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Carlsen To Play Niemann In 4-Game Quarterfinals Match
Carlsen is on track to defend his world title, but Niemann stands in his way. Photo: Lennart Ootes/FIDE.

Carlsen To Play Niemann In 4-Game Quarterfinals Match

AnthonyLevin
NM AnthonyLevin
Staff
| 119 | Chess Event Coverage

The top eight players of the FIDE World Blitz Chess Championship and FIDE Women's World Blitz Chess Championship have qualified for their respective knockout tournaments on day two. 

The following eight players advance in the Open: Russian number-one GM Ian Nepomniachtchi, four-time and reigning U.S. Champion Fabiano Caruana, seven-time and reigning Blitz World Champion Magnus Carlsen, GM Wesley So, French number-one Alireza Firouzja, GM Hans Niemann, Polish number-one Jan-Krzysztof Duda, and the new Rapid World Champion Volodar Murzin.  

In the Women's, the eight players are GM Vaishali Rameshbabu, former World Championship Challenger Lei Tingjie, three-time Women's Blitz World Champion Kateryna Lagno, two-time and reigning Women's Blitz World Champion Valentina Gunina, reigning World Champion Ju Wenjun, three-time and reigning Women's U.S. Champion Carissa Yip, two-time Women's Blitz World Champion Bibisara Assaubayeva, and GM Zhu Jiner.

Blitz world champions will be crowned on Tuesday, December 31, with games starting at 2:00 p.m. ET/ 20:00 CET / 12:30 a.m. IST (on January 1). 

Open Knockout Bracket

Women's Knockout Bracket 

Setting The Stage For Final Day

The Blitz is two days long, with a Swiss tournament on day one. The Swiss was 13 rounds in the Open and 11 in the Women's, with a 3+2 time control for all games. The top eight finishers in each championship qualified for a Knockout on day two, while everyone else takes New Year's Eve off from professional chess. The Knockout will consist of four-game matches in the Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Final.

Sunday was a rest day for most players, but the venue Cipriani Wall Street was still bustling with action. FIDE organized the Wall Street Gambit, a conference that bridged the worlds of chess and finance.

Attendees were treated to a roundtable with leading figures in chess and finance, a chess tournament, and one-on-one games with top players like Carlsen, Caruana, and former World Champion Viswanathan Anand. American hedge fund manager Boaz Weinstein, one of the speakers, even managed to draw a (handicapped) blitz game with the current world blitz champion.

On Monday, Buffalo Bills Wide Receiver Mack Hollins made his way to Wall Street to catch the action at the start of the day.

"I've really come to love chess a lot," said Mack Hollins. Photo: Wichal Walusza/FIDE.

The venue was packed, especially in round one. Check out the humongous crowd that observed Carlsen's first-round game against German GM Michael Bezold. Carlsen arrived about one minute late ("poor planning," he told IM Levy Rozman for Take Take Take) and won. 

Carlsen wore jeans again. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

Jeans Are Back In; Carlsen Returns

His jeans may have gotten him kicked out of the rapid championship on Friday, but after talks with FIDE, Carlsen has returned. The dress code has been changed for all players to allow jeans and, in fact, the blitz world champion seems to have gotten a business deal out of it. He signed a jeans deal with G-Star and will appear in ads in 2025.

A renewed collaboration. Image: Instagram.

Carlsen and several other players, including Norwegian GM Aryan Tari, wore jeans on Monday. Tari told Chess.com that he went shopping with Carlsen during the rest day to pick up his pair.

Carlsen told Take Take Take that FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich negotiated his return to the tournament, which we covered in more detail in our previous report, but was unsparing in his assessment of FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky: "If you are talking about Sutovsky, well I don't think that man can be reasoned with in any way." 

Sutovsky, in his interview with ChessBase India, admitted he was "much less diplomatic" but that "you need to be sometimes firm," saying:

President Dvorkovich is known to be as a person who always prefers to find a diplomatic way to resolve it, and in many cases that's very important, and in many cases that's the only way to go. I have to say that I'm much less diplomatic, but I think with the events, funds, partnerships, sponsorships, which I deliver, diplomacy alone wouldn't help. You need to be sometimes firm, you need sometimes to be sharp, you need to take hard decisions, you need to negotiate bitterly. I think, without false modesty, I was rather successful with that.

