The first day of the event in Astana (Kazakhstan) saw several surprising results, with Chessy scoring a convincing 5-1 victory over WR Chess in round four. On board one for WR Chess, world rapid and blitz champion Magnus Carlsen suffered a stunning defeat as White to Richard Rapport of Chessy in just 22 moves
The second edition of the World Rapid Team Championships started in Astana, Kazakhstan, today, with the first four rounds taking place. Five of the world's top ten players are participating, including Magnus Carlsen, World Champion Ding Liren, and Ian Nepomniachtchi (who met in the same city last year for the World Championship title), alongside a new set of players and teams.
After the first day, the team of Chessy—captained by GM Emil Sutovsky—emerged as the sole leader, having won all four matches and securing eight match points. They are followed by the Decade China Team and Al-Ain ACMG UAE, who each have seven match points.
WR Chess Team, who won the inaugural World Rapid Championship in Düsseldorf in 2023, trails the leaders by two match points. They lost the final match of the day to Chessy in a direct duel for first place. WR Chess is in a pack of seven teams with three victories and one defeat out of the first four rounds: Team MGD1, Knights Of Chess, Ashdod Chess Club, Kazchess, GMHans.com, and Astana-1.
Complete standings after Round 4
In an interview on the first day of the event, World Champion Ding Liren said he was "very happy to be back in Astana," calling the city a "lucky place" for him: "The last time I was here, I won the world championship match, so this is a lucky place for me."
Following doubts about his recent performances, Ding said he is here to prove others wrong: "I came here to win some points and recover confidence." He scored 3.5 out of four games on the first day of the tournament.
A Closer Look at the First Four Rounds of the 2024 World Rapid Team Championship
Round 1 Each match in round one ended with a winner. The favorites and defending champions, WR Chess, started with a perfect score against the Kyrgyz Chess Academy. Ian Nepomniachtchi won a miniature against GM Semetei Tologon Tegin in the first game of the tournament. The new team, Decade China, the second-favorites by rating, scored 5.5 out of six.
One of the surprises of the first round was Daniil Dubov's defeat with the white pieces by GM Boris Grachev. In the Catalan, Dubov had a piece for three pawns but made several mistakes, allowing his opponent to dominate and win. Despite their top player losing, the Al-Ain ACMG team from UAE, the third top team by rating, won their match against the GMs Kazakhstan squad with a score of 4-2. Another surprising result was Hans Niemann losing as White to Meylis Annaberdiyev after blundering in a tactical endgame despite having more time on the clock.
Round 2
The second round brought early drama as some of the top teams clashed. Just a few minutes into the start, there was a major upset: Richard Rapport, playing for Chessy, defeated chess legend Nigel Short, representing the FIDE Management Board team. In the Ruy Lopez, Short blundered and lost his queen. Chessy went on to win the match 4.5-1.5, while FIDE's Al-Mudahka staged a surprise by defeating the 200-points higher-rated GM Vidit Santosh Gujrathi with the black pieces, who blundered in a better position.
Another early upset saw the young team of Rookies, with an average team rating of 2271, defeating the Ashdod Chess Club 4-2. All the heavyweights in the Ashdod team, including Sarin, Eljanov, and Volokitin, lost their games.
One of the most exciting matches of the round was WR Chess narrowly edging out Royal Chess, a team of top players from Olympic Champions Uzbekistan. It started badly for WR, with early trouble for Vadim Rosenstein and Vincent Keymer. However, Praggnanandhaa and Alexandra Kosteniuk made a comeback to equalize. Abdusattorov – playing against the team made up of his Uzbek compatriots - then won on board two, and Nepomniachtchi managed to secure a draw on board one, resulting in a crucial 3.5-2.5 victory for WR Chess.
Decade China scored a 6-0 victory over Astana. On board one, Denis Makhnyov sacrificed a piece against World Champion Ding Liren but couldn't make any progress and ended up losing. Al-Ain ACMG from UAE defeated Teniz Kazakhstan 5-1. Dubov was in trouble again and on the brink of losing but managed to save the game in a knight endgame.
