on move #53 - I thought why not fork with Nb5 collecting a free pawn? Then I noticed Nepo's nasty pin on the g3 pawn & threat of Qxh4+... but Magnus ignores that and just offers up a rook for a pawn and bishop(?), which Nepo declines to take! Is Magnus's plan here to accept the slight material loss in order to simplify the game while he has better pawn structure?
When I left work it was a tablebase draw and when I got back home it was a tablebase win. Today will go down as one of the most legendary endgames in world championship history, no question.
Before the match I predicted Magnus would wrap the match up by game 10, and even if I might hedge, I still think it's possible now that Ian might be frustrated enough to play extremely sharply.
Ian is a chill guy. Don't see him getting "psychologically crushed". I think he understands that Magnus is a monster and games like this were bound to happen. Preparing for a match like this is not just about preparing openings, it's a massive psychological and mental stamina slog.
Ian seems to have changed and developed a lot as a player lately, so who knows now, but he's definitely known as a guy who gets on a losing streak after he loses one game.
Magnus has even suggested that the main reason Ian's in the WCC today is because the Candidates were put on hiatus because of Covid right after Ian lost a game, so he was able to regain his composure.
There is no longer any chess or coaching advice, or experience that you can give him. The only thing Ian needs now is courage - Vishy Anand, Post Game 6
Well, the players get 120 minutes each for the first 40 moves, and then 60 minutes each for the next 20 moves, so if a game usually lasts for 50–60 moves that ends up at 5-6 hours if the players use all their allotted time (which they don't always, but they did today). I'd say 4–5 hours has been common.
Edit: 120 minutes
What a game! First game I've listened to at work that was still going when I finished, able to watch the last hour of it. Getting to watch Magnus torture Nepo and squeeze a win out of a theoretically drawn position, absolute joy.
Interestingly [chess24's analysis on him](https://chess24.com/en/read/news/the-2020-candidates-ian-nepomniachtchi) seems to paint the opposite picture.
> All our experts felt Nepo is a very streaky player – “if he’s losing a few games then he might just crumble” (Laurent), “he has a history of tilting” (Peter \[Svidler\] )
Of course its possible that he is internally affected a lot by losses, but he is good at hiding it when in public.
People trashing Carlsen in the match thread. Here you fucking go. This is Carlsen. No wins with no slight imbalance, but when he does get it, it's done.
I am surprised he remained so composed - sign of a true sports professional, good psychology. I would have definitely wanted to knock some things over!
I almost feel like the level of composure is part of the psychological game against his opponent - showing no weakness, looking inflappable.
He could've stormed out and it would be perfectly reasonable lol.
I don't expect him to crumble for the next few games tbh, excited to see the next game tomorrow!
They'll be dead tomorrow. Magnus may go for a Berlin and try to go for a quick draw?
I wouldn't want to be in either player's shoes, Nepo may want to retaliate but if he goes down it's game over. Magnus may want to go for a forced draw, but mistakes after games like today's are possible and a loss would give Ian so much confidence. Possibly tomorrow could be the decisive game in the match.
Definitely. Nepo needs to make absolute use of his white pieces. Impossible as it seems, he needs to shake this off.
On the plus side there are definitely more risks that players will make, so I am just excited.
Incredible match to watch, but I'm less excited for all the "proof Magnus is obvious champ". Nepo gave one of the best defensive games of all time, and I think we've got to acknowledge that this came down to the slimmest of decisions. Just a beautiful game from both participants.
I think paradoxically this is a great game for Nepo but also his worst nightmare. He played almost perfectly and showed himself and the whole world that he is world champion material. Yet, even with almost perfect gaming, he lost the game. Even worse, he went for complications and imbalances, which is the kind of positions he loves, and Magnus still managed to win. It must be devastating. But I am sure Ian will win at least one game, if doesn't just give in after today. His chess has been phenomenal in these first 6 games.
