"Now he needs to hold advantage. Karjakin is able to do it. It is the turning point of the match! It's like the Battle of Stalingrad. The outcome was very important. And here he is, winning with black pieces. Number 8 is a magically important number. Well, it is clear that Sergey managed to survive the attack, despite stakes were 80/20 in favour of Carlsen. This means that Karjakin is better prepared psychologically," added Ilyumzhinov.
"Sergey will play white pieces twice in the remaining games. He needs to calm down and not to fall into euphoria. He had already proved that he could find a way out of hopeless situations. Take for example the tournament in Baku last year. However, Carlsen can squeeze the water from a stone as well. Thus, we shall look forward to the ending of this interesting match," concluded the head of FIDE.
Sergey Karjakin victory in the eighth game of the match for the chess world title improves his chances for ultimate success, said the President of FIDE Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.
"Sergey played the first seven games pretty well. It was important for him to stand up against the current champion," said Ilyumzhinov. "Magnus Carlsen was unable to break through the Russian chess player’s defence. However, an unusual move in the second half of the match has changed everything. Sergei was able to win with black pieces. This is the most important victory on his way to the chess crown."
