When the chess history of the year 2015 is written, the FIDE World Cup must be mentioned. The tournament was a gruelling 128-player elimination affair which was contested over 25 days and concluded on Monday at Baku, Azerbaijan.
The prominent chess nations were ably represented and the illustrious final centred around two Russian grandmasters, Sergey Karjakin and Peter Svidler. The match featured a combination of classical, rapid and blitz games and delivered some unorthodox moves riddled with unexpected blunders. The entire match was decisive, allowing no draws. Svidler, 39, drew first blood by winning the first two games, and needed only a draw to clinch the annual elitist title. But Svidler, Russia’s chess champion seven times and the winner of the world cup in 2011, slipped, similar to the man who walks the tightrope, and conceded the full point to his determined opponent. He missed wins two consecutive times in two consecutive moves. In game four, Karjakin out-manoeuvred Svidler to score a huge win and even the match. Finally, during the crucial blitz games set to declare a winner, Svidler experienced a crushing defeat to his younger countryman. The final score read: