A freshly bruised Magnus Carlsen came dangerously close to landing a decisive blow in Wednesday’s ninth game of his tightly wound defense of the world chess championship against Fabiano Caruana, until a moment of impatience allowed his opponent off the hook and left the best-of-12-games match in a 4½-all deadlock. Brooklyn-raised grandmaster Fabiano Caruana is locked in an ongoing battle against Magnus Carlsen, who has been ranked No. He has won the past three world championships, and this month in London he has been locked in tense competition with Fabiano Caruana, a 26-year-old American, in a bid to claim a fourth title. “If he has any vision problems, then it can be difficult [to compete],” Kvisvik said, also assuring that Carlsen’s brain is “functioning just as well” despite the football incident. “I’m first and foremost passionate about chess, and I’m also convinced that it is important to innovate in order to grow future interest in chess,” said World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen. “If we get there then I’ll start to think about it, but there’s still a lot of chess to be played.”

He added: “And I really don’t agree with most people about my chances in the tie-break.”

Carlsen and Caruana will have a quick turnaround before the competition resumes on Thursday with Caruana playing as white in Game 10.
After nine consecutive draws, a record for the 132-year-old championship, Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana are tied 4½ points each in the best-of-12-games match.