Magnus Carlsen has emerged victorious over challenger Fabiano Caruana at the 2018 World Chess Championship in London. While spectators and fans may have been disappointed by the early draw in game 12, Carlsen’s strategy proved successful. He won three straight in the tie-break rapid games and will go home with a €550,000 prize.

Answering questions after the match, Carlsen said that Caruana was his toughest challenger yet for the championship.

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All 12 scheduled games of the World Chess Championship have been completed, with neither Magnus Carlsen, the reigning champion, or Fabiano Caruana, the challenger, declared the winner. In fact, there was no winner in any one of the individual games.

The match will now move to four games of rapid Chess (25 minutes per player per game, plus 10 seconds per move). If there is no winner after that, there will be two games of blitz (5 minutes plus 3 seconds per move), followed by two more, and finally an Armageddon game, in which White gets an extra minute but Black wins on a draw.

In any case, a champion will be declared on Wednesday.

Drawn games are common in higher level play and the last World Championship also ended regular games at a tie. For the first time in the tournament’s history, however, all games played under classical time controls finished with a draw.

The last draw attracted some criticism for Carlsen, who offered it at the first opportunity (draws by mutual agreement are not permitted in the first 30 moves) despite being in a favorable, if somewhat complicated, position.

In light of this shocking draw offer from Magnus in a superior position with more time, I reconsider my evaluation of him being the favorite in rapids. Tiebreaks require tremendous nerves and he seems to be losing his.

— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) November 26, 2018

But it seems Carlsen was playing the game for a draw. Caruana, only 3 ratings points behind the champion in classic time controls, put up a good fight throughout the previous games. In rapid and blitz, however, Carlsen remains the top ranked player, while Caruana is number 10 and number 18, respectively. Carlsen apparently prefers his odds in these tighter games.

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This Friday begins the 2018 World Chess Championship in London. Reigning champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway takes on challenger Fabiano Caruana of the United States in a 12 game series scheduled to conclude November 26th, though tiebreaks could extend the series an extra day or two.

Carlsen, 27 years old, has held the title since defeating Viswanathan Anand of India in 2013. Caruana, 26, trails the current champion by just three rating points going in to the tournament (2835-2832) and is the first American World Champion challenger since Bobby Fischer in 1972.

For those not able to attend in-person, the World Championship games will be broadcast live online (3 PM GMT, 10 AM ET). A subscription to the series is only $20.

Don’t have someone to follow the games with? Consider Mates, the official World Chess Championship dating app. According to the app’s developer, “Good sex has a lot in common with a good game of chess… That’s why Mates limits your conversation to an hour, so you spend less time talking and more time playing.”

And if that doesn’t work for you, the tournament’s organizers have also signed an official online betting partner. Unibet expects wagers on the Chess championship to exceed those placed on some of the recent FIFA World Cup games. Odds are currently running ⅔-⅓ in favor of Carlsen.

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World Chess Events Limited, which holds the broadcast rights to FIDE’s World Chess Championship cycle (including the Grand Prix series and Candidates Tournament), has issued an open call for a Chess commentator. World Chess is looking for someone to anchor live video coverage of the highest level Chess tournaments, as well as “to play a key role in shaping a new way for chess to be broadcast.”

We are looking to create a chess media superstar… He or she must have a deep understanding of the game. But we are also looking for someone who can engage with a wider audience who are perhaps not chess experts.

To be considered for the position (which includes a “competitive salary” and significant world travel), applicants will need to submit a resume and 5 minute test video.

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Facing Viswanathan Anand, whom he defeated last year to claim the title, Magnus Carlsen of Norway has again come out on top in the 2014 World Chess Championship match. After 11 games, the final score was 6.5-4.5 5.5 for Carlsen. Three games went to Carlsen, one to Anand, and seven were draws.

Anand’s performance this year was stronger than last, yet Carlsen was still able to outlast him, even after apparently falling asleep during one game.

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Shogi

Awake defeated Ponanza, claiming the top spot in the Shogi Deno Tournament in Saitama, Japan. Both are computer programs, and along with three other computer players earned the opportunity to compete against humans for a 2.5 million Yen prize next March.

Scrabble

Nigeria placed first at the Africa Scrabble Championship, followed by South Africa and Zambia.

Christopher May clinched the British National Scrabble Championship with a record of 13-4 +1287 by playing “MATH”. Yep, that’s it.

Go

In a repeat performance of last year, Kim Sooyoung and Jeon Junhak of Korea claimed the trophy at the International Amateur Pair Go Cup. Their final game was against Chinese Taipei and was won on a resignation.

Draughts

The World Youth Draughts Championship in Tallinn, Estonia was divided in to boys and girls, minicadets (under-14) and hopes (under-11) sections. Among all the sections, the top spots were dominated by players from Russia and Belarus. In minicadets girls, the winner was Vera Gorbacheva of Russia. In minicadets boys, the winner was  Anatolyi Protodyakonov of Russia. Leading hopes girls was Maryia Chasnakova of Belarus. Leading hopes boys, Miraslau Kuzniatsou of Belarus.

