With victory Russia’s Karyakin edges closer to world chess crown

Russian Sergei Karyakin took a day off Tuesday after edging closer to victory in one of the most dramatic fights for the world chess crown in decades.
Karyakin and Norway’s reigning world titleholder Magnus Carlsen — child prodigies in chess who even now are aged only in their mid-twenties — are locked in an epic battle in New York.
Suspense at the FIDE World Chess Championship mounted after seven games ended in draws but Karyakin on Monday pulled away with a win, leaving him 4.5 to 3.5 points ahead. A draw is worth half a point, and a win one point.
The first to reach 6.5 points will be declared world champion and take home 600,000 euros ($636,000). The loser will walk away with a consolation prize of 400,000 euros.
If the players are still drawn after the final scheduled 12th game on November 30, tie-breakers will take place.
Karyakin, 26, found an opening for a counter attack after his opponent took a risky move.
Visibly furious with himself at his defeat, Carlsen, 25, left the scene before the post-game press conference, which is required of both players.
The ninth game is scheduled for Wednesday.
Vladimir Kramnik is the last Russian to win the world championship, which he took in 2007.
The battle has prompted comparisons with the 1972 showdown between American Bobby Fischer and the Soviet Union’s Boris Spassky, two rivals in the Cold War-era whose showdown was dubbed the “Match of the Century.”