King Carlsen wins richest online chess event ever
Magnus Carlsen has won his own $1 million signature tournament proving he is the best online speed chess player on the planet. Chess fans around the globe were gripped today as the World Champion overcame US star Hikaru Nakamura in a thrilling marathon Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour final. Carlsen had to come from behind three times over the week before finally toppling his rival in a nail-biting tiebreak today to decide an incredibly-tight seventh set. A clearly relieved Carlsen said afterward: “I don’t know what to say, there were just so many twists and turns. Ultimately it’s a bit random that everything is decided by one game but it has to end at some point.” Paying tribute to his opponent, Carlsen said: “He’s just very, very resilient and I just found the whole match very difficult and unpleasant to play. At some points, I felt that I was outplaying him and then he started turning it around. “I never felt I had the energy and never felt at any moment cruising so it was just a never-ending struggle. That’s why it became so close.” The Norwegian banks an online record of $140,000 for winning the final and takes a total of $315,000 in prize money overall from the event. It brings to an end a scintillating summer of elite-level chess that has seen the richest and most prestigious online event ever transfix fans. Nearly 70 million TV and online viewers have tuned in to the five tour stages that started in April and then culminated in a four-player Tour Finals. It was broadcast in 10 languages and at times this week has been the most-watched TV show in Norway. Carlsen devised the unique online tournament with chess24.com after all traditional chess events were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He then went on to win three of the four stages before the Tour Finals, losing only one match at a knockout stage to Nakamura. In the grand final, Carlsen faced Nakamura for the overall title and the American showed he was a true threat by going ahead three times. But each time the champion bounced back and refused to be beaten. In today’s deciding set it was Carlsen who went ahead first before Nakamura dramatically leveled to take the match to tiebreaks. Then Nakamura went ahead leaving Carlsen desperately needing a win to hang on. He managed it and then in the resulting “Armageddon” final play-off Carlsen finally broke Nakamura’s heart to win the title. It was an astonishing end to the biggest online chess event ever and it had every viewer on the edge of their seats. Supporting Kiva Broadcaster chess24 has pledged 50 percent of new Premium memberships bought during its Tour Final to Kiva’s Global COVID-19 Response fund that aims to raise at least $50 million for entrepreneurs and small businesses impacted by COVID‑19. During the event, chess24 and Kiva will highlight stories where chess has changed people’s lives under the official tournament social media hashtag #ImpactChess. Viewers are encouraged to engage with the Tour Final and support small businesses impacted by COVID-19 by signing up for a premium subscription here. More details on the Finals The Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour was devised by Norway’s World Champion and chess24 after traditional over the board chess was halted suddenly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tour Final kicks off on August 9 and runs until August 20. It is the culmination of four elite-level super-tournaments that began in March as a way of getting chess started again while other sports worldwide were prohibited. The first four stages of the first Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour were: The Magnus Carlsen Invitational The Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge The Chessable Masters The chess24 Legends of Chess Four players have qualified for the final crescendo of chess after being the best performers during the preceding tour events. The winner of the Tour Final, which has a total prize pot of $300,000, will scoop a top prize of $140,000 and the title of Champion of the Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour. Tournament rules and schedule The Tour Final is a 12-day event running from August 9 to August 20. Time control is a rapid 15m + 10s from move 1 played in the chess24 Playzone. The semi-finals of the Tour Final tournament were a best of 5 four-game mini-matches. The final was a best of 7 mini-matches. Highlights English:https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1_QSmtZoiwL24EGuZSEmi1UR5j4hInR0u?usp=sharingNew files at around 23.00 CEST Rough edit highlights:https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12mwKPkAfzeyfzd1Gay-FU5dJ8uU6OXMY?usp=sharingNew files ready around 02.00 CEST FOR MORE INFORMATION:Leon Watsonleon@chessable.com+447786 078770
Online Olympiad Top Division: Preview
