“GOAT”: Redditors react as Magnus Carlsen wins 2021 World Chess Championship
Norwegian Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen has successfully defended his World Chess Championship title after winning game 11.
Magnus Carlsen played against grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi. The Russian did not win a single game but managed to hold Carlsen to 7 draws.
After seemingly getting away with a huge error during game 9, Magnus Carlsen won game 11 to take an unassailable 7½-3½ lead. The following article looks at reactions from various Reddit members in response to the news.
Congratulations to @MagnusCarlsen on winning his 5th World Championship match and further cementing his legacy as arguably the greatest player in chess history! https://t.co/amv8e55tCm
Reddit reacts as Magnus Carlsen defends his World Chess Championship title
Magnus Carlsen has been the World Chess Champion since 2013, when he defeated India’s Viswanathan Anand in Chennai, India. He then defended the title against Anand in 2014 before defeating Russia’s Sergey Karjakin and USA’s Fabiano Caruana in 2016 and 2018, respectively.
After winning game 11 against his Russian opponent Nepomniachtchi, Carlsen has extended his reign as the World Chess Champion. A range of Reddit users reacted to the achievement, as can be seen below:
After Russian Grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi won the 2020–21 Candidates Tournament, he had the opportunity to defeat Norwegian Carlsen and take the championship. However, after drawing the first five games, Carlsen won games 6, 8, 9, and 11 to take a comfortable 4-point lead. As fans anticipate, Carlsen must have been delighted with the historic achievement.
Magnus Carlsen said the following after winning the 2021 World Chess Championship:
"I didn’t expect it go quite like this. I think it was just a very good professional performance overall. No regrets at all, just very satisfied. After five games there were five draws and I’d had very, very few chances to play for anything more. Then everything kind of clicked and after that it all went my way. You don’t expect to necessarily run away with it in a world championship."
Magnus Carlsen is still a long way away from becoming the longest-running World Chess Champion. That particular title is held by Emanuel Lasker, who was the World Champion for 27 consecutive years, from 1894 to 1921.