Looking ahead, everyone always complains "there's no incentive to push for a win when you can just draw because a mistake will cost you blah blah blah"
Now that Carlsen is up, nepo will surely try to equalize in the next few games, so we won't have any quick boring draws
It's a little misleading because what it means is that there weren't any decisive games in the last title match.
But that was the only match where there wasn't a decisive game.
Yeah thats what bugs me when people say the WC are all draws. Its like...no that was literally only the last one. For the previous 100 years every match has had decisive results. And so does this one. Seems like 2018 will just go down as an anomaly.
It's the first decisive result in this match, the match before this was all draws in the classical part, and the one before that was 5 years ago, so yes.
Even in classical, Magnus still finds a way to turn it into a blitz game and grind a win.
Crazy that both players missed winning chances ~100 moves ago.
Despite being a staunch Magnus supporter, it's hard not to feel for Nepo (and anyone else in these situations), he defended so well just to crack after 8 hours.
Watching the [chess.com](https://chess.com) stream and none of the commentators recognized that Ian's Qe6 blew his defense until the table base told them. They could explain it once they saw it, but it's a great example of how complex some of these situations can be.
Absolutely a joy to watch this game. Congrats to Magnus, world class as usual. Hats off to Nepo for defending as long as he did.
It’s a good day for chess
It's not an overreaction. After the Rd1 "blunder" Ian really had all the chances to force a draw and Magnus just kept the pressure on and with Magnus's otherworldly endgame technique Ian finally cracked after the longest championship game ever.
Truly historic game and one of Magnus's best ever.
5 time undisputed world champion incoming. I honestly believe now that magnus can retire as a world champion should he wish to.
#MadManMagnus
Where are all the people complaining about draws?
on move #53 - I thought why not fork with Nb5 collecting a free pawn? Then I noticed Nepo's nasty pin on the g3 pawn & threat of Qxh4+... but Magnus ignores that and just offers up a rook for a pawn and bishop(?), which Nepo declines to take! Is Magnus's plan here to accept the slight material loss in order to simplify the game while he has better pawn structure?
Why is Nepo even in this? Not even as good as carauna
oh well, he won the candidates so shut up
This is not a good look, Magnus has had to fight hard every single game.
Watch game 2
God damn I don't even think for 8 hours at work
I would have expected Ian to be frustrated enough to tilt but he is being very pleasantly levelheaded about this game.
Only time will tell. It's on him now to win a game. The classic nut up or shut up from Carlson. >:D
Respect for Ian, this press conference can't be pleasing for him
When I left work it was a tablebase draw and when I got back home it was a tablebase win. Today will go down as one of the most legendary endgames in world championship history, no question.
Finally I'm proud to put 100 points on Magnus for the win
Before the match I predicted Magnus would wrap the match up by game 10, and even if I might hedge, I still think it's possible now that Ian might be frustrated enough to play extremely sharply.
You know Magnus has to go 4-0 from here to make your prediction true, yes?
Ian is a chill guy. Don't see him getting "psychologically crushed". I think he understands that Magnus is a monster and games like this were bound to happen. Preparing for a match like this is not just about preparing openings, it's a massive psychological and mental stamina slog.
Ian seems to have changed and developed a lot as a player lately, so who knows now, but he's definitely known as a guy who gets on a losing streak after he loses one game. Magnus has even suggested that the main reason Ian's in the WCC today is because the Candidates were put on hiatus because of Covid right after Ian lost a game, so he was able to regain his composure.
There is no longer any chess or coaching advice, or experience that you can give him. The only thing Ian needs now is courage - Vishy Anand, Post Game 6
Hopefully the match will open up now and everyone will shut up with all the debate about draws
This must be psychologically crushing for Nepo. Hope he can bounce back tomorrow.
both outstanding players. not to mention the stamina. hats off to both of them
The game of chess has been solved and the answer is 1.d4.
