Carlsen and Lagno win the World Blitz Chess Championship
Magnus Carlsen has won the Open section of the King Salman World Blitz Chess Championship, which finished in Moscow on Monday evening. The Norwegian Grandmaster previously won the World Rapid Championship, which was played just before the Blitz. In the women’s section, Kateryna Lagno of Russia took the Blitz title (the Women’s Rapid was won by Humpy Koneru of India). Both players repeated their victories in the blitz from last year in St- Petersburg. The winner of the Blitz was decided on tiebreak between Magnus Carlsen and American Hikaru Nakamura, as both players scored 16½ points each in the 21 rounds. The first game in the playoff ended in a draw, but Carlsen won the second one and, with it, his second crown at this event. Third place went to former world champion Vladimir Kramnik, who took the plunge into the World Blitz Championship despite leaving competitive chess a year ago. After his victory in the Rapid, Magnus Carlsen said the job was only “half done” and that he wanted to win the title in blitz. Speaking to the media after his victory in the Blitz Championship, Carlsen said that the tiebreak was tough. “I’m very pleased with my performance. A lot of the games were rough, but it’s the result that counts. Also, the conditions for playing were very good so I have no complaints about the organization.” [See the full interview with Carlsen on FIDE’s Youtube channel] When asked whether he keeps track of all the big events he won, Carlsen replied – “only the world titles”. So far, in his career, Carlsen has defended the World Champion title in classical chess three times and he also has three World Rapid and World Blitz Championship titles under his belt. This is Carlsen’s third consecutive win in the World Blitz and third title in the World Rapid – an unprecedented achievement in chess history. The Norwegian is also the world champion in classical chess (since 2013). By winning both events, Carlsen pocketed $120,000 dollars ($60,000 for each event). 1. Magnus Carlsen (NOR) 2865 – 16½ 2. Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 2885 – 16½3. Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) 2748 – 154. Alexander Grischuk (RUS) 2741 – 145. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) 2768 – 146. Alireza Firouzja (FID) 2649 – 13½7. Vladislav Artemiev (RUS) 2793 – 13½8. Yu Yangyi (CHN) 2807 – 13½9. Maxim Matlakov (RUS) 2720 – 13½10. Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL) 2796 – 13½11. Dmitry Andreikin (RUS) 2780 – 13½12. Vladimir Fedoseev (RUS) 2714 – 13½13. Anish Giri (NED) 2769 – 13½14. Alexander Zubov (UKR) 2754 – 13½15. Levon Aronian (ARM) 2698 – 13½16. Wang Hao (CHN) 2714 – 13½17. Ernesto Inarkiev (RUS) 2556 – 13½18. Peter Svidler (RUS) 2805 – 13½19. Boris Gelfand (ISR) 2700 – 13½20. Ivan Cheparinov (GEO) 2647 – 13½ … 206 players Kateryna Lagno, the winner of the Women’s Blitz, scored 13 points out of 17 games. Anna Muzychuk of Ukraine finished second (with 12½/17) and the 3rd and 4th places went to Tan Zhongyi of China and Valentina Gunina of Russia, who both crossed the finishing line with 12 points. “This was a tough day but – because of a bit of luck – I am very happy. I was White in the final round and I had to play for a win. When I overlooked a pawn, I had to play for a draw, but it worked”, Lagno said. [See the full interview with Lagno on FIDE’s Youtube channel] Comparing this victory to that of last year in the Blitz in St Petersburg, Lagno said that “this year’s tournament was tougher” because several players had chances to be first.A special prize for the best-combined performance in the Rapid and the Blitz in the Women’s category, awarded by TOTAL (the French energy major), went to Anna Muzychuk. In the Blitz games, each player had 3 minutes + 2 seconds increment per move, starting from move 1. Altogether 330 players from 44 countries took part in both the Open and the Women’s events. The line-up in both sections included some of the strongest players in the world. 