Carlsen Wins 4th Speedy World Championship, Tan Takes Ladies’s Title

The ultimate day of the championship noticed Carlsen choose up proper the place he left off, first sweeping apart Keymer who, within the type of his life, was slowly floor down by the world champion in a queenless middlegame. 

On boards two and three outcomes fell in favor of Carlsen, with GM Vladimir Fedoseev (7/9) succumbing to a rocketing GM Fabiano Caruana, whereas GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (additionally on 7/9) conceded a draw in opposition to GM Yu Yangyi with the white items.

Caruana’s win was his fourth in a row and followers started to salivate on the concept of a Carlsen-Caruana matchup because the American GM joined the chasing group one level behind the chief. The distinguished chasers after 10 rounds additionally included Artemiev and GM Daniil Dubov, who all however ended the possibility of a podium end for his or her opponents, GMs Arjun Erigaisi and Anish Giri.

GM Ian Nepomniachtchi‘s non permanent queen sacrifice in opposition to GM Evgeny Tomashevksy made his sport probably the most thrilling of spherical 10 though the win left him a degree and a half off the tempo in what has total been a disappointing event for the world championship challenger.

Spherical 11 noticed Carlsen pair with Artemiev, who commentators Howell and Trent advised was a troublesome matchup for the world number-one. Stabilization out of the Bogo-Indian Protection advised that the sport was heading for a draw, however a surprising blunder from Carlsen in a blatantly equal place gifted his opponent the complete level! 

This surprising upset tore open the sphere and allowed Artemiev to affix the defeated chief on the prime on 8.5/11. 5 different gamers ascended to inside half a degree of the lead throughout spherical 11: Dubov, Keymer, Fedoseev, Caruana, and GM Vidit Gujrathi. Vidit, whose begin left him on a mediocre 3.5/6, managed to attain 4.5 factors within the subsequent 5 rounds after the shaky begin, highlighting the significance of momentum and resilience throughout an occasion akin to this.

Two rounds left to play within the World Speedy Championship!

Magnus Carlsen is joined by Vladislav Artemiev on 8.5/11 following Carlsen’s blunder of their spherical ten matchup! 🤯#RapidBlitz pic.twitter.com/gwOpktd889

— Chess.com (@chesscom) December 28, 2022

The penultimate spherical introduced forth a pairing that many had been ready for: the duel between the once-dubbed “Mozart of chess” and the favored U.S. Champion Caruana. 

Whereas offbeat openings had benefited Carlsen in earlier video games of the event, Caruana confirmed that he’s to not be trifled with and equalized comfortably in opposition to White’s 7.Qc1!? within the Catalan Opening. There got here a second on transfer 22 that Carlsen started shaking his head profusely, feeling that he had overpressed, although a flurry of correct strikes got here to the rescue and secured him a draw.

The one decisive outcomes on the highest eight boards had been by Keymer, who joined the leaders on 9/12, and Maghsoodoloo, who booked himself a showdown on board one within the closing spherical.

With the whole lot to play for amongst the three gamers on 9/12 (Carlsen, Keymer, and Artemiev) the world number-one was nonetheless the heavy favourite on condition that his adversaries had been paired in opposition to a few of the most troublesome opponents within the discipline, Caruana and Vachier-Lagrave respectively.

As the one participant on 9/12 with the white items, Carlsen opted to play one of the aggressive traces doable in opposition to Maghsoodloo’s Sicilian Protection, and after simply 18 strikes it turn out to be very crystal clear that he had constructed a near-decisive assault. Along with his spotlight reel over 13 rounds primarily that includes endgame squeezes, it was becoming that his most rambunctious sport was his final.

Our Recreation of the Day, which secured the championship, is analyzed by GM Rafael Leitao beneath.

By the point the board-one sport had completed, Caruana had all however dashed Artemiev’s probabilities of a maiden title after blowing him off the board. Keymer, however, pressed exhausting as Black in opposition to Vachier-Lagrave and even discovered himself in a successful endgame, however the younger German GM caved below stress in opposition to his skilled opponent and needed to accept a draw.

