CHESS

Magnus Carlsen lost to a Pole in Poland with the Polish Defence last month, as the world No 1 returned to action. Carlsen paid the price for a provocative choice of the risky 1 d4 b5 as Black against Radosław Wojtaszek.

However, the Warsaw Rapid/Blitz took place over five days, and on the final day Carlsen stormed through the field with seven straight wins to take first prize, surviving a final round 124-move marathon against Poland’s No 1, JanKrzysztof Duda.

Carlsen was in trouble early against Wojtaszek. Later he missed fleeting chances to recover and resigned when his king was about to be chased into the open board with disastrous loss of material.

Carlsen said: “I haven’t played or studied much chess recently, so it was showing.” He went on to draw his next five games, where rapid points counted double.

Garry Kasparov was present on the second day and said: “[Bobby] Fischer was at the top for three years. He reached it, but never defended the title. Magnus held it for 10 years, I was the best for 15. Looking at the length of dominance and the quality of opponents he faced, I can say that Carlsen achieved everything outstanding. However, the title of the best in history is subjective.”