48.g4 Kg7 49.Kh4 a2 50.Kg5 Kf7 51.h6 Rb1 52.Ra7+ Kg8 53.Rxa2 Rb5+ 54.Kg6 Rb6+ 55.Kh5 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Carlsen,M-Caruana,F-1–02018A22WC Playoffs 20181
Caruana,F-Carlsen,M-0–12018WC Playoffs 20182
Carlsen,M-Caruana,F-1–02018B44WC Playoffs 20183

The aftermath

A clearly satisfied Magnus started the press conference with a relaxed statement: "I felt that I had a really good day at work today. [...] Everything went perfectly". Caruana humbly accepted the result, declaring in a post-game interview: "I think the results show that he is the strongest player in the world…and he is the World Champion, so it's quite fitting".

The final press conference

In the closing ceremony that followed, Carlsen thanked his team and the organisers. He was emphatic when praising his opponent:

Thanks to my opponent for a great fight. He showed himself to be an extremely strong player, versatile and very, very tough to beat. [...] I don't think we've seen the last from Fabiano in this particular context.   

Regarding his decision from the twelfth game, the champion said:

I made a sporting decision that I felt very comfortable with at the time, and I would have believed it to be the right one regardless of the result in the [tiebreaks].

He then clarified:

I've been a chess professional now for many years [...]. One of the things that I've never done very well is listen to other people's advice. I've always gone my way and that's what I did this time. [...] And it's brought me this trophy today.

Carlsen with trophy

A satisfied champion | Photo: Niki Riga

Former World Champion — and former Magnus' trainer — Garry Kasparov congratulated Magnus and Fabiano on Twitter. He noted what Caruana’s ‘mistake’ was:

As per usual, Fabiano showed great sportsmanship and quickly posted:

It was a unique and hard-fought match, with a deserving winner and a worthy challenger. Will we see a rematch in 2020?  

A great Challenger


Replay the first moves of the tiebreaks with commentary

Judit Polgar and Anna Rudolf provided live commentary for the official boradcast


Final press conference

Carlsen: "Everything went perfectly"


