The Russian Redemption ??
It’s not 1950s and the subsequent era when the Russians dominated the Chess world with a string of World Chess champions. The World Chess Champion was synonymous with Russia, the only setback being the 1972 World Chess Championship, when the rising star of the Chess World, an American, Robert James Fischer, snatched that crown for four years from Russia.
Fast forward to the 21st century, after the end of Kasparov’s era(arguably one of the greatest to have ever played the game), Kramnik, his Russian compatriot, was the new World Chess Champion. Kramnik, however, lost his crown to the legendary Indian Grandmaster, Vishwanathan(Vishy) Anand, in 2007, who defended his crown four more times.
All this while a player was rising through the ranks to become the world’s highest-rated player, and with such impressive skills that he came to be known as Mozart of Chess, this young challenger to the crown, Magnus Carlsen, succeeded Anand in 2013 as the World Chess Champion.
Carlsen defended his title three times. The first time against Anand himself (in 2014), the second time in 2016, when Sergey Karjakin, a leading Russian Grandmaster, became a challenger and what seemed to be the crown’s far-fetched homecoming story (because Magnus was undoubtedly the favorite to win the match).
Karjakin drew first blood and sent shockwaves throughout the Chess world. He took the lead in the 8th game of the 12 game match. It looked like Karjakin had done it against all odds, but Magnus returned with a vengeance in the 10th game and tied the match. He then went on to defeat Karjakin in rapid tiebreaks and retained the crown. The redemption story for Russia was left incomplete.
The 2018 World Chess Championship was quite a heavyweight battle, with Magnus Carlsen facing his stiffest battle with perhaps the only player of equal caliber at the time, an American, Fabiano Caruana. Magnus was again able to save his crown in rapid tiebreaks.
The Candidates 2020–21 tournament(which stopped abruptly and then continued in 2021) put forward a new Challenger for the crown, another Russian Grandmaster, Ian Nepomniachtchi. This 2021 World Chess Championship promises to be an incredible battle, with FIDE increasing the number of games from 12 to 14. Russian Chess fans, especially those who had seen the glory days of Russian Chess, are hoping Ian to cross the line, which Karjakin was so close to doing. This match will be a battle between playing styles. So, experts(or so they are called) feel it should be Magnus’s most challenging match if it comes down to tiebreak because, in that aspect, Ian seems faster and more dangerous than the previous two challengers. Though rating-wise, Magnus is the favorite in the classical portion; the aura and atmosphere of such an intense competition are something else. A slight misstep from any player and the other once will be ready to pounce. The margins of error are very small, and it all comes down to confidence, preparation, and certainly a teensy bit of luck to top it off.
Will Ian Nepomniachtchi bring back the crown to Russia, or will Magnus once again defend his crown? All these questions will be answered when the clock starts for Game 1 on 26th November. Will Russia it’s World Champion, or will they have to wait for another Challenger?
