# 2021 World Chess Championship Carlsen vs Nepo **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** board-card-word-game, chess\ **Created:** [November 30, 2021, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-world-chess-championship-carlsen-vs-nepo/955206 "2021-11-30T12:21:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2021, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-world-chess-championship-carlsen-vs-nepo/955206/41 "2021-12-08T16:37:01Z")
> It has now been 1,830 days since anyone won a regulation game in the World Chess Championship. That is astounding. Yes, wins have always been difficult to come by at the highest level because the players are so darn talented and trained, but more than five years? > Nepomniachtchi moved first, minding the white pieces. The grandmasters played the [Ruy Lopez](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruy_Lopez) opening, specifically its [anti-Marshall](https://lichess.org/study/sOf5pYrk) variation, visiting once again some of the most well-trod ground in chess theory — “the mother opening,” per former world champion Viswanathan Anand on the [official broadcast](https://fideworldchampionship.com/). Indeed, the first seven moves exactly matched those of [Game 1](https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-world-chess-championship-opens-with-an-endless-knight-rook-dance/). > > For nearly the entire game, both players maneuvered their pieces nimbly and quickly, clearly familiar with the theory, and the computer’s all-seeing eye hardly blinked on Sunday, as the position was essentially level from start to finish. What does it say when a player with the white pieces intentionally plays a totally drawish opening? To me it says that he is afraid of losing even with the white pieces. As I understand it, should the match end with even scores, the champion retains his title. So, if you aren’t making any real effort to win, why play in the first place? ---
**Author:** ![3AxisCtrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/ecd19e/32.png) [@3AxisCtrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3AxisCtrl)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2021, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-world-chess-championship-carlsen-vs-nepo/955206/42 "2021-12-08T16:48:04Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > As I understand it, should the match end with even scores, the champion retains his title. Not really. If the 14 games with standard time controls end without a winner, there’s a tiebreaking format using rapid time controls which will essentially always produce a winner. ---
**Author:** ![borschevsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@borschevsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/borschevsky)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2021, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-world-chess-championship-carlsen-vs-nepo/955206/43 "2021-12-08T16:50:58Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > That is astounding. Yes, wins have always been difficult to come by at the highest level because the players are so darn talented and trained, but more than five years? The “five years” just means that there was a single match in 2018 where all the games were drawn. The previous match was in 2016, and there were 2 decisive games. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2021, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-world-chess-championship-carlsen-vs-nepo/955206/44 "2021-12-08T19:51:49Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > What does it say when a player with the white pieces intentionally plays a totally drawish opening? To me it says that he is afraid of losing even with the white pieces. Sometimes a player feels they can generate chances even from a level position. Carlsen is truly superb at endings, for example and may take the view that reaching an ending will favour him. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2021, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-world-chess-championship-carlsen-vs-nepo/955206/45 "2021-12-08T20:05:48Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > What does it say when a player with the white pieces intentionally plays a totally drawish opening? To me it says that he is afraid of losing even with the white pieces. As I understand it, should the match end with even scores, the champion retains his title. So, if you aren’t making any real effort to win, why play in the first place? There is also the psychological value of not falling behind. In the early matches I could see a challenger wanting to hold draws (with both colors) to get more comfortable with the environment/situation/opponent. They also often go to the same opening multiple times in a match, so using a “safer” line in an early match and then deviating to a “sharper” line in a later round could be a good strategy. Of course that all became moot after Carlsen won the marathon match and then Nepo fell apart in two of the subsequent matches. > [@glee](#): > > For what it’s worth, my impression from the video is that Carlsen was adjusting the knight. > (This opinion is based on my decades of watching strong players move pieces!) I don’t have nearly that experience but yes it looks clearly like an adjustment to me. I honestly didn’t know if you are supposed to say “adjust” to the arbiter if your opponent isn’t at the table, so I looked it up. Here is text from the [FIDE arbiter’s manual 2020](https://www.fide.com/docs/regulations/ARB%20Manual%202020.pdf) (PDF): > [@](#): > > Article 4.2.1 may only be used to correct displaced pieces. If the opponent is not present > then an arbiter, if present, should be informed before any adjustment takes place. The > player should always announce his intention to adjust a piece. If he does not do this > then the normal touch move rules apply (see 4.3) So the question becomes “Was the arbiter present?”