NEW YORK: Norwegian Magnus Carlsen extended his dominance over the chess world on Wednesday by winning the World Chess Championship for the third consecutive time, beating his Russian challenger Sergei Karyakin in a tiebreaker.
Although Karyakin foiled predictions by tying Carlsen in 12 regular rounds, the Norwegian champion beat him in the final phase of four quick-fire extra games.
The battle for the world chess crown ended up in the dramatic tiebreaker on Wednesday after a win apiece and nine draws.
So the young stars – both aged just 26 – headed into the chess equivalent of extra time in soccer.
Unlike the earlier rounds, which lasted an average of six hours, the rapid-play rules meant the players had just 25 minutes each, so each game was over in an hour.
The competition initially offered prize money of 600,000 euros ($637,000) for the winner, and 400,000 euros for the losers, but that was changed to 550,000 and 450,000 euros respectively because the battle went into extra time.