Round-up shows

GM Yannick Pelletier reviews the game


All games of the match

 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.d3 Bg7 6.h3 Nf6 7.Nc3 Nd7 B31: Sizilianisch (Rossolimo-Variante) 7...0-0 8.0-0 Ne8 9.Be3 b6 10.e5 f6 11.Re1 Nc7 12.Qd2 fxe5 13.Bh6 Rxf3 14.Bxg7 Kxg7 15.gxf3 Bxh3 16.Rxe5 e6 17.Rg5 1-0 (33) Caruana,F (2827)-Gelfand,B (2703) Batumi 2018 7...b6 8.Be3 e5 9.0-0 0-0 10.a3 Qe7 11.Qb1 Nh5 12.b4 f5 13.bxc5 f4 14.Bd2 bxc5 15.Qb3+ Be6 0-1 (39) Caruana,F (2820)-Carlsen,M (2862) Wijk aan Zee 2015 CBM 165 [Stohl,I] 8.Be3 e5 9.0-0 b6 LiveBook: 6 Partien 10.Nh2 Nf8 11.f4N Vorgänger: 11.Qd2 Ne6 12.Bh6 0-0 13.Bxg7 Kxg7 14.Ne2 Qg5 15.f4 exf4 16.Nxf4 1-0 (45) Manik,M (2440)-Nayhebaver,M (2005) Kosice 2010 11...exf4 12.Rxf4 Be6 13.Rf2 h6 14.Qd2 g5 15.Raf1 Qd6 16.Ng4 0-0-0! 17.Nf6 Nd7 18.Nh5 Be5 19.g4 f6 20.b3 Bf7 21.Nd1 Nf8 22.Nxf6 Ne6 23.Nh5 23.Nd7!? Bf4 24.Nf6= 23...Bxh5 23...Bg6 is interesting. 24.Kh1 Qe7 25.Qe2 Rdg8 26.Rg1 Kb8 24.gxh5 Nf4 25.Bxf4 gxf4 26.Rg2 Rhg8 27.Qe2 Rxg2+ 28.Qxg2 Qe6! 29.Nf2! Rg8       Schwarz hat starke Initiative. 30.Ng4 Qe8 31.Qf3 Qxh5 32.Kf2! Bc7 33.Ke2
33.e5! Kb7 34.Nf6 Qh4+ 35.Ke2 33...Qg5!-+ 34.Nh2 34.Qf2 war nötig. 34...h5 35.Rf2 Qg1 36.Nf1 h4 36...Qg7-+ 37.Nd2 Kb7 37.Kd2? 37.e5! 37...Kb7 38.c3 Be5 Droht ...Tg3! und aus. 39.Kc2 Qg7 39...b5-+ zielt auf ...Tg3! ab. 40.Qe2 b4 41.cxb4 Bd4 40.Nh2! Bxc3 41.Qxf4 Bd4 42.Qf7+ Ka6! 43.Qxg7 Rxg7       Endspiel KTL-KTS Doch nicht 43...Bxg7?! 44.Rf5= 44.Re2 Rg3 45.Ng4 e5 ist eine echte Drohung. Rxh3 Weiss muss nun ...Tg3 beachten. 46.e5 Rf3 47.e6 Rf8 48.e7 Re8 49.Nh6! h3 50.Nf5
Und weiter mit Th2 wäre nett. 50...Bf6! 51.a3 b5 Günstiger ist 51...Ka5 52.b4= cxb4 53.axb4
53...Bxe7!       54.Nxe7 54.Rxe7 Rxe7 54...h2 55.Rxh2 Und Th7 würde nun gewinnen. Rxe7 KT-KT 56.Rh6 Kb6 57.Kc3 Rd7 58.Rg6 Kc7 59.Rh6 Rd6 60.Rh8! Rg6 61.Ra8! Kb7 62.Rh8 Rg5 63.Rh7+ Kb6 64.Rh6 Rg1 Weiss sollte ...a5 verhindern. 65.Kc2 Rf1 66.Rg6 Rh1 67.Rf6 Rh8 68.Kc3 Ra8 Mit der Idee ...a5. 69.d4 Rd8 70.Rh6 Rd7 71.Rg6 Kc7 72.Rg5 Rd6 73.Rg8 Rh6 74.Ra8 Rh3+ 75.Kc2 Ra3 76.Kb2 Ra4 77.Kc3! a6 78.Rh8 Ra3+ 79.Kb2 Rg3 79...Rd3 feels hotter. 80.Rh7+ Kd6 81.Ra7 Rxd4 82.Ka3 Rd3+ 80.Kc2 Rg5 81.Rh6 Rd5 82.Kc3 Rd6 83.Rh8! Rg6 84.Kc2 Kb7 85.Kc3 Rg3+ 86.Kc2 Rg1 87.Rh5 Rg2+ 88.Kc3! Rg3+ 89.Kc2 Rg4 90.Kc3 Kb6 91.Rh6 Rg5 92.Rf6 Rh5 93.Rg6 Rh3+ 94.Kc2 Rh5 95.Kc3! Rd5 96.Rh6 Kc7 97.Rh7+ Rd7 98.Rh5 Rd6 99.Rh8! Rg6 100.Rf8 Rg3+ 101.Kc2 Ra3 102.Rf7+ Kd6 103.Ra7! Kd5 Droht stark ...Kc4. 104.Kb2 Rd3 105.Rxa6 Rxd4 106.Kb3 Re4 107.Kc3 Rc4+ 108.Kb3 Kd4 109.Rb6! Die Stellung ist ausgeglichen. Kd3 110.Ra6 Rc2 111.Rb6! Rc3+ 112.Kb2 Rc4 113.Kb3 Kd4 114.Ra6 Kd5 115.Ra8 Precision: Weiß = 71%, Schwarz = 67%.
½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Caruana,F2832Carlsen,M2835½–½2018B31World Chess Championship 20181
Carlsen,M2835Caruana,F2832½–½2018D37World Chess Championship 20182
Caruana,F2832Carlsen,M2835½–½2018B31World Chess Championship 20183
Carlsen,M2835Caruana,F2832½–½2018A29World Chess Championship 20184
Caruana,F2832Carlsen,M2835½–½2018B31World Chess Championship 20185
Carlsen,M2835Caruana,F2832½–½2018C42World Chess Championship 20186
Carlsen,M2835Caruana,F2832½–½2018D37World Chess Championship 20187
Caruana,F2832Carlsen,M2835½–½2018B33World Chess Championship 20188
Carlsen,M2835Caruana,F2832½–½2018A29World Chess Championship 20189
Caruana,F2832Carlsen,M2835½–½2018B33World Chess Championship 201810
Carlsen,M2835Caruana,F2832½–½2018C42World Chess Championship 201811
Caruana,F2832Carlsen,M2835½–½2018B33World Chess Championship 201812
Carlsen,M2835Caruana,F28321–02018A22World Chess Championship 201813.1
Caruana,F2832Carlsen,M28350–12018B33World Chess Championship 201814.1
Carlsen,M2835Caruana,F28321–02018B44World Chess Championship 201815.1

Macauley Peterson contributed reporting from London

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Antonio is a freelance writer and a philologist. He is mainly interested in the links between chess and culture, primarily literature. In chess games, he skews towards endgames and positional play.

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