Magnus Carlsen led into the last day of Norway Chess and was able to decide the tournament with a victory against Veselin Topalov. However, a draw with the black pieces meant that Shakrijar Mamedjarov could regain the world title with a victory in his party.
A miracle defense from Teimur Radjabov in the sprint meant that the Norwegian still won his fourth Norway Chess tournament in a row.
– I will not say what he could or could not, because you get so “shaky” in such situations. He feels he should have won, but then he lost control completely and suddenly there was not much time. I take it, says Carlsen to TV 2.
– It turned out in the end there was a lot that was going to go right the last two days considering everything that happened in the parties, but it did now once again, he continues.
Carlsen was in the TV 2 studio when he saw that it ended in a draw for Mamedjarov – and tournament winner.
– The format works in such a way that you are never out of it. That Mamadyrov was about to catch up with me after I beat him in the sixth round is absolutely insane. I remember Karjakin once. He had a bad tournament, but he won the last three games and the tournament. Anything can happen. It never goes as you think, he says.
Thrilleravslutning
Magnus Carlsen could decide his own fate with the black pieces against Veselin Topalov. A calm opening, however, led to a position where the Norwegian had problems getting chances to win.
Carlsen tried to create dynamics in the position, but ended up in a slightly worse position. From there, the 31-year-old managed to save the draw without major problems, but thus became dependent on Mamadyrov not to win his party to secure the victory.
Mamedjarov in his party had a lot of pressure on both the clock and the board. It took a long time until Radjabov came to succumb to the pressure.
With just a few minutes on the clock, however, Radjabov managed to find a miracle defense and secured the point Mamedjarov needed to win the tournament.
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