The duo is now tied at four points apiece after three games and it’s locked at 4-4 as players will next play on August 9. Is this match ending early? pic.twitter.com/bN0EqDgeo6 — FiveThirtyEight (@FiveThirtyEight) August 8, 2018
CARDINALE, Malta — Norway’s Magnus Carlsen and Japan’s Hikaru Nakamura continued their scrap to the bitter end on Tuesday, exchanging points in the fourth game of the World Chess Championship.
They’re still tied at four points apiece after three games. Their teams are aiming to reach a fifth and final game, which takes place on Aug. 9. Many observers believe that Carlsen’s team will have a psychological edge over Nakamura’s because he has a career-high record of recent wins, while Carlsen has a career-low record.
“I won’t settle for a draw,” Carlsen said.
How the matches will end is anyone’s guess. The pair exchanged six draws after two games but had played two games in a row each with a draw. It is hard to predict whether they will be tied after five games or made to battle each other out.
The match was supposed to happen in May, but the inaugural World Championship match was postponed. The host city, the port city of Valletta, was struck by a major earthquake that killed 68 people. One beneficiary of the postponement is Cuban player Renato Paratore, who was scheduled to play last but not least, after being drawn as the 2nd of a possible four games with Nakamura. The match will eventually be made up as part of the 2020 Olympics.
If the tie is drawn after the fifth game, Carlsen will retain the title of World Champion. If it ends 4-4, both players will play for an unprecedented seventh game that is meant to decide the tournament’s overall winner. It is possible that these games might go into extra time.
Thanks to PBS NewsHour’s Peter D’Amato.
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