World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen won the the Sao-Paulo Bilbao Chess Masters Final on Saturday night. The first section was played in the last week of September, in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo. The Norwegian Grandmaster’s victory comes after a thrilling tiebreak played against Italian Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana.
The direct duel between the top two players after 10 rounds was scheduled after both Carlsen and Caruana drew their games with Levon Aronian and Francisco Vallejo respectively. Carlsen went into the tiebreak as a clear favourite. Carlsen confirmed his superiority in the Alhondiga Bilbao by winning both games of the tiebreak.
Final standings:• Magnus Carlsen: 17 points (champion)• Fabiano Caruana: 17 points.• Levon Aronian: 11 points.• Sergei Karjakin: 10 points• Viswanathan Anand: 9 points.• Francisco Vallejo: 6 points.
In the tiebreak, Magnus Carlsen pressured Caruana, pushing him into a time spot and won the first game as Black. In the second game, Caruana – in psychological pressure – blundered in the Sicilian defense on the tenth move itself.
After the event, the Grandmaster also said he was “retiring” from chess because of his play. “In order to play chess, you must have hope, and I have lost it” stated the player from Menorca. “I have been 20 years out of my hometown, since I was 10, and it is time to go back and rest. I don’t want to say that I will not play more, because other champions have retired and then they have come back some years after, with excellent results. However, I need a break from chess and to start over some other vital projects. After that, we will see.”
Earlier, in the first round held in Sao Paulo, Fabiano had finished the section as leader. Despite the differences accumulated in the first phase of the Final, the young Norwegian not only beat Caruana, but also reigning world chess champion Viswanathan Anand in Bilbao, to get to joint first place with Caruana and force the tiebreak.
In its previous edition, this Masters Finals of the Grand Slam has continued with his global expansion, which began two years ago with the joint dispute of the tournament in Shanghai and Bilbao. After the success of last year, the tournament was held again in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo, the main financial centre of Brazil and the tenth most populous metropolis in the world.
