“Congratulations to Magnus Carlsen, World Champion once more! Valiant fight from Caruana. Pushed Magnus to show his best, and, unfortunately for Caruana, today he did!” – A tweet from Garry Kasparov, a previous World Chess Champion
World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen retained his title in London, England, on Wednesday last, as he outplayed his worthwhile challenger Fabiano Caruana.
The classical games in the 12-game series were drawn, leaving the match in a stalemate. Classical games are the ones which give the players elaborate playing time. For example, the time control was 100 minutes for the first 40 moves, 50 minutes for the next 20 moves and 15 minutes for the rest of the game, with a 30-second increment per move from move one.
Failing to achieve a decisive result in the classical format, the match went into the speed chess category. And that is where Carlsen made his presence felt. He scored victories in games 13, 14 and 15 thereby ending the match. Carlsen is the Rapid and Blitz World Champion.
In defeat, here is what Caruana had to say: “This was a hard fought match to the end, and I want to congratulate Magnus on defending his title. I was up against one of the most talented players in the history of chess, and I gave it everything I had. Throughout the Champion-ship I’ve heard from fans around the world and want to thank them for their support. I feel we put this beautiful game back on the map in America and hope it will inspire a new generation of players. I look forward to the opportunity to make another bid for the title.”
The next World Chess Championship Match will take place in 2020.
