The Champion, Magnus Carlsen has responded well to Sergey Karjakin’s lead with a win in the 10th round of the World Chess Championship match. With Carlsen’s 75 move thriller win, score is back to level at five each. A win for either the challenger or the Champion in one of the final two rounds could sound victory for their team and country. Both the players would be determined to draw a positive result in the next round to avoid leaving things in a winner-takes-all final round.

However, the more likely scenario that can now possibly arise from this situation is the tie-breaks. The Russian challenger has had some troubles managing his time in the early stages of the competition. And, the tie-breaks may not be a part of his plan. But, Carlsen may like to take his chances in the tie-breaks rather than risk losing the title.

Magnus Carlsen strikes with a vengeance

What a remarkable turn of events! When Sergey Karjakin won the first decisive game of the match prior to the off-day many gave the challenger new hopes of maybe winning the title. But, that was not to be.

The Norwegian switched back to his e4 opening for the game. Karjakin, who only needed to draw the rest of the games, replied with e5 in attempt to drive the game towards Berlin defense signalling his intent. Carlsen needed a win and bypassed the main lines of the system, without getting any advantage out of it.

However, the challenger missed out a few early opportunities to force the game towards a draw. Carlsen later admitted to being happy about it, in the press conference. The Russian, having missed out on the opportunities to add more pressure on the reigning Champion, the match was headed towards a result, in a game where Carlsen had a narrow advantage.

Karjakin continued defending the game and after vehement resistance till the 56th move, he erred. And, the Champion was quick to grasp on to the slender advantage to break the Russian’s defense. With perhaps, one of the most important results of his career, Carlsen ended his win-less run at the World Chess Championship 2016.

Tie-breaks inevitable at World Chess Championship 2016

The match has exploded and is now wide-open once again. In the press conference, Carlsen said of the victory, “It is a huge relief. I hadn’t won in 10 games and that hadn’t happened to me before.”

Most followers and supporters of the sport would say that the things have just got real. With only two more games to be played in the stipulated schedule and the tie-breaks seem inevitable at this point. But the way this tournament has progressed it is difficult to claim anything unless it happens.

Image Courtesy: Max Avdeev – World Chess