Sutovsky, next to Timur Turlov, speaking at the Wall Street Gambit, a conference that took place on the rest day. Photo: Michal Walusza/FIDE.

Will Carlsen play in FIDE events in 2025, or is this a stop-gap solution? Sutovsky responded in the interview, "You have a player who is the greatest player ever or the second-greatest player ever... [but] would FIDE collapse without him? Of course not... FIDE and chess in general is much bigger than a single person."

FIDE and chess in general is much bigger than a single person.

—Emil Sutovsky

He offered the example of GM Bobby Fischer, who refused to defend his title in 1975, saying that the chess world moved on. "Did the game stop? No, not at all."

Now let's get to the championships. Vaishali dominated the Women's tournament, while the Open was a much closer contest in the final rounds.

Open: Caruana Dominates 1st Half, Carlsen Ends Streak

Caruana started by leading with a perfect 7/7, but after his draw with Carlsen in round eight, lanes for others opened up in the race. Ultimately, 10 players finished on 9.5 points, and the two players left out by tiebreaks were GMs Daniel Naroditsky and Daniil Dubov.

Open Swiss Standings | Top 20

Rk. SNo Title Name FED Rtg Pts.
1 9 GM Nepomniachtchi, Ian 2770 9.5
2 5 GM Caruana, Fabiano 2796 9.5
3 1 GM Carlsen, Magnus 2890 9.5
4 4 GM So, Wesley 2803 9.5
5 2 GM Firouzja, Alireza 2871 9.5
6 18 GM Niemann, Hans Moke 2709 9.5
7 7 GM Duda, Jan-Krzysztof 2776 9.5
8 41 GM Murzin, Volodar 2629 9.5
9 17 GM Naroditsky, Daniel 2711 9.5
10 6 GM Dubov, Daniil 2784 9.5
11 10 GM Bortnyk, Olexandr 2762 9
12 48 IM Bortnyk, Mykola 2616 9
13 24 GM Martirosyan, Haik M. 2692 9
14 13 GM Aronian, Levon 2737 8.5
15 23 GM Sevian, Samuel 2693 8.5
16 34 GM Dominguez Perez, Leinier 2656 8.5
17 85 GM Antipov, Mikhail Al. 2545 8.5
18 26 GM Grischuk, Alexander 2684 8.5
19 37 GM Lu, Shanglei 2648 8.5
20 43 GM Bok, Benjamin 2627 8.5

See full standings.

After a disappointing 5/8 score in the rapid championship, Carlsen started full steam ahead in the Blitz. He won the first two rounds against Bezold and GM Robert Hovhannisyan.

He looked on his way to 3/3 with a winning king and pawn endgame against GM Benjamin Bok but suddenly fell for a cunning stalemate trick. Realizing what he'd done, Carlsen stood out of his chair and laughed out loud, before offering the draw.

"Kudos to him," Carlsen told Take Take Take, "I had no idea why he was playing on, but he had an idea, and I fell for it." Bok later tweeted, "I did not see the stalemate idea from afar, I just got as lucky as you can be."

I had no idea why he was playing on, but he had an idea, and I fell for it.

—Magnus Carlsen

Carlsen beat GM Aleksandr Shimanov (who nearly beat him in the Rapid a few days ago), drew GM Sam Shankland, and then defeated super-GMs Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Levon Aronian before finally getting to Caruana in round eight.

Caruana, on the other hand, pulled a Caruana, winning 7/7 games just like he did at that historic Sinquefield Cup in 2014.

His seventh win, against GM Alireza Firouzja, was the sweetest. After sacrificing his queen's rook in the corner, he went on the attack and even delivered checkmate to the white king in the middle of the board. GM Rafael Leitao analyzes the Game of the Day below.

Just like in 2014, Carlsen was the one to end Caruana's streak exactly in round eight. But not before signing an autograph, seconds before the game:

Carlsen drew five games and worked his endgame sorcery to beat GM Sam Sevian in round 12, while Caruana also drew five but lost to Nepomniachtchi in round 11—both players ultimately landing on the same score of 9.5/13.

Caruana was actually winning but lost control, and Nepomniachtchi pressed him on the clock to induce a blunder and win the game.

