Commanding Lead For Nakamura At World Blitz Chess Championship

Fewer than 24 hours after the crowning of a brand new fast chess world champion, 175 open gamers descended upon the Baluan Sholak Palace of Tradition and Sport in Almaty, Kazakhstan to contest for the coveted title of world blitz chess champion and a share of the $350,000 prize fund.

⚡ BLITZ TIME ⚡

Ft. reigning champion @Vachier_Lagrave, former winners Grischuk and @MagnusCarlsen, and world blitz #2 and #3 @GMHikaru and @FabianoCaruana! 🔥

🟣 https://t.co/kL75QeFnmc
🔴 https://t.co/IH0UNYS3RF

Tune in as they battle for the quickest world title in chess! pic.twitter.com/AoMPb1OEFv

— Chess.com (@chesscom) December 29, 2022

Headlined by the defending champion GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, the 21-round occasion will see many of the world’s prime gamers vie for the title. A number of the gamers who will probably pose a problem are heavy ranking favorites Nakamura and Carlsen, in addition to different 2700+ gamers together with GMS Yu Yangyi, Vladislav Artemiev, Dubov, and Giri.

After a dramatic end to the FIDE World Fast Championship in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, lopsided round-one matchups appeared unlikely to supply comparable rigidity. In a shock twist, this could not have been farther from the reality. The information of the spherical was undoubtedly Carlsen arriving late to the board and taking part in his total recreation towards GM Vladislav Kovalev with 30 seconds on his clock. 59 strikes later the world champion secured a win and it was later revealed that he was “caught in visitors” after going snowboarding earlier within the day.

He had been snowboarding within the morning, obtained caught in visitors on account of an accident. #RapidBlitz https://t.co/Q41o6LQfx0

— Tarjei J. Svensen (@TarjeiJS) December 29, 2022

The snowboarding that Tarjei Svensen was alluding to probably came about close to the Shymbulak ski resort, which the world number-one had visited with the reigning blitz champion Vachier-Lagrave days earlier.

World Champion @MagnusCarlsen and World Blitz Champion @Vachier_Lagrave visited right this moment the Shymbulak ski resort, one of many principal sights of town of Almaty. #RapidBlitz pic.twitter.com/Qauz0Wylot

— Worldwide Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) December 25, 2022

Apart from just a few attracts, the highest 10 seeds survived the primary two rounds comparatively unscathed. Nonetheless, issues started to get trickier because the third unfolded. One of many event favorites GM Ian Nepomniachtchi was spectacularly upset by GM Aleksandr Shimanov, who beat up his compatriot with the bishop pair.

Yu, who is among the most constant performers in elite blitz tournaments, discovered an incisive mixture to quell Serbian GM Velimir Ivic‘s good begin. The Chinese language GM completed the all-encompassing barrage with a queen sacrifice, culminating in a back-rank checkmate.

Heading into the fourth spherical solely 12 gamers remained on an ideal rating and the whittling down continued with an astounding six decisive outcomes on the highest boards. Nakamura scored a key win towards darkish horse GM Nihal Sarin whereas GM Denis Lazavik overcame a 249 ranking deficit to knock over GM Shakriyar Mamedyarov. This meant the hole between him and the following lowest-rated participant on his rating, Duda, was simply shy of 300 factors! 

Crunch time arrived in spherical 5 as the highest 10 seeds caved in and had been pressured to play towards one another. The essential matchups of Duda-Carlsen and Giri-Nakamura each offered important intrigue and had been arguably powerful matchups for the 2 higher-rated gamers.

The Polish celebrity Duda has confirmed to be a thorn in Carlsen’s aspect up to now, however on Thursday the world champion was just too good, even using the Trendy Protection to get the job executed. The board-two recreation was shortly drawn whereas Lazavik’s sensible run lastly got here to the tip by the hands of Yu.

Boards one and two featured near-identical incidences in spherical seven after each Giri and Yu misplaced on time towards the event’s prime seeds. Feeling the warmth and making an attempt to keep away from a pressured checkmate in 10 towards Nakamura, Yui’s clock drained in a helpless place however Giri, who was a lot worse, was capable of foreshadow the way in which the sport was heading and dropped his shoulders because the flag fell.

♚ @MagnusCarlsen wins once more with Anish Giri working out of time!

