The Norwegian saw off the threat of Fabiano Caruana and looks stronger than any potential 2020 challengers

Magnus Carlsen retaining the crown on tie-break was always one of the likely ways for the world championship to end, but it was the 12 straight draws with Fabiano Caruana in the classical games which provoked anguish from some chess fans.

It would have been different if Carlsen had taken his chances in game one, and/or Caruana in game eight. These were winning positions which world title contenders would normally convert, so why didn’t they?

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Carlsen seemed to have a mindset at the start that a solid draw with Black was ideal. Yet past world championships show that game one is often a banana skin, including for José Raúl Capablanca in 1927, Mikhail Botvinnik in 1960,and Bobby Fischer in 1972. Caruana’s wimping out in game eight can be related to over-optimism about his tie-break chances, stemming from his two wins and a draw in his one-to-one rapids against Carlsen in recent years.

Fide, the global chess body, will ignore the more outlandish suggestions to reduce draws such as introducing Chess960 random games, but the clamour for change is strong. Expect some tweaks to be made to the rules for Carlsen’s next title defence in 2020 such as a slightly faster time limit in classical games and fewer rest days. There is a balance to be struck, for while chess fans dislike draws they can also be turned off by classical games chock full of blunders.

As Carlsen admitted after the match, his opening preparation more than once turned out to be poor, highlighted by his two white games against the Petroff Defence 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nf6, which was clearly going to be Caruana’s main king pawn reply and was even confirmed by the video leak of the American’s planned repertoire. Carlsen’s long standing chief aide, Peter Heine Nielsen, may have some awkward questions to answer.

Carlsen still won, and his four world championship career victories have been surpassed only by Emanuel Lasker and Botvinnik. Yet in the unofficial contest of legends, where chess players rank the all-time greats, his performance is slipping. Five years ago, when Carlsen became champion for the first time against Vishy Anand in Chennai, it seemed that with youth on his side he could achieve a higher place on the pantheon than Garry Kasparov or Fischer.

But in the past few years his rating has drifted, and although he dominates rapid and blitz chess it seems that in the classical version he has become like Botvinnik in his later years, only primus inter pares. Crushing tournament performances, like Alexander Alekhine’s at San Remo 1930 and Fischer’s interzonal in 1970, are missing.

There is still time for the dominance to happen. Carlsen celebrated his 28th birthday on Friday, and will be favourite to defeat whoever is the 2020 challenger, especially as he will have learnt from his 2018 mistakes. His potential challengers are headed by Caruana again, by the Azeri world No 3, Shak Mamedyarov, and by Ding Liren, who recently completed a 100-game unbeaten sequence and is the focus for China’s ambition to capture the individual world crown alongside team gold.

Perhaps it was with an eye to 2020 that Carlsen chose Ding as his opponent in a 2017 St Louis rapid/blitz match and blew him off the board. Crucially also for Carlsen’s chances of staying champion until at least 2022, none of the many rising teenage talents seems on a fast enough improvement trajectory to become a credible candidate in two years time.

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It was Carlsen’s performance in the second rapid game which virtually ensured victory. The opening was a touch dubious, as 11…Qb8 to avoid a move repetition was well met by 12 h4! while Black’s 16…Be7?! (Ne7!) made Black’s pieces passive.

Carlsen fought back with 17…Qc8! and 20…Qf5! provoking the premature 21 c5? when 21 0-0 0-0 22 Nb5 with queen’s side expansion was the best plan. Caruana’s advanced c pawn came under attack from 23…Rfc8! and 24…Bd8! after which the American cracked by 26 c7? (26 Bd4) and 28 Nd5? (but 28 Qd5 Rab8! is also winning) after which the calm 28…Kh7! avoiding the Ne7 knight fork, induced Caruana to resign.

3595 1 Qg3. If Kd2 2 Qf3 Ke1 3 Kc2 mate. If Ke2 2 Kc1 Kf1 3 Kd2 mate.