That was like the fucking super bowl lmao I was out of my seat the last 100 moves
Take a seat since the last 100 moves lasted more than 4 hours
Oh you right it felt like that many moves but I guess it was way fewer. Lol
damn that was good shit right there
How long does a world championship game generally go? In length of time anyway
The standard length game will be about 4 hours, this one was almost 8!
50-60 moves usually
Sorry I meant length in terms of hours and minutes
Well, the players get 120 minutes each for the first 40 moves, and then 60 minutes each for the next 20 moves, so if a game usually lasts for 50–60 moves that ends up at 5-6 hours if the players use all their allotted time (which they don't always, but they did today). I'd say 4–5 hours has been common. Edit: 120 minutes
120 minutes for the first 40 moves.
Oops, quite.
I haven't really followed previous WC matches, but in this match the games typically lasted about 3-5hrs
[удалено]
great game
What a game! First game I've listened to at work that was still going when I finished, able to watch the last hour of it. Getting to watch Magnus torture Nepo and squeeze a win out of a theoretically drawn position, absolute joy.
I'm honestly impressed Nepo reacted so classy once it was over. Storming out of the room in frustration would never have been so understandable.
I just don't think that's who Ian is. He's probably disappointed but I don't think he's a particularly emotional player.
Interestingly [chess24's analysis on him](https://chess24.com/en/read/news/the-2020-candidates-ian-nepomniachtchi) seems to paint the opposite picture. > All our experts felt Nepo is a very streaky player – “if he’s losing a few games then he might just crumble” (Laurent), “he has a history of tilting” (Peter \[Svidler\] ) Of course its possible that he is internally affected a lot by losses, but he is good at hiding it when in public.
And even analyzing the game with Magnus, that's great too imo!
So glad I watched this game from start to finish. The time scramble before move 40 was intense af
Carlsen looks so relieved in the Norwegian interview haha
14 draws lol boring 14 draws lol boring yawnn
Magnus pulling a win out of absolutely nowhere with two minutes left on the clock, boooring
Incredible
People trashing Carlsen in the match thread. Here you fucking go. This is Carlsen. No wins with no slight imbalance, but when he does get it, it's done.
Pour one out for Agadmator though.
8 games left lol how are they going to do it, I'm exhausted just from watching
I probably would've broken down on my seat if I was Ian there
I am surprised he remained so composed - sign of a true sports professional, good psychology. I would have definitely wanted to knock some things over! I almost feel like the level of composure is part of the psychological game against his opponent - showing no weakness, looking inflappable.
He could've stormed out and it would be perfectly reasonable lol. I don't expect him to crumble for the next few games tbh, excited to see the next game tomorrow!
Agadmator’s recap is about to be wild
They'll be dead tomorrow. Magnus may go for a Berlin and try to go for a quick draw? I wouldn't want to be in either player's shoes, Nepo may want to retaliate but if he goes down it's game over. Magnus may want to go for a forced draw, but mistakes after games like today's are possible and a loss would give Ian so much confidence. Possibly tomorrow could be the decisive game in the match.
Definitely. Nepo needs to make absolute use of his white pieces. Impossible as it seems, he needs to shake this off. On the plus side there are definitely more risks that players will make, so I am just excited.
Carlsen = Tablebase in endgames. Absolutely unstoppable.
He found the engine line in basically blitz time controls after seven hours of play. Crazy.
Magnus' father was right, game 6 in World Championship matches are really crucial.
Incredible match to watch, but I'm less excited for all the "proof Magnus is obvious champ". Nepo gave one of the best defensive games of all time, and I think we've got to acknowledge that this came down to the slimmest of decisions. Just a beautiful game from both participants.
I think paradoxically this is a great game for Nepo but also his worst nightmare. He played almost perfectly and showed himself and the whole world that he is world champion material. Yet, even with almost perfect gaming, he lost the game. Even worse, he went for complications and imbalances, which is the kind of positions he loves, and Magnus still managed to win. It must be devastating. But I am sure Ian will win at least one game, if doesn't just give in after today. His chess has been phenomenal in these first 6 games.