A critical win against Caruana in round 11. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

Nepomniachtchi was in the large pack of players on top boards who agreed to quick draws in the final two rounds. He drew with Murzin and then Niemann to qualify for the Knockout. Given the format, it's the logical thing to do, since players are incentivized only to finish in the top eight.

Dubov Snoozes, Niemann Cruises

As we approached the final rounds of the tournament, emotions were high even for players who didn't really get close to qualifying for the Knockout.

Others were inexplicably relaxed enough to fall asleep—well, one player in particular. Dubov didn't show up to his game against Niemann in round 10, giving him a free win with the black pieces. Dubov told NRK, "I went to my hotel room to quickly prepare, then I fell asleep. When I woke up, it was too late. I didn't make it. I want to continue the tournament. It was bad luck." 

"How is it possible to fall asleep in 15 minutes?"
"I don't know. I am a talented person apparently."
"It's not a protest against Niemann?"
[Five-second pause] "Look, this is my first time in the U.S. I can't really control the jet lag. Who knows what it is? Maybe we'll find out tomorrow."

Dubov, presumably well-rested after his nap, managed to win his next three games after that loss, against GMs Grigoriy Oparin, Jeffery Xiong, and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu. He came very close to qualifying, even after also losing a first-round game against GM Awonder Liang—close, but no cigar.

Dubov beat Praggnanandhaa in the last round, but it wasn't enough. Photo: Michal Walusza/FIDE.

 "I don't think he's my biggest fan," Niemann said of Dubov. "Usually when someone doesn't show up against me I have one assumption." Niemann offered to play Dubov in a match for charity after this event.

"I can't complain about the result," Niemann confessed. "With Black, it's a huge gift. To win with Black at such a crucial moment, I can't complain."

It's a huge gift. To win with Black at such a crucial moment, I can't complain.

—Hans Niemann

Comically, his free win against Dubov catapulted Niemann to his pairing against Carlsen—of all people—in the next round. In that encounter, Carlsen was winning but lost control, and the game ended in a draw. Niemann could even have won. Two 12-move Berlin draws after that, against Firouzja and Nepomniachtchi, were enough for Niemann to qualify.

They shook hands twice before the game. Photo: Lennart Ootes/FIDE.

Firouzja Beats Duda, But Duda Pulls Through

The round-nine clash between Firouzja and Duda was an epic display of attacking and defensive resources. Firouzja's attack ultimately crashed through, as both players played natural-enough-looking moves, but there were many hidden opportunities for both sides along the way.

A nice win for Firouzja in a double-edged game. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

That was Duda's only loss in the tournament, however, and he won three out of his next four games to finish on 9.5 points and qualify. He beat GM Aravindh Chithambaram, drew Xiong, and then defeated GMs Boris Gelfand and Levon Aronian in the final two games.

The win against Gelfand featured a nice zwischenzug, 30.c6!, that won the game on the spot. In one move, the black position fell apart.

Duda finished runner-up to Carlsen in 2018 and got as far as a playoff in 2021, but lost to GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and again finished as runner-up. Can he go all the way this year? 

Duda came back. Photo: Michal Walusza/FIDE.

Lastly, an earlier, round-five win of Firouzja's just has to be squeezed in. Against Shankland, 30...Rxc4!! ended the game, as 31.bxc4 Bxc4 traps the white queen.

So Scores Clutch Win, And Can Murzin Win Double Crown?

So suffered an early defeat against Shankland in round four (a rook endgame he almost drew), but it was his only loss. He drew rounds nine through 11 and his win against GM Anish Giri came better late than never. He played the exchange sacrifice 47...Rxc4! and the tactics fell in place like puzzle pieces, as the game was won by a single tempo.

It's a strong recovery for the Filipino-American who finished the Rapid on Saturday with an underwhelming 7/13, three points behind the winner Murzin.

A different, improved So showed up on Monday. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

As for the 18-year-old Russian grandmaster, he's shown again that his results the last few days are no fluke. He only lost to So in round five, but with 9.5/13 as his final score, he earned the eighth and final spot in the Knockout.

Murzin's performance is plenty to smile about. Photo: Michal Walusza/FIDE.

Women's: Vaishali Wins Swiss By Full Point

Vaishali went on an absolute rampage, winning eight games, drawing three, and losing none. She qualified for the Knockout with a round to spare, a full point ahead of Lei. Three Chinese players enter the second stage.

