- Nepomniachtchi plays English Opening in Game 9
- Norwegian leads 5-3 in best-of-14 title showdown
- Carlsen on verge of retaining title after Nepo blunder
- As it happened: Game 8 move-by-move report
- Tweet Bryan at @BryanAGraham or email him
Carlsen plays 10. … Ng4 after three and a half minutes. Nepomniachtchi keeps the time pressure on by quickly playing 11. Bc5. Another long think for Carlsen, who ponders the position for 10 minutes before castling (11. … O-O). He’s more than an half-hour behind on the clock.
Carlsen plays 8. … Be7 and Nepomniachtchi quickly plays 9. e3. The champion opts to capture instead of defending his central pawn (9. … dxe3) and Nepo captures back with his bishop (10. Bxe3). Some interesting body language from Carlsen, who appears frustrated with the position, head in his hands.