No 1 lost first game to Germany’s Vincent Keymer through endgame blunder, but ground his way to 62-move victory in second
Magnus Carlsen, Norway’s world No 1, faces a speed tiebreak at midday on Friday as his mini-match against Germany’s Vincent Keymer, 18, is tied at 1-1 after two epic endgames at the $1.8m World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The format of the 206-player knockout is brutal and unforgiving, as lower ranked grandmasters have seized one of their few opportunities to upstage the elite who monopolise the richly rewarded invitation tournaments.
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