World champion calls them ‘Tivi-esque’ in dig at Sergei Tiviakov, the rival claimant to the longest run in classical without defeatMagnus Carlsen is aiming for a record 111-game unbeaten streak, but the world champion has just made it harder for himself by announcing that he will exclude his Norwegian league games from his total.
The No 1 thought he had established a new record when he surpassed Ding Liren’s 100-game mark against elite opposition, but then the Russian-Dutch GM Sergei Tiviakov volubly promoted his own 110-game unbeaten run achieved in 2004-05 against weaker opponents. Tiviakov attributes his defensive skills to studying the games of the legendary “Iron Tigran” Petrosian, who rarely lost.