He leads the event alongside @GMHikaru on 6.5/7! 👀 pic.twitter.com/YSQXb4c2tq

— Chess.com (@chesscom) December 29, 2022

All eyes zoned in on the showdown between prime seeds Nakamura and Carlsen in spherical eight as the 2 dueled to resolve if one would turn out to be the only real chief. The intentions of the gamers turned clear after a drawish model of the Queen’s Gambit Declined: Semi Tarrasch arose and on the twenty first transfer the gamers shook palms with out theatrics. Due to attracts on decrease boards, their joint lead on 7/8 was maintained.

Spherical 9 was a comparatively quiet spherical with attracts on the highest 4 boards, however this was merely the calm earlier than the storm heading into the final three rounds of the day. Mamedyarov performed superbly towards Carlsen with the black items and managed to win a pawn on transfer 28.

Charged with adrenaline, the gamers started blitzing out strikes because the world champion tried to defend a troublesome place. The Azerbaijani GM, who discovered himself on the verge of victory, blundered a perpetual examine, which Carlsen pounced upon when the chance arose.

Three attracts in a row for every of the leaders meant that by the day’s penultimate spherical, two chasers, Dubov and GM Haik Martirosyan, had caught them.

With gamers tiring because the day wore on the draw charge crept up, and for the fourth recreation straight, Carlsen drew his recreation, this time towards Dubov. Nakamura’s Indian Recreation: Black Knight’s Tango was extra of a waltz in spherical 11 as he defeated Martirosyan and took a half-point lead over his nearest chasers.

That lead could be prolonged to a full level when the well-known content material creator blew GM Vladimir Fedoseev off the board within the remaining spherical of the day. Analyzed beneath by GM Rafael Leitao, our Recreation of the Day sums up the uncompromising fashion that Nakamura dropped at the desk on Thursday to be able to take the lead.

Though Nakamura didn’t make his mark within the fast championship, it have to be famous that the Fischer Random world champion has nonetheless not misplaced a recreation in Kazakhstan during the last week within the fast or blitz tournaments. With 12 rounds left to play, he has shortly turn out to be the favourite to grab his first world blitz title.

2022 World Blitz Chess Championship | Standings After Spherical 12 (High 20)

(Full standings right here.)

All World Blitz Chess Championship Video games

This 12 months’s girls’s event options plenty of earlier world blitz champions together with defending champion IM Bibisara Assaubayeva in addition to GMs Kateryna Lagno, Gunina, and Nana Dzagnidze.

Very similar to the open part, the ladies’s part began with a splash of drama, with the highest seed Lagno instantly falling to WGM Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova with the white items. The fourth and fifth seeds GM Humpy Koneru and Alexandra Kosteniuk had been additionally casualties within the first spherical, every dropping to play over 200 ranking factors decrease than them.

Upsets had been so prevalent within the early rounds that by the point spherical three was full, not a single one of many prime 5 seeds was left standing on 3/3, courtesy of a GM Elina Danielian victory over GM Aleksandra Goryachkina on board one. Whereas Goryachkina discovered herself 11 strikes from delivering checkmate after a profitable Kings Indian Assault, the surprising 47.Bd2?? utterly threw the lead away and opened the floodgates for the aggressive Armenian.

In spherical 5, 21-year-old Shuvalova emerged because the chief after defeating Danielian and wins over Dzagnidze and GM Harika Dronavalli cemented her spot as one of many event frontrunners. Solely a loss by the hands of Gunina stunted Shuvalova’s run which noticed her end the day with a 2613 efficiency ranking.

Gunina’s run was doubtlessly much more spectacular as not a single recreation was misplaced en path to her 7.5/9 rating. Gunina will face her greatest problem but when she takes on Kosteniuk in spherical 10,

The defending champion Assaubayeva’s bid for title retention took a success within the remaining spherical of the day when she misplaced to lately minted GM Elisabeth Paehtz. The loss leaves her 1.5 factors shy of the lead and in want of an unbeaten run when play resumes on Friday.

2022 Girls’s World Blitz Chess Championship | Standings After Spherical 9 (High 20) 

(Full standings right here.)

All Girls’s World Blitz Chess Championship Video games

The 2022 FIDE World Blitz Championship is an elite over-the-board occasion that includes the most effective velocity 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 velocity chess legends Nakamura, Duda, and Vachier-Lagrave head the sector and might be challenged by quite a few different 2700+ gamers. 

Earlier protection