Till a few days ago, when all the World Chess Championship games concluded as draws. The bookies and experts alike mentioned, “Magnus Carlsen needs to win just one game to win the match”. The belief was that Sergey Karjakin will never be able to beat the champion in a single game when doing the chase. However, come game 8 the pressure was turned on to the Norwegian World Champion, who is now chasing.

After the deadlock was broken in game 8, Carlsen and Karjakin have gone back to the draw business. But, psychologically the roles have shifted; Karjakin with his win will be satisfied to let the remaining games end a draw. Magnus Carlsen with the draw in game 9 is on the edge of the bay and time not exactly by his side.

Now that the pre-tournament underdog has struck the first blow, will the bookies and experts favour the Russian to win the World Championship?

Karjakin makes Magnus Carlsen suffer for a draw in game 9

The Russian went back to his usual opening e4 for the game, and Carlsen replied with e5 steering the game towards the classical Ruy Lopez. The Norwegian chose one of the most aggressive variations with dark-coloured pieces to increase his chances for a win. The players followed the traditional path for many moves and Carlsen continued his ambitious play sacrificing a pawn to break the pawn cover surrounding Karjakin’s King in the 16th move.

Chances seemed about equal for both Grandmasters. But, the Russian managed to improve the placement of his pieces to add pressure and slow down the Champion. The attempt did work as Magnus Carlsen appeared to proceed with caution from the 23rd move. The position continued to get more complicated as the players approached the first time control at move 40. Like in the previous games, both players were prone to errors around the 40th move but nothing substantial this time around.

After 25 minutes of serious thought Karjakin played 39 Bxf7+, which Carlsen was happy to accept as an offering and took no time in responding with a Kxf7. This followed a few exchanges between the two leaving Carlsen one pawn short on the board. The champion looking to push the game towards a draw, finally got it after six hours and 74 moves of play.

In the press conference Carlsen said, “There were many difficult moments, but I was happy to survive.”

Can Magnus Carlsen turn the tide with three games to go?

The World Chess Championship 2016 has witnessed eight terrific draws and one game with a result. The Champion from Norway already has his back against the wall. He has only three games to get a win and level the score to force it to the tie-breaks. The pre-tournament overwhelming favourite is under the highest amount of pressure to defend his throne.

But, Magnus Carlsen is the highest rated player in World Chess, today. Nothing is unexpected of him. He has the advantage of playing with light-coloured pieces two out of the remaining three games. But as his challenger Sergey Karjakin has said, “It’s much better to play well than to play white.”

Image Courtesy: Cool Hunting

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