Game 10!
Nine games, nine draws. We’re no closer to a verdict than when we started. Here’s the full report from today’s game. And be sure to join us tomorrow for minute-by-minute coverage of Game 10.
“I was very happy with the opening, obviously,” Carlsen says during the post-game press conference. “You cannot expect more than what I had for sure.”
The champion says he had “mixed feelings” about 27. Bf3: “On one hand it leads to a very comfortable advantage. On the other hand, as Fabiano said, it simplifies the game quite a lot. I felt like I wasn’t in time to do everything that I wanted. I just think (25. h5) was a a mistake.”
Carlsen’s voice rises when he’s asked by a reporter from Norwegian broadcaster NRK why he continued to play for so long in the endgame when a draw appeared inevitable. When did he understand it was a draw?
“I understood it immediately,” the champion says. “It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t play. I’m trying to entice him to play h5 and if he does play h5 then I at least have a target. But obviously if he just keeps still and keeps his fortress just waiting for my king to enter then there’s nothing, but there’s no harm in playing. I really don’t understand the point.”
Caruana is asked about the looming specter of a tiebreak next Wednesday if the next three games end in draws. The Norwegian, who in addition to his No 1 ranking is the world’s top rated rapid player and top rated blitz player (compared to Caruana’s respective ratings of No 8 and No 16), will be a heavy favorite if the match ends 6-all and goes to the tie-breaker, which consists of a series of matches under tighter time controls. Simply put, it’s been 13 years since Carlsen lost a tiebreak.
“I’m really not thinking about the tiebreak now,” the American says. “If we get there then I’ll start to think about it, but there’s still a lot of chess to be played.”
He adds: “And I really don’t agree with most people about my chances in the tie-break.”
Updated
Carlsen: "I blew it"
“I felt like I had a comfortable advantage and then I just blew it,” a clearly disappointed Carlsen says. “I was poor.”
Carlsen is asked whether his eye injury from yesterday’s kickabout had any effect on today’s game.
“No.”
Updated
Caruana: "I had to start groveling"
“He was prepared quite deeply up until (17. Qd1),” Caruana says. “He knew what was going on and then I had to start groveling. I didn’t really want to go for this position with opposite-colored bishops but I didn’t see a choice. Other things were a bit unpleasant but my drawing chances were really high.”
The challenger adds: “I didn’t at any point feel like my position was much worse, I just felt it was slightly worse.”
Updated
Game 9 is a draw after 58 moves!
The players shake hands after consenting to a draw after 58 moves and three and a half hours. No progress after the last back-and-forth (50. Bh3 Be3 51. Kc6 Bb6 52. Kd5 Ba7 53. Ke4 Bb6 54. Bf1 Ke6 55. Bc4+ Kf6 56. Bd3 Ke6). We are no closer to a verdict after today’s action with the best-of-12-games deadlocked at 4½-all after nine draws.
Updated
Eight more moves and no progress. This is a draw. The moves, for the record: 41. a6 Bd4 42. Kg2 Kf6 43. f4 Bb6 44. Kf3 h6 45. Ke4 Ba7 46. Bg4 Bg1 47. Kd5 Bb6 48. Kc6 Be3 49. Kb7 Bb6.
The queens are off the board (39. Qxe5+ Bxe5)
We should be expecting a handshake soon after the next sequence of moves forces a queen exchange (36. ... Qxh4 37. a4 Qf6 38. Bd1 Qe5 39. Qxe5+ Bxe5). The players gain an additional 50 minutes on their clocks after their 40th moves (40. a5 Kg7). Another peaceful result forthcoming.
A quick flurry of moves: 31. ... Bc5 32. Rg1 Rxg1+ 33. Kxg1 Bd6 34. Qa4 f4 35. Qxa7 fxe3 36. Qxe3. The position looks drawish but Caruana has less than 10 minutes to make his next four moves before the time control.
A completely equal position after 29. ... Rg8+ 30. Kh1 Qf6 31. Qf4. If both played make all the right moves from here, we should be looking at a draw that would represent a record in the centuries-spanning annals of world championship matches.