In Lishui, China the 3rd Xingqui Tianxi Cup International Open Draughts Tournament saw Mourodoullo Amrillaew of Russia at the top of the general section, Natalia Shestakova of Russia lead the women’s section, Yiming Pan of China boys under-14, and Yurui Liu of China girls under-14.

Rubik’s Cube

At Człuchów Panzer Cube 2014 (Poland), Jakub Kipa set a world record at solving the 3×3 cube with feet, 25.90 seconds.

With an average time of 9.47 seconds in 3×3 cube, the winner of the Asian Championship in Matsudo, Japan was Sei Sugama. The same tournament saw a world record 37.83 Megaminx solve by Mitsuki Gunji.

Chess

After six rounds of the World Chess Championship, current champion, Magnus Carlsen, leads challenger and previous champion, Viswanathan Anand, 3½-2½.

First place in the Tashkent leg of the FIDE Grand Prix went to Dmitry Andreikin with 7/11 points.

Magic: The Gathering

Grand Prix Nashville was a Khans of Tarkir team limited event. Of the 464 registered teams, the one of Matthew Nass, Jacob WIlson, and Jesse Hampton came out on top.

At Grand Prix Santiago (standard), Brazilian players proved tough opponents for local Chileans, with Eduardo dos Santos Vieira coming out on top.

Immanuel Gerschenson of Austria won Grand Prix Madrid, where the modern format saw a strong performance by a variety of older cards.

More than 4,000 players showed up for Grand Prix New Jersey (legacy) but in the finals it came down to roommates, Tom Ross and Brian Braun-Duin, with the latter taking home the trophy.

Other

Fantasy Flight Games’ World Championship Weekend saw eight different players declared champion, one in two separate games:

• A Game of Thrones: The Card Game (Melee)—Dan Seefeldt
• A Game of Thrones: The Card Game (Joust)—Sam Braatz
• A Game of Thrones: The Card Game (Overall)—Alexander Hynes
• Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game—Jeremy Zwirn
• Star Wars: The Card Game—Mick Cipra
• X-Wing—Paul Heaver
• Warhammer 40,000: Conquest—Jeremy Zwirn
• Warhammer: Diskwars—Francois Fressin
• Android: Netrunner The Card Game—Dan Dargenio

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The recent success of the last World Chess Championship and rockstar-like celebrity of its winner, Magnus Carlsen, do not appear to have done a whole lot for the ability of FIDE (the World Chess Federation) to organize and finance other major tournaments.

The 2014 World Championship match, due to take place just 6 months from now, has yet to find a home—and that with a rematch between Carlsen and the previous champion, Viswanathan Anand! Even after extending the deadline (to April 30th), FIDE has not received a single bid for organizing the event.

A public dispute has erupted between FIDE and the South African Chess Federation over the organization of the World Youth Championship scheduled for September in Durban. FIDE refused to approve the tournament invitation drafted by the South African federation, arguing that the hotel rates are too high and that participants should not be required to pay 100 percent of costs in advance.

Worse is FIDE’s dispute with the Singapore Chess Federation, whom the organization accuses of unilaterally changing conditions for the World Amateur Championship without even providing notice.

A World Under-16 Chess Olympiad was supposed to take place later this year. However its host, the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, has withdrawn. And without sufficient remaining time to make alternate arrangements, FIDE has announced that the event likely will not be held.

An even more prestigious tournament is in danger of also being cancelled. Local press reports that the Norwegian Chess Federation is running short of money to produce the Chess Olympiad, scheduled for August in Tromsø. More than 2,000 participants from 181 countries are expected at the Olympiad. A request for supplementary funding of NOK 15 million ($2.5 million) was rejected by the government. Said one official, “When a group gets money from the state, they have to mount an arrangement that fits within the framework.” FIDE’s Treasurer and Executive Director, Nigel Freeman, posted an open letter on the organization’s website asking the Norwegian federation to provide assurances that the Olympiad would not be cancelled.

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The 2014 FIDE World Candidates Tournament has concluded in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia with Viswanathan Anand in the lead, thus qualifying to challenge Magnus Carlsen for the World Chess Championship this coming November. Anand, the immediate past World Champion, lost the title to Carlsen in a disappointing performance last November. The Candidates Tournament, however, saw Anand return strong, starting off with a win against Levon Aronian, whom many had considered the favorite going in to the event, and finishing undefeated.

The final standings of the FIDE World Candidates Tournament were: Viswanathan Anand in first place with 8.5 points out of 14; Sergey Karjakin in second at 7.5 points; Vladimir Kramnik, Dmitry Andreikin, and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov following, tied at 7.0 points; Peter Svidler and Levon Aronian at 6.5 points; and Veselin Topalov at 6.0 points.

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