Monday, November 21, 2016

How Karjakin can be World Champion without winning a single game!!

It is strange but true- GM Sergey Karjakin does not need to win a single game to become the next FIDE World Champion of Chess.

If the regular games in the match are all drawn, the process calls for successive games in the form of "mini-matches" based on progressively quicker time controls.

If the players are still even, the final will come down to one sudden-death game,  To avoid any hint of miscommunication, here is the exact citation from the Match Rules:
3.7.3 If the score is still level after five matches as described in Article 3.7.2, the players shall play a one sudden death game. The player who wins the drawing of lots may choose the color. The player with the white pieces shall receive 5 minutes, the player with the black pieces shall receive 4 minutes whereupon, after the 60th move, both players shall receive an increment of 3 seconds starting from move 61. In case of a draw the player with the black pieces is declared the winner.
The scenario I allude to in the title is this:  Karjakin draws every game, all the way to the sudden death final game.  If he draws black, he only needs to draw the game to become World Champion.

As the challenger, and without winning a single game.

Here is the link to the complete match regulations

1 comment:

  1. With Karjakin winning today, half the problem is solved. Whether or not the reigning champ deserves draw odds or not (which does not exist under the current rules) is a more debatable subject!

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