2020 Chess World Championship Odds – Magnus Carlsen Listed as Heavy Favorite

• Sportsbooks list Magnus Carlsen as the odds-on -300 favorite to defend his World Chess Championship when the tournament gets underway March 15 in Yekaterinburg, Russia
• Will the Norwegian become only the third player to win at least five world titles in succession?
• American Fabiano Caruana, who lost to Carlsen in the 2018 final, is among the eight challengers seeking to wrest the crown away from him

Magnus Carlsen is the king of competitive chess.

People who are awed by the 15-game winning streak of the NBA’s Toronto Raptors need to get to know Carlsen. The 29-year-old Norwegian is unbeaten in his last 111 consecutive classical games. That’s a world record.

Carlsen has also won the last four World Chess Championships. The planet’s elite grandmasters of chess gather next month in Yekaterinburg, Russia for the 2020 edition of this biennial competition.

Carlsen is the overwhelming favorite to make it five titles in a row. Sportsbooks peg Carlsen as the prohibitive -300 chalk.

2020 World Chess Championship Odds

Odds taken Feb. 12

Russia’s Garry Kasparov and Germany’s Emanuel Lasker share the record, each with six consecutive world title wins.

Carlsen Rules Over Chess

India’s Viswanathan Anand had won five world titles, including the last four, when Carlsen beat him in 2013. He beat Anand again for his second title. Carlsen’s added two more crowns since.

The Norwegian prodigy is described as the Mozart of chess. Last month, he shattered Sergei Tiviakov’s world unbeaten mark of 110 consecutive matches.

#NotFakeNews https://t.co/XDD1oKYq3M

— Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) January 15, 2020

One more world title and the value of Carlsen’s rookie card really figures to soar. Kasparov, probably the most famous chess master of them all, won six straight world championships from 1985-95.

Lasker was a turn of the 20th century star who earned his six successive global chess crowns between 1894-1910.

They are among eight players who’ve won at least four world chess championships but only five of those players managed to win as many as four in a row.

Candidates Tournament

If the NFL operated in the same manner as the World Chess Championship, the Kansas City Chiefs would already be one of the teams in Super Bowl 55.

As defending champion, Carlsen is anointed one of the two available spots in the championship final. Meanwhile, eight other contenders will square off in what’s known as the Candidates Tournament.

pic.twitter.com/R4C5EaNVBh

— Fabiano Caruana (@FabianoCaruana) November 28, 2018

This is a double-round robin competition. The survivor of this event earns the right to meet Carlsen for the world title.

American Fabiano Caruana is among the eight candidates. He lost the 2018 world championship final match to Carlsen.

China’s Ding Laren is another potential finalist. He was chess Grand Champion in 2019. Azerbaijan’s Teimour Radjabov has recorded wins over four world champions, including Kasparov and a 2014 victory against Carlsen.

Should You Play the Field?

Every great champion eventually falls. Is this the year Carlsen takes a tumble?

If you aren’t anxious to play Carlsen at such negative odds, that’s understandable. Those seeking a value bet on the World Chess Championship can take advantage of sportsbooks’ Carlsen vs the field prop wager.

2020 World Chess Championship Odds

Rather than rolling the dice on which of the eight contenders will emerge victorious from the Candidates Tournament, this wager gives you all eight challengers rolled into one.

Still, it’s difficult to see anyone winning this other than Carlsen. He’s been at the top of his game for several years. At 29, he hasn’t even reached his prime years yet.

Pick: Magnus Carlsen (-300)