The conclusion of Keymer’s sport got here with the affirmation that Carlsen had gained his fourth world speedy title and that he’ll nonetheless maintain a world championship title when his classical title is handed on in 2023. 

For his victory, Carlsen earned a wholesome $60,000 whereas the silver and bronze medalists, Keymer and Caruana, will obtain $50,000 and $40,000 respectively.

👑 @MagnusCarlsen wins the 2022 World Speedy Chess Championship!

Having led your complete event, Carlsen wins his closing sport to attain 10/13, and earns his FOURTH World Speedy Championship! 👏🏆 pic.twitter.com/pITdBNV84j

— Chess.com (@chesscom) December 28, 2022

2022 World Speedy Chess Championship | Remaining Standings (High 20)

(Full standings right here.)

All World Speedy Chess Championship Video games

The early levels of the ultimate day of the ladies’s occasion had been all in regards to the native Kazakh native heros, GMs Zhansaya Abdumalik and Saduakassova, who each managed to win their round-nine video games and catch the event leaders. Tan and GM Aleksandra Goryachkina, who dominated play on the second day, drew in a comparatively mundane encounter and allowed the Kazakh gamers, together with GM Humpy Koneru, to take in the lead.

Abdumalik’s dispatching of day two co-leader WIM Savitha Shri was all class and swashbuckling middlegame play within the Sicilian Protection: Richter-Rauzer Variation. Robust play prompted Shri to make a one-move blunder, leaving the 15-year-old enigma rueing in what might have been.

Excessive-stakes matchups had been the secret in spherical 10 and the mettle of the leaders was examined because the 5 confronted off in opposition to one another (barring Abdumalik who floated all the way down to play GM Alexandra Kosteniuk).

Attracts on boards one and three allowed a transparent chief to emerge in Saduakassova who scored her sixth win on the fly in opposition to the top-seed Goryachkina. Gaining a small benefit out of the opening with White, the 26-year-old, Astana-based IM saved all her methods for the essential round-10 matchup and asserted herself over the sphere with one spherical to spare.

Saduakassova discovered herself with a positive pairing in opposition to Shri within the closing spherical however curiously selected to take an early draw. Whereas the end result assured an equal first end, Howell identified {that a} playoff in opposition to both Tan, Koneru, or Abdumalik weren’t significantly interesting if any of them had been to win their final-round video games.

Though Abdumalik-Koneru did end in a draw, Tan did the truth is win her sport in opposition to GM Nino Batsiashvili and transfer into equal first on 8.5/11, forcing a tiebreak between the previous world champion and the Kazakh hero. Regardless of their unbeaten runs in the principle occasion, the pair’s first playoff sport was a nervy one. After constructing a bonus off the again of a number of blunders by Black, Tan missed three alternatives to place the sport to mattress and as an alternative opted for a repetition.

A topsy-turvy second sport produced a drawish rook endgame that appeared barely simpler for White to play till Saduakassova made performed the passive 26.Rbc3. Tan instantly went on the assault and by no means seemed again, recognizing a championship-winning trick to liquidate right into a successful king and pawn ending on transfer 37.

For her historic victory, Tan will obtain $40,000 as the primary prize whereas silver and bronze medalists, Saduakassova and Savitha, will obtain $30,000 and $20,000 every.

2022 Ladies’s World Speedy Chess Championship | Remaining Standings (High 20) 

(Full standings right here.)

All Ladies’s World Speedy Chess Championship Video games

The 2022 FIDE World Speedy Championship is an elite over-the-board occasion that includes the most effective pace chess gamers on this planet. Masters and nationwide champions from across the globe collect to compete in a Swiss event for his or her share of the $350,000 prize fund.

Classical world champion Carlsen, adopted by pace chess legends Nakamura, Duda, and Vachier-Lagrave head the sphere and shall be challenged by quite a few different 2700+ gamers. 

Earlier protection