Sergey Karjakin

When the 12th and final ‘slow’ game of the world championship match ended in a half hour of synchronized sweeping and a friendly handshake, I delivered my flash report with an honest reaction that echoed the length of the ‘struggle’ – «WTF?»

We are now just one more nervous game away from the unthinkable – deciding a classical world title by playing increasingly faster games. I know that it happened not so terribly long ago, but I still find unthinkable a good word for it. Because the champion seemed such a clear favorite, and because I don’t think I will ever find it a satisfactory way to settle such an important event.

Weeks of frustration have finally ended for the champion, and once again he pauses after the game to speak with Norwegian media. Visibly nearly as weary as he is happy, he cannot hide a face-splitting smile. The match is now tied 5-5, and some might say we now have a two-game title contest.

The players had had a day to recover from their exertions in game 8, and to earth themselves again from two dramatically different perspectives.

Challenger Sergey Karjakin has seized a 4.5-3.5 lead in his title match with Magnus Carlsen, preventing a record-tying world championship sequence of eight initial draws by winning with black in a heart-stoppingly dramatic game that was far more excitement and emotion than precision. The champ now has only four games left to solve the invincibility enigma posed so far by his Russian adversary.

National fever After two marathon battles a rest day was even welcome for the huge Norwegian viewing public, who had been staying up glued to their screens until the tiny…

Predictions The social media sphere began buzzing early as world championship fans prepared for game four. The previous encounter ended with honors divided after a ferocious and dramatic battle, thanks to an incredible defensive…