Carlsen’s collapse – lost chess drama
Photo: Martin Leighland
Magnus Carlsen and Vladislav Artemjev went 2-2 in the first four matches of the Champions Chess Tour tournament, and so the match was decided at Armageddon.
Carlsen, with a time of 7:58, was more than seven minutes slower than Artemjev. The Norwegian was close to a draw and a win with the black pieces, but wasted his queen and lost the game and therefore the match.
– It was a really, really cruel day of chess. I had everything to lose and more… Of course, you need a strong opponent to take advantage of it, but it was really bad. This was unacceptable, Carlsen told Chess24.
With this defeat, Carlsen has only one life left in the Champions Chess Tour. It is only with two defeats that you are eliminated from the tournament. In the previous Champions Chess Tour, the first four losers left the tournament.
Monday started badly for the 32-year-old. The first defeat came after a huge blunder in the lack of time in the opening match.
– It’s a big shock. It’s not a situation he’s used to, losing the opening match, says chess expert Heidi Røneid in the TV 2 studio.
Carlsen retaliated in game two with black pieces, but again lost with white advantage in game three before winning game four and saving Armageddon.
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