"The world No 1, Magnus Carlsen, recovered from a series of mishaps to win both the World Rapid and Blitz crowns at Doha, Qatar, last weekend. The global victories were the 19th and 20th of the Norwegian's illustrious career and may give him the edge in the longstanding debate on whether he, Garry Kasparov, or Bobby Fischer is chess's all-time greatest master."
"Peerless endgame technique was central to the 35-year-old Norwegian's blitz success. He won a knight ending with Black against Nodirbek Abdusattorov from a position which elite grandmasters would normally have instantly agreed to halve, and also scored in other endings of extraordinary subtlety. In between the moments of sublime elegance, there were some episodes which threatened to derail Carlsen's campaign."
"Carlsen blundered a rook against Fabiano Caruana, lost on time to Erigaisi after fumbling a piece, and was on the brink of elimination after round 14, when he spilled several pieces on the board and was adjudged to have forfeited on time to Haik Martirosyan before he could replace them. Carlsen then needed four wins and a draw to qualify for the knockout stage, yet remained confident and continued his policy of aiming for endgames at every opportunity."
Magnus Carlsen recovered from multiple mishaps to win both the World Rapid and World Blitz championships in Doha, Qatar. The victories were the 19th and 20th of his career and intensified comparisons with Garry Kasparov and Bobby Fischer. Exceptional endgame technique proved decisive, including a knight ending win with Black against Nodirbek Abdusattorov from a normally drawn position and other subtle endings. Carlsen also committed several serious errors, including blundering a rook, losing on time, and an adjudicated forfeit after spilling pieces. He required four wins and a draw to reach the blitz knockouts but defeated Abdusattorov 2.5-1.5 in the final match, earning each title's first prize of 70,000.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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