It is time for the decisive matches at the Online Olympiad. On August 21, 40 best teams divided into four pools are getting into action in Top Division to determine 12 participants of a playoff over the upcoming weekend. These 12 teams will fight for the champion title over August 27-30. The first place in every pool is particularly valuable as the winner gets straight into quarterfinals whereas the teams occupying 2-3d place will have to play an extra match to advance to this stage. 25 out of 40 teams got into Top Division outright (five best teams in accordance with “Gaprindashvili system” based on the last Olympiad in Batumi and five best teams representing each part of the world – Europe, Asia, Americas, and Africa), whereas the other 15 squads qualified from Division 2. There was a striking difference between Division 3 and Division 2 in terms of chess strength – none of the qualifiers from Division 3 had a bid for advancing to Top Division. The situation will be somewhat different in Top Division – many teams, that started their Olympic quest last weekend in Division 2 have a fair chance to get into the top-3 in their pools. Pool A (China, India, Germany, Vietnam, Georgia, Iran, Indonesia, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe) Two clear favorites – China and India – should not have many troubles progressing into the playoff. Both teams fielded optimal lineups which meant that they can count on maximum points on women’s boards in almost all the matches. Indeed we will see in action #1 of women’s rating Hou Yifan, the World Champion Ju Wenjun, and the Rapid Chess Women’s World Champion Humpy Koneru (pictured below). Photo: Maria Emelianova It is really hard to predict the team to take third place in this group. Germany looks like a favorite based on the average rating, but the team has to enlist its best women (they did not play in Division 2) and solve the problem of a junior board (only 3 out of 9 points at the previous stage). Vietnam, Georgia, and Iran also have hopes for the third slot. A young and very promising team Uzbekistan is capable of springing a surprise as well. The team’s relatively low rating should not be misleading – young players from this country are really strong and have a great experience in online battles. Pool B (Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Spain, Hungary, Slovakia, Norway, France, South Africa ) This is the most balanced pool out of four featuring two very strong qualifiers from Division 2 Spain and Hungary, whereas main favorite Ukraine did not manage to mobilize its best players. Nevertheless, team Ukraine headed by Vasyl Ivanchuk and Anton Korobov (pictured below) looks impressive but this quick tournament won’t be a walk in the park for this squad. Photo: Maria Emelianova The best Azerbaijani players, including the youngsters who have made their presence felt lately, banded together under the banner of the national team. Most likely we will see this squad, lead by Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Teimour Radjabov in the knockout stage. Kazakhstan has the most powerful duo on women’s boards – Zhansaya Abdumalik and Bibisara Assaubayeva can make the difference and pull the team into the next stage. It will be very interesting to follow the Netherlands – the team jumped into a bandwagon, scraped through to Top Division but in the decisive match Anish Giri and his teammates showed their mettle. Since the Dutchmen take on Azerbaijan in the first round, the team will have no time for a warm-up. Pool С (Russia, Armenia, Romania, Turkey, England, Croatia, Bulgaria, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco) The composition of this pool is similar to that of pool A. There are two clear favorites – if either Russia or Armenia does not advance this news will hit the headlines. Alexander Grischuk (pictured below) and Kateryna Lagno, who had skipped the Online Nations Cup, returned to team Russia; strong junior boards are another thing going for Russia. Indeed the online European Champion Alexey Sarana is just a substitute player, whereas the World Junior Champion U18 and U20 Polina Shuvalova plays on women’s junior board. Armenia is traditionally very good at team events. This time around it can boast of a very strong and balanced lineup. Photo: Lennart Ootes Pointing out the main candidates for the third spot in the playoff is just an impossible mission. Two African teams – Algeria and Morocco don’t have enough experience on such a high level to count on a place in the top-3; all the other teams have a shot. Romania and Turkey are very consistent, England has very strong men’s boards, Croatia counts on Ivan Saric who has been in great shape lately, Bulgaria pins hopes on Antoaneta Stefanova who most likely will score a lot of points on a women’s board. Pool D (USA, Cuba, Poland, Greece, Italy, Canada, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay) Team USA is the main candidate for first place in this “American” pool. Even in the absence of Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura but with Wesley So on the first board and Jeffery Xiong on a junior’s board this squad appears to be a prohibitive favorite. Cuba has the second-best average rating. As Cuban players are not very well known outside of the Caribbean area the Online Olympiad, followed by thousands of people around the world is a great chance to make a name for them. Jeffery Xiong Poland fielded a very impressive lineup lead by Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Radoslaw Wojtaszek. It is worth mentioning that the best players of this team already played a few tournaments after the quarantine and gained momentum. Team Peru with brother and sister Cori regularly showing good results in online tournaments looks the strongest of South American teams. Nevertheless, it will be quite a challenge for both Peru and Argentina, which became a real breakthrough in Division 2, to advance to the playoff. The matches in Top Division start on Friday, August 21 at 08:00 UTC. The teams of Pool A are first to get into action. Then at 11:00 the matches in Pool B get underway, at 14:00 – Pool C, and finally, at 17:00 it is time for Pool D. We will know all the participants of the knockout stage by Sunday late night.