Grandmasters Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi decided to share the 2024 FIDE World Chess Championship title in Wall Street, New York with nothing to separate the two, seven games into the final. (More Sports News)
The decision came after three sudden-death games failed to produce a winner, and it also marked the first-ever chess title to be shared.
♓After u-turning his earlier decision to withdraw from the tournament, Carlsen won his eighth world blitz title, while Nepomniachtchi bagged his first.
𒁃Carlsen started the final on a strong note, winning the first two games, but Nepomniachtchi showcased a lot of fight, won the next two games, and levelled the score 2-2, to take it to a tiebreak.
💛In the sudden-death games, neither of the players secured a win, with all three ending in draws.
“It feels very good to share gold with Nepo. We reached a point where it had been a long day. We played many games, we had three draws and I felt that I could keep playing. But it was a nice solution to share the win, it was a good way to end it,” Carlsen told the Norwegian media outlet NRK.
🎃"Of course, it was uneasy. [...] I wasn't too pessimistic. Of course it wasn't the best start, but whenever I get a chance I can try to play it on and to use it. In Blitz, everything can happen," Nepomniachtchi told FIDE Chess.
𓃲"People of course understand that we are both tired and nervous. Some people are going to like it; some are not going to like it. Is the way it is!" - Magnus Carlsen said after deciding to share the title.
🌠The outcome in Wall Street also ended Nepomniachtchi’s string of runner-up finishes in major tournaments.
