World Cup 2015 - Game Of the Day - Final Game 4

Opening: D02: Queen's pawn game, Krause variation

Player(s): Karjakin, Svidler

The first two words that come to mind are Unthinkable and Exhaustion. Nobody would have thought that this match, after the first two games, could have ended 2-2. After three weeks of stressful and fatiguing fights, the two heroes must be as drained as a triathlete after an Ironman event.
It's likely that the chess fans were secretly rooting for Karjakin, to prolong the tournament into the rapid and - possibly - blitz tiebreaks; well, they got it! Karjakin--with white today--won the fourth game of the finals, negating Svidler's advantage and forcing Peter into the playoffs. Yesterday it was said that the two players were going to play this decisive game with differing emotions, and today it showed. Svidler allowed the draw to slip from his grasp, and Karjakin seized his chance, playing aggressive, precise chess.
Tomorrow it will be tense, Peter is bound to be aware that he threw away a relatively easy victory - which is always difficult for a sportsperson of such high caliber - and Sergey pumped up to the stars for what could be one of the greatest come-backs ever.  The playoffs will start with a Rapid (25+10) 2-game mini-match. If the players are still tied, 2 games at 10+10, then--should it be needed--two Blitz games at 5+3. If it goes "to the wire", the feared Armageddon game will decide the winner. Armageddon is  a word which is derived from ancient Greek, and nowadays is used to indicate any "end of the World" scenario. The drama that the word carries is appropriate to describe the last chance for two players who have been battling for what seems like forever. White gets 5 minutes on the clock, whereas Black gets 4 minutes. But black, as a compensation, has draw odds. It's more or less a lottery, if you ask me, but surely better than flipping a coin, like our chess ancestors used to do. Tomorrow at 6AM EDT - 12 noon Europe - the two finalists will sit again at the board. May the best man win!

Teacher's library (22)

Teacher's library (22) D02 Karjakin Svidler recap