. Although the following sentence seems to say that Carlsen should announce the adjustment even if the arbiter is not present. There is also this: > [@](#): > > If an arbiter observes a violation of Article 4, he must always intervene immediately. > He should not wait for a claim to be submitted by a player. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2021, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-world-chess-championship-carlsen-vs-nepo/955206/46 "2021-12-08T20:40:03Z")
Jasmine, excellent research! So Carlsen should technically have notified the arbiter first. Maybe the arbiter also thought Carlsen was clearly just adjusting the knight. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2021, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-world-chess-championship-carlsen-vs-nepo/955206/47 "2021-12-09T04:10:43Z")
[quote=“Jas09, post:45, topic:955206”] There is also this: > [@](#): > > If an arbiter observes a violation of Article 4, he must always intervene immediately. He should not wait for a claim to be submitted by a player. Then they are not an arbiter. They are an umpire/referee and should be referred to as such. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2021, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-world-chess-championship-carlsen-vs-nepo/955206/48 "2021-12-09T13:08:34Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > Then they are not an arbiter. They are an umpire/referee and should be referred to as such. I don’t see the difference: From Internet Dictionary definitions: Arbiter: a person who settles a dispute or has ultimate authority in a matter (synonym umpire) Umpire: an official who watches a game or match closely to enforce the rules and arbitrate on matters arising from the play (synonym arbiter) Also I’ve played in chess tournaments all over the world. The tournament programmes have always said who the Chief Arbiter was (and never mentioned ‘Umpire’.) ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2021, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-world-chess-championship-carlsen-vs-nepo/955206/49 "2021-12-09T23:54:15Z")
> [@glee](#): > > Arbiter: a person who settles a dispute or has ultimate authority in a matter (synonym umpire) Huh. I have a problem with the second half of that definition. To me, an arbiter is someone who settles a dispute. But a dispute requires two parties. An umpire is someone who enforces the rules regardless of any dispute between parties (for example, occasionally in American football, a flag will come down when neither team thought/realized a foul occurred.) The umpire doesn’t wait for Team A to request a foul on Team B - if he sees it, he throws it. An arbiter should wait until Team A request his services and even then, only if Team B objects or refuses to accept the penalty. Please understand that I do NOT dispute that those people are called that in chess or your tournament experience with them. All of the above is just my opinion and my persnickety nature in thinking that different names should indicate, you know, difference in function. Otherwise pick one damn name and go with it (and get off my lawn! 🙂 ). ---
**Author:** ![3AxisCtrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/ecd19e/32.png) [@3AxisCtrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3AxisCtrl)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-world-chess-championship-carlsen-vs-nepo/955206/50 "2021-12-10T17:12:32Z")
Carlsen (with black) wins Game 11 and thus successfully defends as World Champion. Nepo’s play was at least a bit “imprecise,” and Magnus rarely needs much more than that. I was evidently wrong in predicting that Nepo had a good chance of winning at least a game. He seems not to have been able to recover from his loss in the long Game 6. His play - quite good through that game - was insufficient afterwards. An interesting but perhaps not a very satisfactory match, with Magnus mostly taking advantage of weaknesses with consistency rather than brilliance. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-world-chess-championship-carlsen-vs-nepo/955206/51 "2021-12-10T17:43:17Z")
I wonder how many of Nepo’s errors were due to leaving the board just to come back, make a quick move, and leave again. ---
**Author:** ![borschevsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@borschevsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/borschevsky)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-world-chess-championship-carlsen-vs-nepo/955206/52 "2021-12-10T17:59:07Z")
It really seems like Nepo just collapsed. Game 6 was an all-timer, and the prior games were very well-played by both players. Then Nepo lost 3 of 5 games, all on one-move blunders. Magnus is a deserving winner, but it’s an unsatisfying way for the match to end. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-world-chess-championship-carlsen-vs-nepo/955206/53 "2021-12-10T19:59:38Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > I wonder how many of Nepo’s errors were due to leaving the board just to come back, make a quick move, and leave again. I strongly doubt that ever happened. There are players who stay seated at the board throughout. But these high-level games last for hours and sometimes just going for a short walk actually helps avoid stiffness and even aids concentration (when away from the board, these players are still analysing.) I only reached FIDE Master level, but I used to get up several times during a game. I found it helped me: - calm down if I thought I was winning - review the position afresh (and check my previous analysis) I have even moved behind my opponent (at a discreet distance, naturally) and looked at the game from their point of view. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-world-chess-championship-carlsen-vs-nepo/955206/54 "2021-12-10T20:07:37Z")
