Lucky escape for Carlsen after India’s Erigaisi forces World No. 1 into ‘armageddon’ tie-breaker

Magnus Carlsen rode his luck to edge India's Arjun Erigaisi in the semifinals of the Chessable Masters Champions Chess Tour online event Wednesday night.

Erigaisi was the only Indian to get past the pre-quarterfinal stage of the online event hosted by the most popular chess platform chessdotcom. India's R Praggnanandhaa fell to Chinese GM Wei Yi in the earlier round. Erigaisi drubbed Yi 3-0 to qualify for the semifinal clash with Carlsen. The games were played in the blitz format (time control of 10 minutes per player).

In the semifinals, Carlsen took an early lead by winning game 1, which was followed by a pair of draws. According to the event rules, the first player to reach 2.5 points was declared the winner. Carlsen went into the decisive game four, leading 2-1, needing just a draw to advance.

But Erigaisi had other ideas. He played a fearless game with white pieces, forcing the Norwegian to resign after 51 moves. With the scores tied 2-2, an Armageddon tie-breaker was played.

As per the rules of armageddon chess, the player drawing black pieces gets less time on the clock. But if the game ends in a draw, the player with black pieces is declared the winner. So, the armageddon game is a must-win for the player with white.

Erigaisi, playing white, had 10 minutes on his clock, while Carlsen started with 6.45 minutes. Erigaisi went all out, with aggressive pawn pushes on either flank, while Carlsen went into a defensive set-up.

Erigaisi had his a-pawn on the seventh rank, just one move away from becoming a queen when Carlsen discovered a minute window of opportunity and seized it. In his bid to win the game, Erigaisi had left his King defenceless, and Carlsen found a chance to do perpetual checks, which is one way of forcing a draw in chess. Erigaisi was devastated in the end, while Carlsen was visibly relieved.

Had Carlsen not found the sneaky draw, Erigaisi could have become one of the few players to defeat the five-time World Champion multiple times in recent months. Erigaisi famously crushed Carlsen in just 20 moves in the Tata Steel India Blitz Tournament last November. He beat the World No. 1 again in chessdotcom's 'Titled Tuesday' online event in January.

Erigaisi, who recently lost his India No. 1 title to World Champion D Gukesh, rediscovered his form in early February by beating his compatriot in the Tata Steel Masters.