The Magnus Carlsen vs. Sergey Karjakin World Chess Championship 2016 was a closely contested match held in New York City from November 11 to November 30, 2016. This was the first World Chess Championship held in the U.S. since 1995.
Magnus Carlsen (Norway) was the reigning world champion, having won the title in 2013 and successfully defended it in 2014.
Sergey Karjakin (Russia) was the challenger, having won the 2016 Candidates Tournament. He was known for his exceptional defensive skills and deep preparation.
The match consisted of 12 classical games with a time control of 100 minutes for the first 40 moves, 50 minutes for the next 20 moves, and 15 minutes for the rest of the game, with a 30-second increment per move.
The first seven games ended in draws, showing how evenly matched the two players were.
Game 8: Karjakin won with Black, taking the lead after Carlsen overpressed in an endgame.
Game 10: Carlsen equalized the score with a win, breaking through Karjakin's defensive play.
The final two games (11 and 12) ended in draws, leaving the match tied at 6–6.
Since the classical portion ended in a tie, the match moved to rapid tiebreaks (four games with a 25-minute time control plus a 10-second increment).
Game 1: Draw
Game 2: Draw
Game 3: Carlsen won with Black, capitalizing on Karjakin’s blunder.
Game 4: Carlsen won again with a beautiful queen sacrifice (Qh6+!!), securing his third consecutive World Championship title.
Magnus Carlsen won 9–7 (6–6 in classical, 3–1 in rapid tiebreaks).
This match is remembered for Carlsen's resilience and Karjakin’s incredible defensive play.
The final queen sacrifice in Game 4 of the tiebreaks is one of the most famous moves in World Chess Championship history.
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