Please note that both players in #CarlsenCaruana can become historic if they draw today. Could become first time with 9 draws at the start of the WCh-match. Kasparov-Anand'95 started with 8. #CarlsenCaruana2018
— Jens Petersson (@sextiofyra) November 21, 2018
29...Rg8+ 30. Kh1 Qf6 Caruana tries to seal the weak diagonal where his King is hiding in. The position is equal. Carlsen will push but it will be a draw. All the noises will lead to ... nothing, still draw 😅 pic.twitter.com/djgDjX2jDB
— Susan Polgar (@SusanPolgar) November 21, 2018
Updated
Carlsen has taken more time on his last couple of moves and the rook exchange would seem to keep the draw closer: 27. Bf3 h4 28. Rxd8 Rxd8 29. gxh4. But the champion’s choice to keep the queens on the board indicates he still believes in a winning chance. A bit risky but we are here for it. The supercomputer has it dead even.
29 gxh4 The correct recapture. The position is equal. But as you can see, it is slightly easier for humans to play on the White side as Black has weaker pawns and White King is a little safer. But still should be a draw unless someone makes a colossal mistake. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/kwgRyOXGa1
— Susan Polgar (@SusanPolgar) November 21, 2018
Very happy with the level of excitement in this match but starting to be disappointed by the quality at times. Both players are very nervous when ahead! #CarlsenCaruana
— Thomas Rendle (@TERendle) November 21, 2018
A sound response by Caruana with 26. ... f5. The computer seems to confirm that Carlsen rushed it with 25. h5. The challenger is not out of the woods yet, but Carlsen appears to have let him off the hook. Says Peter Svidler: “He’s just not playing his best chess.”
h5 by Carlsen shows that his one greatest asset- his incredible patience, has now gone #CarlsenCaruana
— Daniel Gormally (@elgransenor1) November 21, 2018
Updated
Caruana accepts the h-pawn (25. ... gxh5). Carlsen quickly answers with 26. Qc4. The time pressure continues to mount for the challenger, who is under a half hour. That gives him less than 30 minutes to make his next 15 moves. Says Nakamura: “If he doesn’t find the right moves here, he’s just going to lose.”
Carlsen offers a pawn with 25. h5, drawing criticism from both the computers and the pundits. It wipes away nearly all of his advantage per Stockfish, while Nakamura calls it a “strange move” in the commentary booth. “It feels a little bit premature to me,” the American grandmaster says. “It’s a peculiar choice by Magnus.”
Caruana spends another 10 minutes before playing 23. ... Qe7. Carlsen, with time to burn, takes six minutes before answering with 24. h4. Caruana immediately comes back with 24. ... g6. The American IM Greg Shahade likes the Norwegian’s chances to break through from here.
I will be super impressed if Fabiano is able to hold this. But at the moment I think Carlsen has great chances to win. #carlsencaruana
— greg shahade (@GregShahade) November 21, 2018
Caruana is under pressure with Carlsen’s advantage still intact after 21. ... Qe5 22. Bxb7 Rad8 23. Rad1. The American has just gone under 40 minutes, more than 50 minutes behind his opponent.
Equal materials exchanged after 18 Qb3+ Kh8 19. Bxf3 Nxd4 20. Bxd4 Qxd4 21. e3. White slightly better according to the engines and Polgar.
21. e3 += Slight advantage for Carlsen pic.twitter.com/34QBQg9EeN
— Susan Polgar (@SusanPolgar) November 21, 2018
Caruana responds with the drastic and potentially dubious 17. ... Bxf3. Maybe we should tack a !? on it. The evaluation engine spikes from 0.00 to +0.83 to Carlsen. It’s caused the grandmaster Anish Giri to nearly drop his cup of tea, while Susan Polgar admits: “This move does not smell good.” Says Russian grandmaster Peter Svidler: “It’s an incredible curious choice to take on f3 here, even if you think you will eventually hold this. In general you are giving Magnus exactly what he wants from this game. A stable advantage forever with no way to completely equalize.”
