On Wednesday, Magnus defeated Wesley So at the 2019 Norway Chess Tournament, winning his sixth armageddon game in a row.
Over the past few years, Magnus has won all playoffs, and it seems like Norway Chess' innovation of using armageddons suits him perfectly. Nothing wrong with that - these must-win or must-not-lose situations suit him perfectly.
Sometimes blitz and rapid games are perfect for learning. The players don't have time to calculate everything, which means they have to trust their intuition. Their intuition is again based on their knowledge and understanding, which means the critical moments can be very instructive.
In round four, Magnus faced Shakriyar Mamedyarov. Before the tournament, Magnus had indicated that it was an advantage playing Black in armageddons, but this time he was playing White. We enter at the moment when he had to win a drawish endgame!
Magnus Carlsen - Shakhriyar Mamedyarov Norway Chess 2019, Armageddon
Photo credit: Lisa Meinen