Poetic justice

There is no stopping the prodigiously gifted Norwegian, who has once again proved that when it comes to making the winning moves, he is the inarguable king. Magnus Carlsen may not have asked for a more memorable gift than making it a hat-trick of World Chess Championship on the day he turned 26.

Ever since the time he downed five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand in his backyard, Carlsen has demonstrated that he is destined to hold fort for a long time to come. Ironically, it was major body-blow to Anand, who was made to go back in time when the Lightning Kid had wrested crown for the first time as a master of the moves at a very young age.

However, Carlsen could not take his title for granted this time around as he ran into another 26-year-old who was at his pugnacious best, who almost pulled off an improbable upset. It should go to the credit and temperament of Carlsen that he survived a gritty showing by Russian Grand Master Sergey Karjakin, who went down with all guns blazing. It was poetic justice that the championship should have gone to the wire and had an almost football-like finish.

Indeed, it is rare for tie-breaker verdict in a tournament of such a magnitude and was a result that comes across as a major boost to the mind-game. It is also a good augury that a staid sport had a spectacular result, one that comes as an exciting development.

It may not exactly be similar to the days of the Bobby Fischer era but there are indications that with young blood ruling the roost and calling the shots, chess is indeed in for an exciting makeover.

Hungarian Grand Master Denes Boros pointed out, “Karjakin only wanted to prove he was Carlsen’s equal while the kid came to prove that he was greater.” Between the two, they enjoyed the distinction of being the youngest pair ever to face off in the world championship.

There is no denying that Carlsen is poised to dominate the sport the way Garry Kasparov did for close to 15 glorious years. His record against the best of the lot places him in a position that has been conquered by a rare few with Anand being the last in the genre of exceptionally gifted players.

The way he exemplified shrewdness while taking on the surprising moves by his Russian opponent proves that Carlsen was able to stay in the hunt purely on the strength of his extraordinary coolness and the ability to transform a near-loss to a situation that could result in a gusty draw, if not a win.

The showdown was of the highest quality from both players, neither of whom was willing to give an inch to the other for fear that the one with the edge could go for the kill. In fact, the best part of the match was that both were warrior-like in their approach and that is precisely what made it a fascinating spectacle the likes of which have been rare in recent times.