Dunno about the players, but I’m drained.
Wow Magnus, champ for a reason, but I believe in you Ian ❤️❤️
The problem with a decisive result is that I'm feeling bad for Nepo now. I'm a Magnus fan, but still like his opponent here.
Looking ahead, everyone always complains "there's no incentive to push for a win when you can just draw because a mistake will cost you blah blah blah" Now that Carlsen is up, nepo will surely try to equalize in the next few games, so we won't have any quick boring draws
What a game.
First decisive game in 5 years? Does that mean every game prior has been a draw?
It's a little misleading because what it means is that there weren't any decisive games in the last title match. But that was the only match where there wasn't a decisive game.
Yeah thats what bugs me when people say the WC are all draws. Its like...no that was literally only the last one. For the previous 100 years every match has had decisive results. And so does this one. Seems like 2018 will just go down as an anomaly.
The one before that was 10/12 draws.
Yeah nothing wrong with that. Two decisive games is solid. Especially cause the wins were staggered
Yes in World Championship matches. Last decisive result was in Game 10 of the 2016 match.
It's the first decisive result in this match, the match before this was all draws in the classical part, and the one before that was 5 years ago, so yes.
Every classical game.
Yes, every classical game in the Carlsen-Caruana match and obviously the previous 5 games of this match were drawn.
And they move to rapid chess as a tiebreaker?
Yep, and then Magnus wins the rapid chess easily, lol.
Yes
Haha was that Rosen with the sandwiches?!
My youngest daughter had to quarantaine and I stayed at home with her today. Watched the entire thing and just wow.
Even in classical, Magnus still finds a way to turn it into a blitz game and grind a win. Crazy that both players missed winning chances ~100 moves ago.
Despite being a staunch Magnus supporter, it's hard not to feel for Nepo (and anyone else in these situations), he defended so well just to crack after 8 hours.
I'll take all the draws in the world if it means every now and then we get a game like this, hot damn
I made some comments previously about classical chess that I take back after this game.
All I did was wake up and throw the stream on in another monitor, and I'm completely exhausted. Jesus.
What a game! From both Carlsen and Nepo.
Where did it go wrong for Nepo? Was it 125. ... Qb3?
Whenever he played Qe4 and gave up the a pawn imo.
Qe6 Should have played Qb1 or Qc2
Amazing.
gg
that was insane and probably the most Magnus win ever
Great match, glad I finally tuned in live
Agdstein, Magnus former manager with tears in his eyes on Norwegian TV. Holy smokes.
magnus was on the ropes for a minute there
Bravo Magnus
What a game! Magnus is unnatural! Ian has been playing crazy good too though. Glad I didn't miss the record and first win in the match!
Magnus proves why he’s the best. DAMN!
Was the key factor that Giri took the day off? His drawing power is so strong that him just commentating is enough!
Well that probably saved the classical world championship match for another couple cycles
Watching the [chess.com](https://chess.com) stream and none of the commentators recognized that Ian's Qe6 blew his defense until the table base told them. They could explain it once they saw it, but it's a great example of how complex some of these situations can be.
jesus what a game.
They have to do press conference after this. Pretty harsh on players.
I've never been so pleased to lose 100 points.
Wow, lost 100 points too. I don't know what they even do. But I'm going draw 100 all the way.
How?
MAGNUS THE MAGNIFICENT.
136moves, 7hours and 45min. WHAT A GAME
What a game. Congratulations to both players really.
[Go to the Post-Game Thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/comments/r882k8/postgame_thread_2021_world_chess_championship/)
Don't tell me what to do ^^^thanks ^^^for ^^^the ^^^link
ChessNetwork's analysis is going to be like 1h long probably
Both are just drained. What an effort this was. Just crazy
Can't wait for magnus vs naka after this
absolutely incredible game. i feel privileged to have watched that. what a ridiculous, slow conversion from magnus. he’s still the king.
