2021 World Chess Championship Mid-Match Thoughts & Analysis
Hey what's up y'all, welcome to the Lightning Reports! Today, as you might have guessed, I'll be sharing my thoughts and analysis on the ongoing 2021 World Chess Championship match between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi. It's been a heck of a match so far, with Magnus holding a 4-3 lead. Throughout the first half of the match, we've already seen insane opening prep, tactical exchange sacrifices, a decisive result, four Ruy Lopez games, and they even made history in game 6! A lot has happened thus far and I'm here to recap it for you! Before I get to the part where I recap what has happened, I'd like to remind y'all that I have recently created the Lightning Reports YouTube channel, and I'd truly appreciate it if you'd check that out. I've been posting recaps of each game and have worked hard to get them out as fast as I possibly can. If you do, thanks! If not, well, I respect your decision. Anyway, enough about that. Let's see the games!
GAME ONE
In game one, we see the first of many draws to come as Nepo, playing white, goes for the Ruy Lopez, but Magnus prepares an interesting pawn sac with 8...Na5, which I am now calling the Carlsen Gambit. Magnus gets a good amount of compensation for that pawn and is able to outplay Nepo, eventually winning the pawn back. Nepo holds the position with some solid play and ends up forcing a draw. Quite a start to the match, I'd say!
GAME TWO
After sacrificing a pawn in game one by playing the Carlsen Gambit, in game two Magnus finds himself in a position where he needs to go for an exchange sacrifice just to give himself a chance, otherwise, he may have lost the game. Both players fought hard, but once again, Magnus was able to outplay Nepo after his sacrifice and achieved equality. They continued to play it out but, in the end, it was simply a draw, the second of the match.
GAME THREE
In game three, we somewhat surprisingly see Nepo go for a second Ruy Lopez game, just as he did in game one. This time around, Magnus did not gambit a pawn early in the opening, meaning it was an equal opening and middlegame. Both players played solid, accurate chess, with neither of them finding much of an advantage. Eventually, all the pieces were traded off except their light-squared bishops, and then it was drawn, the third consecutive draw of the match.
GAME FOUR
In game four, we get another opening surprise as Nepo responds to Magnus's 1. e4 2. Nf3 with the Petrov's Defense. So 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6. I didn't expect that, not at all. Nepo played it very well and showed it is a playable opening for black against anyone. If you can make it work against Magnus, I mean, why can't it work against others? Both players went through an even middlegame that eventually saw the queens get traded off. After that, Ian seemingly had the most winning chances by giving himself a passed a-pawn, but Magnus found a highly fascinating maneuver with his knight to give himself equal winning chances. In the end, both sides defended well, and they drew a fourth consecutive game.
GAME FIVE
In game five, we see yet another Ruy Lopez from Nepo as white, the third of the match. The game was identical to game three until Magnus deviated on move 8...Rb8. Neither player really had many winning chances, but they both had ideas and fought hard. It was another very solid, accurate game, that eventually saw the queens get traded off. After that, it was a fairly simple draw, the fifth consecutive draw of the match.
GAME SIX
Game six was historical, as Magnus and Nepo fought it out for nearly a full 8 hours. No, 8 hours is nowhere near the record. However, in those 8 hours, the players made 136 moves, which is the new record for most moves made in world chess championship history. The previous record was 124, set in 1978 in the Karpov-Korchnoi match. To anyone who watched this game live, congratulations, you witnessed history. Not only was it the longest game, in terms of moves, in world chess championship history, but it was also the first decisive result in the world chess championship in 5 years, as Magnus managed to make something out of nothing, converting what many thought was a drawn endgame into a stunning win. It was absolutely incredible. Not many others would have been able to do that in that situation. Magnus takes a one-point lead here, ending the streak of draws, and puts Nepo in a must-win position for the remainder of the match. We all asked for a decisive result, and Magnus delivered.
GAME SEVEN
In game seven, we see Nepo surprisingly go for the Ruy Lopez for the 4th time this match. He has played this opening every time he has played as white thus far, each game of course ending in a draw. The first 10 moves were the same as they were in game five, with Nepo deviating on move 11. d3. Both players played yet another solid, accurate game, with neither side having many chances to break through and push for a win. Given what happened in game 6 the day prior, this makes sense and was expected. It was a conservative game that eventually ended in the 6th draw of the match. With 7 games to go, Nepo's chances to win a game and even the score are dwindling. How will he bounce back? Will we see another Ruy Lopez game? How many more draws are in store for us? I would guess the draws will keep coming, and I would guess it's unlikely we see another Ruy Lopez, but at this point, I simply don't know. It's been a heckuva match so far, and I can't wait to see how things play out.
FINAL THOUGHTS
And that's that, after 7 games and at the midway point of the match, Magnus Carlsen leads Ian Nepomniachtchi 4-3 with one win and 6 draws. Now, most of you (almost all of you) have already announced Magnus as the winner of this match, since he won in game 6. Not so fast, my friend. We are only halfway through this match and, whether you admit it or not, Nepo was more than holding his own for the first 5 games until losing in game 6. Nepo has had chances to win but has not converted them yet. However, he has been put in a must-win situation, as he cannot get to tiebreaks without defeating Magnus in one of the remaining 7 games. Expect some exciting games with Nepo needing a win.
Now, regarding my status as a Nepo supporter, who has predicted he will win the match. After Magnus won game 6, the chances of that happening certainly took a big hit, but as I previously stated, the match is far from over. I still believe as I predicted a month ago, that Ian Nepomniachtchi will win this match. I will stand by my prediction until the end, right or wrong. I still think this ends in another 7-7 tie and Nepo will win in the tiebreaks. But I guess we'll see what happens 
Thank you so much for reading, I truly hope you've enjoyed my recap of the first half of the 2021 World Chess Championship! If you've made it this far, please leave a comment below! As you probably know, I react to most comments you guys leave and I love reading what y'all have to say. Whatever you have to say, post it below! As can be seen above, my next blog will be on December 17th when I will give you a full recap of the match. I have 2 other blogs planned for 2021, but I won't give any details about those just yet, you'll have to wait and see
Again, thank you so much for reading, leave a comment below, and I'll cyall around. #NepoFTW