Carlsen finally got an advantage after the opening with white, shown not only on the board, but also by his 50 minute lead on the clock after just 17 moves. This should be exciting. #CarlsenCaruana pic.twitter.com/uDrxWucZuT
— Tarjei J. Svensen (@TarjeiJS) November 21, 2018
The good news for Caruana is the Sesse supercomputer indicates that black has equalized. The bad news is he’s spent another 12 minutes (and counting) considering his response to 17. Qd1. He’s below 50 minutes and nearly an hour behind Carlsen on move 17.
If we consider the clock the 33rd piece in chess, Carlsen's opening has been a major success. On the board he may not have much, but it is a strategically complex position where Caruana may burn a lot of time, and where there is no easy simplification in sight #CarlsenCaruana
— Lars Bo Hansen (@GMLars) November 21, 2018
Updated
Caruana expends another eight minutes before taking Carlsen’s d-pawn and the champion immediately accepts the trade (14 ... exd4 15. cxd4). Caruana threatens white’s queen with his bishop (15. ... Be4) and Carlsen escapes while putting black in check (16. Qb3). Caruana intervenes with his bishop (16. ... Bd5) and Carlsen retreats (17. Qd1). The American is more than 40 minutes behind on time. Caruana has nearly four more minutes than what he started with due to the 30-second increment after each move.
Updated
Caruana finally decides on 13. ... Bd5 after 21 minutes. Carlsen responds in 72 seconds with 14. Qc2. He’s moving quickly as Caruana finds himself more than a half hour behind on the clock already.
Surprisingly, Carlsen immediately responded with 14. Qc2. Now Caruana is thinking again. This is a mental game by Carlsen. He wants Caruana to think and believe that he is in Carlsen's home prep. This is a normal practice in World Championship play. Mind games! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/jWdXYgwpzu
— Susan Polgar (@SusanPolgar) November 21, 2018
Caruana is in the tank on move 13. He’s been weighing his response to Carlsen’s 13. d4 for more than 20 minutes now. Out of prep, it seems.
Caruana spends nearly 10 minutes before coming back with 12. ... Bb6. Carlsen needs only seconds to attack the center with 13. d4 and the American is taking his time again. Carlsen’s wounded eye looking perfectly fine in the playing hall.
In 130 years of world chess championships, this is the only time you can say these words: the world champion has a black eye. pic.twitter.com/HJqTI00YFL
— Olimpiu G. Urcan (@olimpiuurcan) November 21, 2018
The game is strategically complex and white is still in book. I think team Magnus is happy here. #CarlsenCaruana
— Erwin l'Ami (@erwinlami) November 21, 2018
Updated
It seems Carlsen is trying to take Caruana out of book with 9. Bg5. But the challenger answers quickly with 9. ... Nxc3. Caruana responding with pace over the next couple of moves (10. bxc3 f6 11. Bc1 Be6), but Carlsen’s 12. Bb2 prompts the first long think of the match. He’s been pondering the position for the last eight minutes (and counting).
12 Bb2 Interesting retreat with the Bishop. There are 2 reasons for this: keep the d2 square open for a potential Knight-maneuver with Nf3-d2-c4 and try to employ the Bishop via a3 after advancing the pawn to a4. pic.twitter.com/Ihc9nq2Y5Z
— Susan Polgar (@SusanPolgar) November 21, 2018
Game 9 is underway with another English Opening!
The geographically appropriate English Opening is on the board (1. c4)! This is the same opening as the fourth game and the parallel lines extend for Carlsen’s first eight moves (1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Bc5 7. O-O O-O 8. d3 Re8) until he deviates with 9. Bg5. This is a bit of a surprise because Carlsen had only played the English once in 37 previous classical games with Caruana enter Game 4 and he didn’t really get much from it in that contest.
Daniel Weil, partner at @pentagram , the world's largest independently owned design studio, and designer of the chess board, made the First Move today #londonplayschess #worldchess2018 #chesschampionship2018 #CarlsenCaruana2018 pic.twitter.com/FEkd185Fb3
— World Chess (@theworldchess) November 21, 2018
Updated
Carlsen had an eventful rest day. Sparring with Anthony Joshua? Not exactly. The champion’s doctor Dr Brede Kvisvik told Norwegian broadcaster NRK that Carlsen picked up a shiner and sustained a minor head injury in a collision while having a kickabout. “There’s no concussion, as we had feared,” Kvisvik said.