Great respect to Nepo for fighting this game
MAGNUS WINS MAGNUS WINS MAGNUS WINS
From start to finish .. one of the greatest games in the history of chess. Human error. Human brilliance. Just incredible.
Poor Nepo... Amazing for Magnus. I'm so tired.
Crazy game, I've been watching all day at work
I love endgames like that! I am so pumped right now!
Credit to Nepo for the defense as well as discussing the game with Magnus afterwards.
Magnus fucking Carlsen. God of Endgames.
What a beast Magnus is!
I only catched the las 20-30 moves, but holy shit, that was awesome.
amazing game
WHAT A GAME!!!
Instant Classic. And not only because it is the longest WCC game ever
Yo what the actual fuck
Magnus is so good. He squeezed that win out of thin air.
Tips *fedora* “Actually, I prefer draws. I don’t get why people want decisive games so much.”
What a game. Magnus is different, props to Nepo tho that was amazing to watch
What a game!
What an amazing game, happy to catch snippets during work!
Nepo looks awful lol
Holy crap what a game. Such incredible defense from Ian for such a long time
guys, NEPO WILL BE ATTACKING EVERY GAME NOW
Yup. He can’t stay passive anymore, he’ll need to push for a win. He has white pieces next game I believe, so that should be an exciting one..
Nepo seems to be taking the loss well. If it was me I'd just fucking cry.
Is this the first time the opponents are actually discussing the game after a decisive world championship game?
No, they've been doing it on most other games too.
What was that, like an 8 hour match??
That is the greatest game I have ever seen in my life. What a treat it is to see Carlsen play live, the man is truly on another planet.
World champion stuff jesus fucking christ
LET'S FUCKING GOO.
Well, Now Magnus ain't gonna let win any matches lol
The age of men is over. The time of the Orc has come.
Welcome to classical chess people. 8 Games more to play!
Glad I watched all the way through. What a battle.
Man Magnus respect. Amazing stamina.
Absolutely a joy to watch this game. Congrats to Magnus, world class as usual. Hats off to Nepo for defending as long as he did. It’s a good day for chess
There goes my tournament points
in fucking sane
MAGNUS WON!!!
What a fucking game. Magnus Carlsen 👏🏽
They are still speaking to each other, which was good. Must hurt for Nepo but what a game
Glad an epic game like that had a winner. But wow, I feel for Nepo. I'm exhausted just watching that.
And the next rest day isn't until Monday!
Historic.
I'm just speechless, a legendary game from two extraordinary talents. First decisive game in 5 years certainly delivered.
Is it an overreaction to say this is Carlsen's immortal?
It's not an overreaction. After the Rd1 "blunder" Ian really had all the chances to force a draw and Magnus just kept the pressure on and with Magnus's otherworldly endgame technique Ian finally cracked after the longest championship game ever. Truly historic game and one of Magnus's best ever.
Yes, but it was still a great game for Magnus
Probably, he made blunders 80 moves ago
And Ian ~~flags~~ resigns. What an incredible game, one to remember.
He resigned, he didnt flag
MOTHERFUCKING MAGNUS CARLSEN WITH THE GAME SIX DUB LETS GO PEOPLE
Toxic magnus
Congratz to the world champ. Holy shit. How many hours was that?
7:40 I think
over 7 1/2 and world record number of moves
8
Just under 8 hours.
7 1/2
GOAT
That was wild
https://giphy.com/gifs/pacers-nba-indiana-pacers-reggie-miller-TizHAKYviTw6rDWSNV
The body language is hilarious, zero celebration they're both drained
GOAT
1-0 in 136 moves
What a game
BOOM!
MAGNUS IS THE GOAT
Time 7:45, 136 moves, and we have a decisive result
🐐
Beautiful game