Chess final goes to rapid tiebreakers

LONDON:THE big chess showdown between three-time defending champion Magnus Carlsen and his US challenger Fabiano Caruana will be decided by a series of rapid-play tiebreakers on Wednesday.

Norway’s Carlsen and Caruana wrapped up their 12-match World Chess Championship series in London with their 12th successive draw on Monday.

It was an anti-climactic finish to a showdown between 27-year old Carlsen — a former child prodigy now regarded by many as the greatest ever chess player -and the first American contender to the crown since the legendary Bobby Fischer in 1972.

Carlsen became world champion by beating Viswanathan Anand of India in 2013.

The result means the players will have a day off on Tuesday before getting together for an intense session of chess played in a completely different format.

SCHUMACHER JR TO RACE FORMULA 2 IN 2019

BERLIN: Mick Schumacher, the teenage son of ex-formula One world champion Michael Schumacher, will race in Formula Two next season, ending speculation he might skip F2 and step up to F1 in 2019.

“For me, this is a logical step, because I want to continue to improve my technical experience and driving skills” the 19-yearold said in a press release issued by his Italian team Prema Racing.

The confirmation pours cold water on speculation he would leap up to F1 in 2019 after winning the European Formula Three title last month, but he has made no secret that he one day wants to race in the top tier.

After dominating the second half of the season by claiming five straight wins, Schumacher’s title win meant he qualified for a FIA ‘super licence’. Bearing one of the most famous names in motorsports is not always easy for the German, who started out racing as “Mick Betsch”, using his mother Corinna’s maiden name.