1. Kateryna Lagno (RUS) 2606 – 132. Anna Muzychuk (UKR) 2504 – 12½3. Tan Zhongyi (CHN) 2480 – 124. Valentina Gunina (RUS) 2366 – 125. Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS) 2521 – 11½6. Lei Tingjie (CHN) 2543 – 11½7. Meri Arabidze (GEO) 2412 – 11½8. Antoaneta Stefanova (BUL) 2452 – 11½9. Sarasadat Khademalsharieh (IRI) 2463 – 11½10. Anastasia Bodnaruk (RUS) 2375 – 1111. Gulnar Mammadova (AZE) 2293 – 1112. Humpy Koneru (IND) 2489 – 10½13. Batkhuyag Munguntuul (MGL) 2282 – 10½14. Elisabeth Paehtz (GER) 2380 – 10½15. Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ) 2415 – 10½16. Alisa Galliamova (RUS) 2415 – 10½17. Dinara Saduakassova (KAZ) 2390 – 10½18. Natalia Zhukova (UKR) 2239 – 10½19. Irina Krush (USA) 2371 – 10½20. Lilit Mkrtchian (ARM) 2268 – 10½ … 122 players Official website: https://wrbc2019.com Special thanks to Milan Dinic (Press officer), Lennart Ootes and Maria Emelianova (official photographers), and Etery Kublashvili (Chess Federation of Russia). Photos are available for the press at our official Flickr account.
Women’s World Championship Match: Full schedule & principals
IA Shohreh Bayat (Iran) was appointed as the Chief Arbiter of the Women’s World Chess Championship Match between Ju Wenjun and Aleksandra Goryachkina. The competition will take place in Shanghai/Vladivostok (China/Russia), January 4-24, 2020. Marika Japaridze (Georgia) will serve as the Deputy Chief Arbiter. Iranian WFM Shohreh Bayat is Asia’s first and only female Grade-A arbiter. She has an impressive list of events on her arbiter records, including extensive experience at women’s competitions. In 2018, Shohreh Bayat was a Deputy Chief Arbiter at the Women’s World Championship. GM Nigel Short (England) was appointed as a Chairman of the Appeals Committee at the upcoming Women’s World Championship. Two other members of the Committee are GM Oleg Romanishin (Ukraine) and IA Abd Hamid Bin And Majid (Malaysia). Women’s World Championship schedule January 04 – Shanghai Opening Ceremony and Technical meetingJanuary 05 – Shanghai Game 1January 06 – Shanghai Game 2January 07 – Shanghai Day offJanuary 08 – Shanghai Game 3January 09 – Shanghai Game 4January 10 – Shanghai Day offJanuary 11 – Shanghai Game 5January 12 – Shanghai Game 6January 13 – Shanghai DepartureJanuary 14 – Vladivostok ArrivalJanuary 15 – Vladivostok Opening Ceremony and Technical meetingJanuary 16 – Vladivostok Game 7January 17 – Vladivostok Game 8January 18 – Vladivostok Day offJanuary 19 – Vladivostok Game 9January 20 – Vladivostok Game 10January 21 – Vladivostok Day offJanuary 22 – Vladivostok Game 11January 23 – Vladivostok Game 12January 24 – Vladivostok Closing ceremony/tie breakJanuary 25 – Vladivostok Departure
World Blitz Championship: Carlsen and Lagno sprint to the top
Magnus Carlsen and Kateryna Lagno are leading in their sections after the first day of the World Blitz Chess Championship in Moscow. With nine rounds to go in the Open section, Carlsen (10/12) is half a point ahead of the second-placed Maxim Matlakov (9½/12), while another three players are on nine points. In the Women’s Blitz, the leader, Kateryna Lagno scored 8/9. She is chased by four players with seven points. The World Blitz Championship, which is taking place in the historic Luzhniki Stadium, was opened by Russian footballer and former national team member Evgeni Aldonin, who made the first move on board one, where Hikaru Nakamura was facing Marin Bosiocic. The first part of the Open tournament saw a surprising rise of the 15-year-old Uzbek GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov who started with five wins. The only other player with a maximum score after five rounds was Magnus Carlsen. In Round 6 two leaders clashed. Abdusattorov sacrificed a pawn but Carlsen managed to take control of the game by consolidating his position and preserving an extra pawn. However, the Norwegian blundered badly on move 33 and lost a pawn. The World Champion couldn’t hide his anger