Brede said Carlsen otherwise was fine, and the cut he also sustained “isn’t so big that we need to do anything with it.” No stitches were necessary and ice was applied to ward off swelling. “If he has any vision problems, then it can be difficult,” Brede added, but he claimed Carlsen’s brain was “functioning just as well” as always.
The doctor thus didn’t think Carlsen would need to call in sick for the ninth game in a championship that remains even against challenger Fabiano Caruana. The two players have tied every single round they’ve played and currently stand at 4-4.
“He (Carlsen) actually thought it was kind of funny that he got hit during football training,” Brede said. “It looked worse than it was,” with the doctor adding that Carlsen chose to keep playing football as a break from the chess board, and received his doctor’s permission.
Caruana’s best winning chance of the match so far came in Monday’s eighth game. The challenger had the Carlsen down nearly an hour on the clock and facing a shaky position in the middlegame. His advantage per the Stockfish evaluation engine had ballooned to +2.45 after 22. ... dxc5 and was a still-formidable +1.95 after 23. ... Bd6. “For sure this was the moment that I was most worried,” Carlsen would later say.
But the American’s prophylactic response (24. h3?!) to Carlsen’s 23. … Bd6 cost him a tempo, all but wiped out his advantage on the computer and allowed Carlsen back into the game.
The reaction by the American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura, a visitor in the Chess.com commentary booth, said it all.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to London for today’s ninth game of the world chess championship between Norway’s Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana of the United States. Play resumes today after with the best-of-12-games match deadlocked at 4-all following eight draws in as many games.
The players
Norway's Magnus Carlsen is defending the world chess championship against Fabiano Caruana of the United States. The best-of-12-games match is taking place at the College in Holborn between 9 and 28 November, with the winner earning a 60% share of the €1m ($1.14m) prize fund if the match ends in regulation (or 55% if it's decided by tie-break games).
Carlsen, 27, has been ranked No 1 for eight straight years and was considered the world’s best player even before he defeated Viswanathan Anand for the title in 2013. Caruana, 26, is ranked No 2, having earned his place at the table by winning the candidates tournament in March. No American-born player has won or even competed for the world title since Bobby Fischer in 1972.
It marks the first title match between the world's top two players since 1990, when Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov faced off for a fifth and final time.
The format
The match will consist of 12 classical games with each player awarded one point for a win and a half-point for a draw. Whoever reaches six and a half points first will be declared the champion.
The time control for each game is 100 minutes for the first 40 moves, 50 minutes for the next 20 moves and then 15 minutes for the rest of the game plus an additional 30 seconds per move starting from move 1. Players cannot agree to a draw before Black's 30th move.
If the match is tied after 12 games, tie-breaks will be played on the final day in the following order:
• Best of four rapid games with 25 minutes for each player with an increment of 10 seconds after each move.
• If still tied, they will play up to five mini-matches of two blitz games (five minutes for each player with a three-second increment).
• If all five mini-matches are drawn, one sudden-death 'Armegeddon' match will be played where White receives five minutes and Black receives four minutes. Both players will receive a three-second increment after the 60th move. In the case of a draw, Black will be declared the winner.
The schedule
Thu 8 Nov – Opening ceremony
Fri 9 Nov – Game 1
Sat 10 Nov – Game 2
Sun 11 Nov – Rest day
Mon 12 Nov – Game 3
Tue 13 Nov – Game 4
Wed 14 Nov – Rest day
Thu 15 Nov – Game 5
Fri 16 Nov – Game 6
Sat 17 Nov – Rest day
Sun 18 Nov – Game 7
Mon 19 Nov – Game 8
Tue 20 Nov – Rest day
Wed 21 Nov – Game 9
Thu 22 Nov – Game 10
Fri 23 Nov – Rest day
Sat 24 Nov – Game 11
Sun 25 Nov – Rest day
Mon 26 Nov – Game 12
Tue 27 Nov – Rest day
Wed 28 Nov – Tie-break games/Awards and closing
The games commence each day at 3pm in London.
