1 hour ago
Dragon Chilling is an unfamiliar chess name, but nan squad from China led nan section of 48 aft nan first day’s play astatine nan World Rapid and Blitz successful Hong Kong. Teams of six see a woman, a inferior and an amateur who has ne'er achieved a 2000 rating. The beardown capacity by Asian teams astatine nan commencement highlights a roar successful chess, pinch enthusiasm sparked by successive world champions from China (Ding Liren) and India (Gukesh Dommaraju).
The clip power for accelerated is 15 minutes for nan full game, positive a 10 seconds per move increment from move one; while for blitz it is 3 minutes positive a 2 seconds per move increment. There is nary repetition of nan effort successful London past twelvemonth to play without increment, which caused chaotic conclusions to respective games.
Magnus Carlsen leads WR Chess, who were nan pre-tournament favourites on pinch India’s MGD1 and China’s Dragon Chilling. WR had an early setback successful information 2 erstwhile Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Aleksandra Goryachkina some lost, and astatine nan extremity of nan first time nan squad were 4 points down nan beforehand runners.
In information six, Carlsen mislaid to MGD1’s Arjun Erigaisi, arsenic India’s world No 8 demolished nan No 1 arsenic Black by a raging attack culminating successful a queen sacrifice. Carlsen very seldom loses 2 games successful a row, but it happened successful information 7 against nan 24-year-old Armenian Shant Sargsyan. After that loss, Carlsen decided to beryllium retired information eight.
England’s only typical astatine nan championships appears to beryllium nan erstwhile world title challenger Nigel Short, now 61, whose squad is Qatar but contains respective different Fide officials. Short began pinch 5/8 and a 2540 capacity rating, showing that he retains his skills.
After 8 of nan 12 World Rapid rounds Dragon Chilling led pinch 14/16, followed by MGD1 connected 13 and Barys (a Fide/Russia/Kazakh team) connected 12. Carlsen’s apical seeded WR were only successful 11th spot connected 10 points, pinch small chance.
Live commentary by England’s Olympiad golden medallist David Howell is astatine fide.com, starting astatine astir 7.15 americium BST connected Friday (rapid), Saturday and Sunday (blitz).
Prior to Wednesday’s start, WR Chess won a conflict of rival property conferences. While nan charismatic version offered only nan Fide president, Arkady Dvorkovich, positive 2 GMs successful support, nan WR podium fielded Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, typical impermanent Javokhir Sindarov and moreover a erstwhile premier minister, Mongolia’s Zandanshatar Gombojav, who was announced alongside WR’s laminitis and sponsor, Wadim Rosenstein, for nan U2000 amateur board. After drafting his information 1 game, Gombojav was beaten successful information seven.
A caller section has been added to nan Hans Niemann v Ian Nepomniachtchi feud reported earlier this month. The American and nan Russian, whose 4-4 necktie successful their lucifer successful Belgrade was followed by a conflict astir nan prize fund, were paired again astatine nan UzChess Cup successful Tashkent, wherever Nepo vanished 3rd retired of 10 pinch 5/9 and Niemann seventh pinch 4/9 successful a information robin won by nan section GM Mukhiddin Madaminov.
At nan pre-event method meeting, Nepo shook hands pinch each nan players barroom Niemann, and said afterwards: “He has to study really to behave.”
Nepo later won their eighth information game, utilizing immoderate leftover prep successful nan Ruy Lopez a4 anti-Marshall which he had hoped to unleash during his 2021 world title conclusion by Carlsen. They reached a knight ending wherever Nepo was capable to sacrifice his knight for agreed passed pawns and threats connected some flanks. Objectively, though, nan brace stay intimately matched, pinch some successful nan little half of nan world apical 20.
Niemann has his ain team, named Endgame AI, successful nan World Team Rapid/Blitz, which he began by winning his first 4 games connected apical board, each of them against grandmasters, past drafting 4 against elite opponents including nan Candidates winner, Sindarov, and erstwhile world champion Ding.
4029: 1 Rf1! Rd8 2 Qxd3! wins a portion and nan game. If 2…Rxd3?? 3 Rf8 mate. Not 1 exd5?? Qf2+ and Black draws by perpetual check.
