Norway’s Magnus Carlsen retained his World Chess Championship title with victory over Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia in Game 11 to take an unassailable 7.5-3.5 lead in their match in Dubai.
Heading into Friday’s game with a big lead in their best-of-14 showdown, Carlsen wrapped up the title after another error-strewn performance from the challenger.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The final moment of game 11 as <a href="https://twitter.com/MagnusCarlsen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MagnusCarlsen</a> secured the 2021 world championship with a score of 7.5-3.5 against Ian Nepomniachtchi. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CarlsenNepo?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CarlsenNepo</a> <a href="https://t.co/FjHR1QGsNz">pic.twitter.com/FjHR1QGsNz</a></p>— Chess.com (@chesscom) <a href="https://twitter.com/chesscom/status/1469334992069222406?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 10, 2021</a></blockquote>
The pair were unable to be separated after the first five games of their €2 million ($2.26 million) tussle before the Norwegian made a breakthrough in an epic Game 6 which lasted 7 hours and 45 minutes and was the longest ever at the World Championships.
That appeared to shatter Nepomniachtchi’s resolve and although he picked up two subsequent draws, the initiative had been firmly surrendered to Carlsen as the reigning champion also won Games 8 and 9.
Playing as white, ‘Nepo’ also blundered in Game 11 on Friday with a misguided attack on Carlsen’s rook on move 23, paving the way for his resignation.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">23.g3 is "One last roll of the dice" for Nepo, says GM David Howell. Magnus will win now, he adds. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/c24live?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#c24live</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CarlsenNepo?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CarlsenNepo</a> <a href="https://t.co/SM5m3Tq2ij">pic.twitter.com/SM5m3Tq2ij</a></p>— chess24.com (@chess24com) <a href="https://twitter.com/chess24com/status/1469315120086102018?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 10, 2021</a></blockquote>
“It’s hard to feel that great joy when the situation was so comfortable to begin with, but I’m happy with a very good performance overall,” said Carlsen.
“Overall I’m happy with my play, very proud of my effort in the sixth game, and that sort of laid the foundation for everything.
“The final score is probably a bit more lopsided than it could have been, but that’s the way I think some of the other matches also could have gone if I had gotten a lead.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The final handshake. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CarlsenNepo?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CarlsenNepo</a> <a href="https://t.co/CXyMQk2Xkc">pic.twitter.com/CXyMQk2Xkc</a></p>— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) <a href="https://twitter.com/FIDE_chess/status/1469338268261142532?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 10, 2021</a></blockquote>
Speaking on his defeat, Nepomniachtchi cited the “tension” of the occasion but suggested that was not an excuse.