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WCC2014: Closing Ceremonies
Magnus Carlsenstops to sign autographs.Photo by Vladimir Barsky. Viswanathan Anand and wife Aruna Anand exchanging pleasantries with former champion Anatoly Karpov. Photo by Anastasia Kharlovich. Magnus Carlsen was re-crowned as the world champion, a berth that will last until 2016. He defeated challenger Viswanathan Anand 6.5-4.5 in an exciting, albeit…
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WCC2014-11: Carlsen defends title 6.5-4.5!
Congratulations GM Magnus Carlsen, World Champion! After Magnus Carlsen won a tense Berlin Ruy Lopez, he could proclaim, “Ich bin ein Champion!” In a game in which he was under serious pressure from Viswanathan Anand, he kept his Nordic cool and waded through the complications… particularly after Anand’s stunning 23…b5!!…
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WCC2014-10: Curry hot + Nordic cool = draw
Carlsen avoided a landmine today, but can he withstand the pressure?Photo by ChessBase. Today was a key game of the match and many thought that Viswanathan Anand was going to press for a win against Magnus Carlsen. The Tiger from Madras was definitely on the prowl after facing a Grunfeld…
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WCC2014-9: Carlsen still +1 after quick draw
The game was not nearly as gallant as this photo. Beautiful shot showing the tense moments building in the match! Photo by Anastasia Kharlovich. Well, that was fun, wasn't it — Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) November 20, 2014 Not much excitement in today’s game, but the 20-move draw in the Berlin…
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WCC2014-8: Draw! Zzzzzzzzzz!
Today’s eighth game for the World Chess Championship was perhaps the most uneventful encounter with only a few moments of tension. However it wasn’t the draw that was necessarily evoking boredom. It was the posture of world champion Magnus Carlsen sleeping at the board that was captured in countless photos…
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WCC2014-7: Tortuous battle drawn in 122 moves
Game seven battle almost broke a record for moves played in a world championship match. Photo by Vladimir Barsky. A lot has been made of Magnus Carlsen’s youth in this match against the middle-aged Viswanathan Anand. Perhaps too much is being made of this, but today’s game would put these…
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WCC2014-6: Knightmare loss for Anand!
“Sometimes you’re very, very lucky.”~Magnus Carlsen The chess world is still buzzing on social media about today’s game in which blunders were traded. After having played a rather unambitious version of the Kan Sicilian, Viswanathan Anand allowed Magnus Carlsen to create pressure on the kingside and tried to solve his…
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WCC2014-5: Tense draw… match still tied
The Tiger didn’t catch any prey today.Photo by Anastasia Kharlovich. Very exciting day today at the World Chess Championships between world champion Magnus Carlsen and challenger Viswanathan Anand. With Anand playing the white pieces, he opted for 1.d4 and faced the surprising Queen’s Indian. Anand showed the depth of his…
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WCC2014-4: No fireworks in Sicilian
Fire on board? Not today. Just when it appeared that we were heading for another swashbuckling fight, the world champion ended that hope with 3.g3 instead of 3.d4. Of course, a Najdorf or Scheveningen is not where Carlsen would want to go since Anand is at home in those complications.…
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WCC2014-3: Tiger breaks Thor’s hammer!
A crushing victory by challenger Viswanathan Anand over champion Magnus Carlsen today in a supreme example of opening preparation. Anand admitted in the post-game press conference that he had prepared as far as move 24, but had to check the subtle differences. In fact there were two main games that…
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