and betrayed his frustration with a sudden hand movement. Carlsen was in trouble but eventually, the game ended with a draw. Abdusattorov’s performance slipped in the second half of the first day, but with 7/12 against some of the strongest players in the Open section, his score is very impressive. The biggest surprise came in Round 7, which saw Carlsen suffer his first defeat in both championships. After drawing his sixth game, Carlsen (who entered round seven with 5½/6) lost to Dmitry Andreikin, the two-time Russian champion. Carlsen found himself in time trouble and an inferior position due to his insecure king ended up two pawns down and eventually resigned. Carlsen quickly brushed it off and won four games and draw only one in the final five rounds. Maxim Matlakov, who is holding the second position after the first day, had five points after the first six rounds (four wins and two draws). He then had a series of three consecutive draws followed by three wins which landed him in second place by the end of the day. Matlakov’s key moment will likely come in the first game of the second day, in Round 13, when he will be facing Magnus Carlsen on board one. Three players are tied for the third place: Hikaru Nakamura, Daniil Dubov, and Ian Nepomniachtchi. The bronze-medalist from the 2018 Blitz in St. Petersburg, Hikaru Nakamura, had the momentum taken away from him in the third round when he bit the dust in the encounter with Alireza Firouzja, and then barely saved a draw in Round 4 against Timur Gareyev. Dubov started his blitz campaign with a loss to Ilia ljiushenok but then regained his confidence and maintained a good rhythm throughout the day. Ian Nepomniachtchi suffered two loses on the first day (to Ponkratov and Socko), but won his last four games, which will likely bolster his confidence ahead of the decisive day of the Blitz Championship. The former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik is on eight points after 12 rounds. Kramnik’s first loss came in Round 5, where he fell to Sergey Karjakin. The former world champion lost two more games to Gabriel Sargissian and Boris Savchenko but secured a place close to the top echelons. Overall, not a bad result so far for someone who retired from active chess. 1. Magnus Carlsen (NOR) 2865 – 102. Maxim Matlakov (RUS) 2720 – 9½3. Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 2885 – 94. Daniil Dubov (RUS) 2736 – 95. Ian Nepomniachtchi (RUS) 2826 – 96. Vidit Santosh Gujrathi (IND) 2756 – 8½7. Vladislav Artemiev (RUS) 2793 – 8½8. Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL) 2796 – 8½9. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) 2706 – 8½10. Yu Yangyi (CHN) 2807 – 8½ The Women’s Blitz Nine games were played on the first day of the Women’s Blitz. Kateryna Lagno showed her determination to defend her 2018 women’s world blitz champion title. She not only scored 8 points out of 9 but also already defeated some of her most likely competitors for the title. There are four players are on the leader’s heels: Alexandra Kosteniuk, Humpy Koneru, Daria Charochkina, and Alina Kashlinskaya, all on 7/9. Alexandra Kosteniuk finished the day with just one loss and will face Lagno in Round 10. The winner of this year’s Women’s Rapid, Humpy Koneru lost to the day-one leader Katerina Lagno in a dramatic battle in the final round of the first day but continues her quest for her second title in Moscow. 1. Kateryna Lagno (RUS) 2606 – 82. Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS) 2521 – 73. Humpy Koneru (IND) 2489 – 74. Daria Charochkina (RUS) 2212 – 75. Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS) 2282 – 76. Tan Zhongyi (CHN) 2480 – 6½7. Batkhuyag Munguntuul (MGL) 2282 – 6½8. Anastasia Bodnaruk (RUS) 2375 – 6½9. Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ) 2415 – 6½10. Anna Muzychuk (UKR) 2504 – 6½ Official website and LIVE broadcast: https://wrbc2019.com Text: Milan Dinic Photos: Lennart Ootes Photos are available for the press at our official Flickr account.