Courtesy: Google
Norwegian GM Magnus Carlsen retained his FIDE World Chess Championship title after getting the better of Indian legend Vishwanathan Anand on November 23, 2014, in Sochi, Russia. In the Game 11 of the World Chess Championship 2014 match, Carlsen employed the Ruy Lopez, Berlin Variation, to defeat Vishwanathan Anand, and successfully defend his title with an overall scoreline of 6.5-4.5. Magnus Carlsen, who was 23 years of age at the time, had won the World Chess Championship title a year earlier after taking down multi-time world champion Vishwanathan Anand in Chennai.
The Game 11 of the World Chess Championship 2014 match saw Magnus Carlsen claim the first win over the Berlin Wall in the Ruy Lopez in the history of the championship matches over the years. The opening, which shot into the limelight during Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik’s World Chess Championship match in 2000, led to a mistimed exchange sacrifice from Vishwanathan Anand, allowing the reigning champion to win the game and retain the title for the first-time in his career.
In the end, I have to admit Magnus Carlsen was superior: Vishwanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen gave his thoughts about accepting the offer from Vishwanathan Anand of an exchange sacrifice, and remarked, as per Chess.com, “In general I'm a believer in material, so I like to grab it instead of giving it up. I was pretty happy when he made that move. I thought that he wouldn't have enough compensation.” Carlsen also spoke about being happy to finish off the title match in the Game 11 with him fighting an illness in the build-up to it.
In his comments to the media, Vishwanathan Anand admitted that he had more weak moments than Magnus Carlsen in the World Chess Championship 2014 match, which decided the contest in favour of his opponent. He was quoted as saying, “In the end, I have to admit he (Magnus Carlsen) was superior. His nerves held up better...All things taken into account, he just played better.”
Magnus Carlsen went on to become a five-time world champion in classical chess before deciding to relinquish his title due to his differences with FIDE about the format of the championship match.
