Norwegian chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen confirmed his long-held reputation as the best chess player in the world by retaining the world championship on Friday.
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The tightly wound contest – held at the Dubai Expo in the United Arab Emirates – was expected to end in a draw before Carlsen's challenger, Russian Jewish chess player Ian Nepomniachtchi, made a dire blunder.
It was Carlsen's fourth win against the Russian chess grandmaster of their 11 encounters in Dubai, The Guardian reported. After their first five meetings ended in draws, Carlsen reached the fourth decisive result in the next six games.
The Norwegian's winning score of 7½-3½ is the most lopsided result in a world championship chess match since Jose Raul Capablanca's triumph exactly 100 years ago in Havana.
"It's hard to feel that great joy when the situation was so comfortable to begin with, but I'm happy with a very good performance overall," Carlsen said, The Guardian reported.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
