Bet on Round 1 of the World Chess Championship!

On November 11th, round 1 of the World Chess Championship is set to kick off. Now is the time to bet on the winner with NetBet Sportsbooks!

This Friday, the first World Chess Championship featuring two players from the new generation will begin. The 12-game series will feature Norwegian phenom Magnus Carlsen, and Russian challenger Sergey Karjakin. Most online gambling sites in the UK have already set the odds, so let’s take a look at the two players.

Magnus Carlsen

Magnus Carlsen is thought be most to be the most talented chess player in the world today. He achieved the status of grandmaster at the age of 13, making him the third youngest to do so in history. Carlsen won the World Chess Championship in 2013 by defeating Viswanathan Anand. In 2014, he defended his title by once again defeating Anand.

World Chess Championship Round 1 Betting Odds

• Magnus Carlsen: 2.15
• Sergey Karjakin: 15/4

In his younger years, Magnus was known for his aggressive, attacking style. This allowed him to find great success, but as his competition improved, he developed a more universal style emphasizing on positions and end game tactics.

Carlsen is already considered the best player alive, but he faces another extremely talented player in Sergey Karjakin. Round 1 of the World Chess Championship should give us an indication as to how the rest of the series will go, and it will be interesting to see what Carlsen’s first move will be.

Sergey Karjakin

Born in Simferopol, Ukraine, Sergey Karjakin began playing chess at just five years old. He competed in and won a number of major tournaments in his youth including the U10 European Championship and U12 World Championship. At just 12 years, 7 months, he became the youngest chess grandmaster in history.

Sergey Karjakin is the underdog heading into the series this Friday (photo: telegraph.co.uk)

In March of 2016, Karjakin won the 2016 Candidates Tournament, making him the next challenger to Magnus Carlsen for the World Chess Championship. In many ways, Karjakin plays in a similar style to Carlsen. He typically avoids hyper aggressive positions in favor of outplaying his opponent in the middle game.

A win by Sergey would make UK gambling news for a number of reasons. He is obviously the underdog heading into round 1 of the World Chess Championship. The two have played before a number of times, and it was the Norwegian that came out on top in the majority of them.

What are the World Chess Championship betting odds?

As we mentioned before, Magnus Carlsen is a massive betting favorite heading into round 1 of the World Chess Championship, with NetBet Sportsbook odds of 2/15. Sergey Karjakin is the underdog with odds of 15/4.

One of the biggest reasons for the odds discrepancy is the fact that they two have played many times before, with Carlsen winning the majority of the matches. The first time they played was over 10 years ago, in 2005 during the Corus Tournament. That game ended in a draw.

In total, Carlsen and Karjakin have played against each other 47 times. Only 5 of those games ended with a winner, with Magnus coming out on top 4 times and Karjakin once. The rest ended in a draw.

Who do you think wins round 1 of the World Chess Championship? Can Sergey Karjakin pull off the upset? Tell us what you think by leaving a comment below, and make sure to check out NetBet Sportsbook to find all the best betting odds for the World Chess Championship!