German chess player Vincent Keymer defeated world number one Magnus Carlsen from Norway for the first time in his career. In the fourth round of the World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan, Carlsen made a serious mistake on move 36, which the 18-year-old Keymer coldly exploited. After 58 moves, Carlsen finally gave up. This puts Keymer in the lead 1-0. A draw in tomorrow’s second game is enough for the grandmaster to knock Carlsen out of the competition and qualify for the round of 16.
At the end of December last year, Keymer narrowly missed out on his first world championship title during his rise to the chess elite. At that time, the player from Saulheim in Rhineland-Palatinate came second at the World Rapid Championship in Almaty, Kazakhstan. With 9.5 points from 13 games, Keymer was only beaten by world champion Carlsen by 0.5 points. Now Carlsen was left behind.
The World Cup in Baku is one of the strongest and most prestigious competitions in international chess. 206 participants in the open tournament and 103 participants in the women’s tournament determine the champions over a period of three and a half weeks.
