Chess world anticipates Carlen, Karjakin showdown

By Errol Tiwari On In Chess with Errol |
Norwegian chess grandmaster and current world champion Magnus Carlsen, 26, will defend his world championship chess title next month against Russia’s Sergey Karjakin, also 26, in New York. One week following the conclusion of the 2016 Chess Olympiad, Carlsen played a simultaneous handicap match against 11 hand-picked opponents in New Jersey as a warm-up exercise. Each of his opponents had 30 minutes per game, while the world champion had 30 minutes for his total eleven games. Carlsen won handsomely 11-0. In the photo, Carlsen replays one of the games of his opponents from memory.
Norwegian chess grandmaster and current world champion Magnus Carlsen, 26, will defend his world championship chess title next month against Russia’s Sergey Karjakin, also 26, in New York. One week following the conclusion of the 2016 Chess Olympiad, Carlsen played a simultaneous handicap match against 11 hand-picked opponents in New Jersey as a warm-up exercise. Each of his opponents had 30 minutes per game, while the world champion had 30 minutes for his total eleven games. Carlsen won handsomely 11-0. In the photo, Carlsen replays one of the games of his opponents from memory.

For the next two months, the eyes and minds of the chess world would be focused on the world chess championship title match. Agon, the company that owns the commercial rights to organize the world chess championship, announced that the match will begin on November 11 in Manhattan, New York, between the reigning champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway and the challenger Sergey Karjakin of Russia. The match is a best-of-12 series and concludes on November 30.

ChessLogoCarlsen had defeated Viswanathan Anand for the title of world chess champion in November 2013, and defended it successfully once. Karjakin has emerged as the new challenger. The match represents a first for players who came of age during the computer era and essays a generational shift in chess. Carlsen and Karjakin, both 26, are the youngest finalists for the title in the history