Round 3
Round three finally saw Magnus Carlsen play his first game in the match between 2023 World Rapid winners WR and third-placed Team MGD1. Playing as Black on the first board for WR, Carlsen opted for the solid Berlin Defense against India's top-rated player, Arjun Erigaisi. Carlsen gradually outplayed his opponent, winning a pawn and forcing a winning pawn endgame. Ian Nepomniachtchi, now on board two for WR, survived a scare from Narayanan but won after his opponent got into severe time trouble. Harika Dronavalli of MGD1 scored against former Women's World Champion Hou Yifan in a dramatic, time-troubled game. Mihir Shah of MGD1 defeated Rozenstein on the last board, while Sadwahani drew with Duda, resulting in a final score of 3.5-2.5 for WR.
Decade China continued confidently, defeating GMHans.com 4-2. A big surprise in the match was Yue Wang's loss as White to the 200-points lower-rated Andrew Hong. On board two, strong Iranian GM Amin Tabatabaei had a dominating position against Chinese player Wei Yi but misplayed and lost, handing an important point to Decade China to secure the match.
Despite Vidit losing again, Chessy continued strong in this round, defeating the Knights of Chess from Krakow 4-2. Al-Ain ACMG defeated the Rookies 5-1, while Kazchess scored a clean sweep against the team of Egypt, propelling them to second place among the leaders who won all matches. Following a surprise defeat in round two, Ashdod Chess Club bounced back with a 5-1 victory over Astana-2.
After three rounds, five teams topped the standings with maximum scores, with Decade China leading the pack.
Round 4
In round four, the games became tougher and longer as the favorites clashed.
Title defenders WR Chess suffered a sensational defeat at the hands of Chessy. It began with Magnus Carlsen – the reigning world rapid and blitz champion and the top-rated player in the world – entering a very uncomfortable position as White against Richard Rapport early in the opening. By move 15, Carlsen was down to two minutes – something almost unheard of for him in rapid games. Sensing a huge opportunity, Rapport did not let it slip, eliminating any hope for Carlsen, who resigned after just 22 moves.
On board six, WR's Rozenstein suffered a quick defeat at the hands of Ainakul. With two games down, Ian Nepomniachtchi clinched the first half-point for WR, drawing an endgame against Martirosyan. Another blow for WR came as Hou Yifan lost as White to Humpy Koneru. On board four, WR's Praggnanandhaa was under pressure from Alexey Sarana and eventually lost. Duda drew as White with Jan Foreest, leading to a stunning score of 5-1 for Chessy against the defending champions and tournament favorites, WR Chess.
The match between Al-Ain ACMG and Decade China ended in a draw – 3-3. However, it could have been different: Ding Liren played the Catalan against Dubov and ended with a pawn up and a very comfortable position after sacrificing an exchange. As noted by Irina Krush and Peter Leko, who are commenting on the event, "this is the Ding Liren the world wants to see." However, as the game progressed and entered its most critical phase, Ding surprisingly accepted a draw.
As GM Evgenij Miroshnichenko – another member of the live broadcast team – noted: "I could have expected any move here except for Ding accepting a draw offer."
Among the other top teams, MGD1 defeated Kazchess 4.5-1.5. Both heavyweights Mamedyarov and Grischuk lost, and only Peter Svidler scored a win for Kazchess on the top board.
Ashdod Chess Club scored another impressive victory, defeating the FIDE Management Board team 5-1, bouncing back among the top teams.
Day two of the World Rapid Team Championship
The second day of the World Rapid Team Championship will take place on Saturday, August 3, from 2.30 PM local time in Astana, Kazakhstan.
More information about the tournament, including regulations, pairings, and the schedule, can be found on the official website of the event.
The games and the live commentary will be broadcast on FIDE'sFIDE's YouTube channel, which also features a complete recording of the first day of the event.
Photos: Ruslan Mazunin, Maria Emelianova and Stev Bonhage
Website of the event: World Rapid and Blitz Team Championship 2024 (fide.com)
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