> [@borschevsky](#): > > It really seems like Nepo just collapsed. Game 6 was an all-timer, and the prior games were very well-played by both players. Then Nepo lost 3 of 5 games, all on one-move blunders. Magnus is a deserving winner, but it’s an unsatisfying way for the match to end. I agree with all of this. In a short match, being first to lose a game is a big disadvantage. You don’t have long to recover and your opponent doesn’t have to take risks. I would like to point out that Nepo had a sensationally good result in qualifying as the challenger in the Candidates tournament: [FIDE Candidates Tournament 2020 (candidates-2020.com)](https://www.en.candidates-2020.com/main/#rec164283054) It can be hard to move on after such an effort (and you may have revealed some of your opening analysis too.) ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-world-chess-championship-carlsen-vs-nepo/955206/55 "2021-12-10T21:10:19Z")
> [@glee](#): > > I strongly doubt that ever happened. Well, it depends on what you mean by “quick”. The three major blunders he made (Games 8, 9, and 11) came after thinks of 4 minutes (21… b5), 4 minutes (27. c5), and 10 minutes (today’s 23. g3). I would consider those pretty quick moves in a classical game In at least one of those I think he came back to the board and immediately made his move. So perhaps he had already considered Carlsen’s potential moves and his responses. But clearly he did not give enough thought to those decisions. In all three positions he had more time on his clock than Magnus did. It’s interesting, to me, that all three were pawn moves. A lot of really strong players that make instructional videos stress taking a particularly long time (if you have it) for pawn pushes since they fundamentally change the board in a way that is permanent since pawns can’t move backwards. But in this case all three were pretty immediate tactical plunders, not long-term strategic mistakes. I’d be interested on your take, @glee, on the conventional wisdom that Nepo just played some of these moves too damned fast. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-world-chess-championship-carlsen-vs-nepo/955206/56 "2021-12-10T21:17:25Z")
> [@glee](#): > > I have even moved behind my opponent (at a discreet distance, naturally) and looked at the game from their point of view. I used to do this sometimes in tournaments (though obviously I’m not at your level), and it was amazingly helpful. I think your brain just naturally seizes on offensive patterns, so you can see quickly what your opponent might be considering. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-world-chess-championship-carlsen-vs-nepo/955206/57 "2021-12-10T21:21:05Z")
As for coming and going from the board, I seem to remember that in at least one WC match Karpov and Kasparov had private rooms offstage, and they often retreated there rather than sit across from one another. (I tried to find a description, but only found it somewhat referenced here) [THE INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE OF SPORT SPOKEN HERE - The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1990/11/07/the-international-language-of-sport-spoken-here/a798bba1-7b58-4143-8f9a-8fb8dc2bdf0e/) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-world-chess-championship-carlsen-vs-nepo/955206/58 "2021-12-10T21:32:04Z")
> [@glee](#): > > In a short match, being first to lose a game is a big disadvantage. Heck, in any match, given how common draws are at this level. Especially if one player has the luxury of deliberately playing for them. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-world-chess-championship-carlsen-vs-nepo/955206/59 "2021-12-10T21:48:31Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > Well, it depends on what you mean by “quick”. The three major blunders he made (Games 8, 9, and 11) came after thinks of 4 minutes (21… b5), 4 minutes (27. c5), and 10 minutes (today’s 23. g3). I would consider those pretty quick moves in a classical game Good research. Actually I would say that 4 minutes at World Championship level allows a **lot** of analysis (particularly if the position is relatively quiet.) It would also make a difference (as you say) whether Nepo was at the board the whole time (as opposed to coming back and moving quickly.) I had the pleasure of playing and analysing a few times with the English GM Jonathan Speelman. Even though I was rated around 2350 at the time, it was **incredible** to me how fast he saw things! (Also he was very accurate in his assessments.) ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-world-chess-championship-carlsen-vs-nepo/955206/60 "2021-12-10T21:56:32Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > But in this case all three were pretty immediate tactical plunders, not long-term strategic mistakes. It is interesting to see in what circumstances blunders are made. I don’t think pawn moves are especially prone to be mistakes (though I agree with the point that you can’t ‘reverse’ a pawn move; i.e. move it backwards!) In my experience, blunders are more likely when: - you are winning - you are short of time - you are feeling confident (for example, you have successfully predicted several of your opponent’s moves) - you are focused on one part of the board (e.g. you have a very promising mating attack) - you are tired [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-world-chess-championship-carlsen-vs-nepo/955206.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2021-world-chess-championship-carlsen-vs-nepo/955206.md?page=4)