A brief refresher: Game 1 was a grueling seven-hour, 115-move staredown, where Carlsen nearly become the first defending champion to win the opening game of a world championship with the black pieces in 37 years. The next four contests – Game 2, Game 3, Game 4 and Game 5 – were mostly safer, straightforward affairs where Caruana was able to get his teeth in the match. The tension ramped up in Friday’s Game 6 when Carlsen was outplayed by Caruana in the middlegame and pushed to the limit before saving a draw with incredibly precise defending. They played to another draw in Sunday’s Game 7, a result that left the champion lamenting his gun-shy play as white. Then came Monday’s Game 8, where Carlsen found himself down nearly an hour on the clock facing a dangerous position as black, until one false step by the American let him off the hook and the pair settled for a yet another peaceful result after three hours and 43 minutes.
The players
Norway's Magnus Carlsen is defending the world chess championship against Fabiano Caruana of the United States. The best-of-12-games match is taking place at the College in Holborn between 9 and 28 November, with the winner earning a 60% share of the €1m ($1.14m) prize fund if the match ends in regulation (or 55% if it's decided by tie-break games).
Carlsen, 27, has been ranked No 1 for eight straight years and was considered the world’s best player even before he defeated Viswanathan Anand for the title in 2013. Caruana, 26, is ranked No 2, having earned his place at the table by winning the candidates tournament in March. No American-born player has won or even competed for the world title since Bobby Fischer in 1972.
It marks the first title match between the world's top two players since 1990, when Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov faced off for a fifth and final time.
The format
The match will consist of 12 classical games with each player awarded one point for a win and a half-point for a draw. Whoever reaches six and a half points first will be declared the champion.
The time control for each game is 100 minutes for the first 40 moves, 50 minutes for the next 20 moves and then 15 minutes for the rest of the game plus an additional 30 seconds per move starting from move 1. Players cannot agree to a draw before Black's 30th move.
If the match is tied after 12 games, tie-breaks will be played on the final day in the following order:
• Best of four rapid games with 25 minutes for each player with an increment of 10 seconds after each move.
• If still tied, they will play up to five mini-matches of two blitz games (five minutes for each player with a three-second increment).
• If all five mini-matches are drawn, one sudden-death 'Armegeddon' match will be played where White receives five minutes and Black receives four minutes. Both players will receive a three-second increment after the 60th move. In the case of a draw, Black will be declared the winner.
The schedule
Thu 8 Nov – Opening ceremony
Fri 9 Nov – Game 1
Sat 10 Nov – Game 2
Sun 11 Nov – Rest day
Mon 12 Nov – Game 3
Tue 13 Nov – Game 4
Wed 14 Nov – Rest day
Thu 15 Nov – Game 5
Fri 16 Nov – Game 6
Sat 17 Nov – Rest day
Sun 18 Nov – Game 7
Mon 19 Nov – Game 8
Tue 20 Nov – Rest day
Wed 21 Nov – Game 9
Thu 22 Nov – Game 10
Fri 23 Nov – Rest day
Sat 24 Nov – Game 11
Sun 25 Nov – Rest day
Mon 26 Nov – Game 12
Tue 27 Nov – Rest day
Wed 28 Nov – Tie-break games/Awards and closing
The games commence each day at 3pm in London.
The players have two more games apiece with the white pieces – Carlsen today and in Saturday’s Game 11, Caruana in Thursday’s Game 10 and Monday’s Game 12 – so we’re as level as it gets as the match enters the final act. But the Norwegian, who in addition to his No 1 ranking is the world’s top rated rapid player and top rated blitz player, will be a warm favorite if the match ends 6-all and goes to the tie-breaker, which consists of a series of matches under tighter time controls. That looming prospect should compel Caruana to take risks in the closing games, particularly as white, that he might have eschewed in earlier games.
Will today be the day first blood is finally drawn? We’ll soon find out with Game 9 kicking off at the top of the hour.
Updated
Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s his report from Monday’s eighth game, where Carlsen admitted he was “happy to survive” after getting pushed to the limit by his dogged American challenger.
