The previous occasion in which the World Chess Championship was held in New York City was two decades ago when a young Viswanathan Anand challenged the title holder Garry Kasparov in 1995. Today, the players are much different. Magnus Carlsen, ranked No. 1 in the world defends his title against Sergey Karjakin of Russia, ranked No. 9 in the world. The best of 12 games has seen some crucial moments along with many dull ones and after four games the two continue to be at loggerheads with two points each.

These tournaments are marathon events and the one to see it through will walk away with the title and One million dollars in prize money. So, in the early stages one cannot expect the either of the players to take much unwanted risks or risk the exposure of their pre-match preparations.

Even these four draws had its fair bit of excitement, the tournament which began with Carlsen as the overwhelming favourite to win has seen some movement. And, Karjakin has lowered that but Carlsen still continues to be the favourite. And, if however, Karjakin does go on to win the title, Game 3 of the tournament will surely go down as the match where the turning point began.

Dull draw in opening games

The Norwegian chose an unusual opening known as the Trompowsky Attack to start his title defense. However, the move did not make any difference to Karjakin, who continued his normal game without any distraction. The game was incredibly quick according to chess standards as most of the pieces were exchanged by the 20th move. The two carefully crafted their moves from that point to seize an advantage, however, with no result likely the game was decided as a draw after 42 moves.

Sergey Karjakin had white pieces in the second game and stuck with the century’s old proven opening of Ruy Lopez. The rest of the game was flaccid. The game lasted just under three hours of play before it was agreed to a draw.

Mind-melting measly draw

And, the third game began after a day of rest. Most viewers whether at the building or streaming online hoped for some blood to be drawn in the match. But, that was not the case, as it ended in another bloodless-draw, a 78 move classic, none the less.

The game, however, began on a boring note as they played the Berlin Defence of the Ruy Lopez opening. This is known to be boring, extremely familiar and even end in a draw. No doubt, the fans were not pleased. However, it did not turn out that way at all, as in the normal scheme of things Carlsen should have brought back his Rook to safety in the 10th move to e1. But, instead he stopped his Rook a block earlier at e2, blocking his Bishop.

Very much unusual.

Karjakin did not know what to do, he thought and continued to think for 25 minutes before making his move. Only to see Carlsen withdraw his Rook to where it should have been in the previous move. That was the first time, when the Russian was out of his composure and it showed in the game as he became a little restless and was also running short on time.

The even game turned into significant advantage for the Norwegian in the 30th move. And, it continued to only get worse for the Russian with every move. Fast forward to the 69th move and Karjakin sacrificed his Bishop and Carlsen had a piece advantage. But, the Russian who is known for his amazing defensive abilities on the board, managed to find a way to get back.

It is believed that there are more possible games of chess than there are atoms in the universe. Carlsen and Karjakin just happened to find one such atom in the universe of chess games in this epic battle. The final result of the game brought some much-needed relief to the Russian while it disappointed the champion who converted a winning game to a draw.

Cruel game

Chess loyalists are aware of how cruel the game can be. Magnus Carlsen gained an enormous advantage in game 4, but he was unable to crack open Karjakin’s impregnable fortress. It resulted in the longest game of World Championship ending at a draw just six moves short of a 100.

The champion was annoyed with his performance clinching a draw in his last two games from the jaws of victory.

The Norwegian is known as a grinder, who would to pursue every tiny advantage, no matter how long it might take or what complications might be involved. In short, he generally goes for the win. But, Karjakin has stopped that from happening so far. Carlsen took a dig at the Russian, calling his game incredibly boring. However, that boring defense of the Russian is now getting on the nerves of the champion.

The championship would resume with the fifth match of the tournament, things are likely to heat-up. A result in favour of one of the players is not far, as they show the true colours of their pre-match preparations in the upcoming games.

Image Courtesy: Ilya Ivanov – World Chess