Magnus Carlsen chose last weekend’s Norwegian League in Oslo for his three final classical games as world champion. The world No 1 scored two wins as White, one where he crushed his opponent and the other an endgame grind transforming a draw into a win before halving his final game as Black against England’s David Howell.
It was mission accomplished. Carlsen relinquished his crown on a high note, and also helped his club, Offerspill, become Norwegian champions for the first time by winning all their nine matches. Just to make sure, Offerspill fielded three other elite GMs in their final match, winning 4-2. The decisive weekend games were played in Norway’s national football stadium, Ullevaal, in Oslo.
