Since he became chess champion of the world in 2013 following his defeat of Viswanathan Anand, Magnus Carlsen, 27, can be described as the light of the chess world. He won the Rapid and Blitz World Chess Championships in 2014 and reached a peak FIDE rating of 2882 that same year, the highest in the history of the game.
Carlsen, Norwegian super-grand master and a prodigy, has many credits to his name. Again, he is defending his world championship title against the US’s Fabiano Caruana, 26, but this time the competition is stronger and wiser. At the time this column was completed, ten games had been completed in the 12-game series, and there had been ten draws. On each playing day, it’s another draw. Game 11 was scheduled to be played yesterday.
When only draws occur in a world championship match, the action is dull. However , there is a reason for the draws. Both players are evenly matched in rating points. When Bobby Fischer opposed Boris Spassky in 1972, he was 125 FIDE points above his opponent, although he was the challenger. He demonstrated his superiority over his opponent by out-thinking, out-witting and out-playing him in every phase of the game.
