Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi get off to strong start in semis
The final four in the $150,000 chess24 Legends of Chess event got underway on Friday with World Champion Magnus Carlsen in frightening form. Having won nine matches on the trot in the prelim stage, the Norwegian picked up where he left off after yesterday’s rest day by taking a swift first set lead in his semi. Carlsen rattled off a 2.5-0.5 win against eight-time Russian champ Peter Svidler and just needs to win again tomorrow to reach the final. Carlsen, who earlier this week likened his play to the misfiring Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino, was typically harsh on himself afterward. “I think the games were of a sort of dubious quality,” he said. Asked what when he is satisfied with his performance, Carlsen said: “I always aim for more, that’s my take-away.” In the other semi, the Svidler’s fellow Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi and the Dutchman Anish Giri got their semi off to a marathon start – but it also ended quickly. The pair, who finished second and third in the prelim after Carlsen, played out a 131-move draw in the opening game. In the second, the in-form Nepomniachtchi – hoping to avenge his loss to Giri in the Chessable Masters tournament – went ahead with a win. Ian then finished off the set 2.5-0.5 with a game to spare as Giri crumbled in a worse position and under time pressure. Like Svidler, Giri now needs to win tomorrow to take the contest to a third set or face elimination. Today was the first day of the Legends of Chess semi-finals. The final-four stage is a best-of-three sets contest with the third set being played on Sunday if needed. The event, the fifth leg of the $1 million Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour, runs until August 5 and will carry a $150,000 prize fund. The winner will scoop a top prize of $45,000 and the last of the coveted spots in the tour’s Grand Final in August. Tournament rules and schedule The time control is a rapid 15m + 10s from move 1 played in the chess24 Playzone. There will be two stages starting with a 10-player round-robin (July 21-29) with each round consisting of 4-game matches and Armageddon tiebreaks if needed. The top four will advance to the knockout semi-finals (July 31-August 2) and two will go through to the final (August 3-5). July 30 is a free day. All sessions will begin at 16:00 CEST. Highlights in English:https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Rmx6IFrFYxYPrNhZVtxZbRWTiMAIICvc?usp=sharingNew files at around 23.00 CEST Rough edit highlights:https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1SItw6DwCyoTsZ0WiVAjw4BkVHEaGQFDI?usp=sharingNew files ready around 02.00 CEST FOR MORE INFORMATION:Leon Watsonleon@chessable.com+447786 078770
Nino Batsiashvili wins Georgian Women’s Championship
The 77th Georgian Women’s Championship was held in a round-robin format on 21-30 July at the Chess Palace in Tbilisi and boasted of a very strong lineup with eight out of the top-10 national players taking part. The eventual champion Nino Batsiashvili started slowly with 1.5/3, losing to Salome Melia in the third round, but then she picked up tremendous speed winning five straight games. A draw against Bela Khotenashvili in the last round sealed the deal for Nino as she finished the event as a sole winner with 7/9. This is Batsiashvili’s third title, previously she won the Georgian championship in 2015 and 2018. Meri Arabidze (6.5 points) came second with a slightly better Sonneborn-Berger over Bela Khotenashvili (6.5 points) who claimed bronze. Both silver and bronze winners completed the tournament distance undefeated. Final standings: 1. Nino Batsiashvili (2457) – 7 2. Meri Arabidze (2428) – 6.5 3. Bela Khotenashvili (2458) – 6.5 4. Lela Javakhishvili (2475) – 6 5. Sofio Gvetadze (2308) – 5 6. Salome Melia (2370) – 5 7. Sopiko Khukhashvili (2339) – 4 8. Nino Khomeriki (2319) – 3 9. Aleksandra Vakhania (2138) – 2 10. Elene Tsotsonava (2012) – 0 Georgian Chess Federation Photo: Georgian Chess Federation Facebook