Magnus Carlsen is the face of dominance in world chess. At 24 years of age, he is the reigning world champion and he is the world number one. He has an ELO rating of 2853 in classic, 2894 in rapid and 2873 in blitz. He has brushed aside legends like Viswanathan Anand and modern chess masters like Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura. His achievements make him one of the modern-day greats of world chess.
However, in the ongoing world chess championship against Russia’s Sergey Karjakin (26), he has been stretched to his limit. Karjakin has made Carlsen look mortal. For the first time in his career, Carlsen has shown signs of vulnerability. In the 12 classical games, Carlsen trailed for the first time.
With the tournament heading into rapid tie-breakers and a potential ‘Armageddon’ sudden death, Carlsen will be the favorite. However, there is no denying the fact that Karjakin’s performance in the world championship has set the chess world buzzing.
Modern chess Grandmasters and writers have taken to Twitter to discuss on how the Carlsen-Karjakin contest has shaped the chess discourse. Some have appreciated the style of play of both these players, while some have criticised the defensive play adopted by the players. Some have also criticised the scheduling of the rest games.