Another Draw Made in Carlsen - Caruana Match

The score is 2.5-2.5.

Ex-world Champion, grandmaster Alexander Khalifman shares his impressions of the game and of the match progress in general:

– Do you think the Rossolimo Variation is going to be a battleground until the end of the match?

– Who knows? Logic suggests that Fabiano changes the record at least once. He seems reluctant to do so, though...

– What was going on in today’s opening? Is 6. b4 a pawn sacrifice or can Black really afford to take it? 

– 6. b4 is an interesting attempt, but not a novelty. It is one of those sacrifices (there is a bunch of them, in fact) that are best accepted to be returned at an opportune moment. This is exactly what Magnus has demonstrated.

– However, even this sacrifice was not enough to initiate a real fight!Are we going to see a drought of draws continue?

– This is the law of the genre. It amused me to find out many experts predicting seas of blood. There will definitely be one or two decisive games, but no more than that.

– Please tell us a little about your Tensor Chess presentation, for the sake of which you are in London.

– Tensor Chess is a new and interesting version of the game, which I have been promoting for the past few years. I'm still true to the classical version, but the idea itself is beautiful, and this opinion is shared by not a few.

– What is your take on the participants’ prospects in the matchup? Has Caruana added in terms of sharp play? He should avoid a 6:6 score, after all, shouldn’t he?

– What we see now, to a larger degree, is a sudden death contest. It is clear that 6: 6 is undesirable for Caruana in principle, but I would be less categorical about 5:5.

Questions by Dmitry Kryakvin