Women's Swiss Standings | Top 20

Rk. SNo Title Name FED Rtg Pts.
1 21 GM Vaishali, Rameshbabu 2359 9.5
2 1 GM Lei, Tingjie 2491 8.5
3 5 GM Lagno, Kateryna 2444 8
4 17 GM Gunina, Valentina 2374 8
5 3 GM Ju, Wenjun 2480 8
6 42 IM Yip, Carissa 2285 8
7 6 IM Assaubayeva, Bibisara 2443 8
8 7 GM Zhu, Jiner 2434 8
9 10 GM Koneru, Humpy 2414 8
10 27 IM Wagner, Dinara 2335 7.5
11 16 IM Garifullina, Leya 2382 7.5
12 39 IM Maltsevskaya, Aleksandra 2289 7.5
13 24 IM Narva, Mai 2336 7.5
14 19 GM Dzagnidze, Nana 2371 7
15 12 GM Muzychuk, Anna 2402 7
16 50 IM Song, Yuxin 2271 7
17 9 IM Shuvalova, Polina 2415 7
18 29 IM Divya, Deshmukh 2333 7
19 30 IM Vantika, Agrawal 2333 7
20 34 WGM Munkhzul, Turmunkh 2317 7

See full standings here.

"It was completely unexpected," said Vaishali, later humbly adding, "I'm not a great blitz player, honestly. I mean, there are many more strong players who are playing here. I think today I was just lucky in many games and it just worked out."

I'm not a great blitz player, honestly.

—Vaishali Rameshbabu

Vaishali won seven of her first eight games—a nice feat for someone not very good at blitz.

The last one was against the reigning blitz world champion, GM Valentina Gunina, who nevertheless qualified for the Knockout with an 8/11 score. That game was a bit lucky, as Gunina (with Black) was winning, then better, but ultimately ended up with an equal rook and knight endgame. Gunina declined a draw offer and lost on time in the following position, her second time flagging in New York.

Vaishali's great performance can't all be chalked up to luck, however. The round before, she outplayed the formidable GM Nana Dzagnidze, with an attack that started with the long knight journey from c3 to d1, f3, and f5.

She is in the company of several world champions of various time formats in the Knockout, though she will play against eighth-place finisher Zhu, who became China's 39th grandmaster last year.

Will Vaishali continue her superb form on day two? Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

Unlike Murzin, GM Koneru Humpy will not have a chance at the double crown this year after finishing ninth in the Blitz, just barely missing out by tiebreaks.

There are two international masters who made it to the final eight. Yip impressively made it despite losing both rounds five and six—ultimately finishing with seven wins, two losses, and two draws. Her greatest scalp was against World Champion Ju, who didn't lose any other games and also qualified.

Yip, a national champion, is out for her first world title. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

Assaubayeva, who finished seventh, had the same number of wins, draws, and losses as Yip. Her most important victory was against two-time Women's World Champion Anna Muzychuk in the very last round, in a 121-move marathon.

Painful Blunders By World Champions

While Anna finished with 7/11, her sister's nightmare started in the very first round. Former World Champion Mariya Muzychuk allowed a mate-in-one against New York's WIM Iris Mou, and went on to finish with 4/11.

Another player we'd expect to see at or near the top is former Women's World Champion Tan Zhongyi, but in round two against Polish IM Aleksandra Maltsevskaya she allowed a one-move fork. She had nine seconds left when she played 34...h6??. She went on to finish with 6/11. 

Honorable Mentions

It just wasn't GM Hikaru Nakamura's day, and he finished with 8.5/13. He won six games, drew five, and lost twice, in round three against Aravindh and in round 11 against GM Tuan Minh Le.

He won't be in the Knockout, but as he jokes in his YouTube title, he's qualified for Titled Tuesday instead. You can listen to his thoughts about the tournament in the video below.

Former World Championship Challenger Gelfand, who is 56 years old, had a tournament to be proud of. He went 7.5/13 with a performance rating of 2704, notably defeating GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov in round nine.

Gelfand also drew Nakamura in round six. Photo: Michal Walusza/FIDE.

Gelfand also beat Naroditsky, who missed out on qualifying for the Knockout by tiebreaks, in round seven. Incredibly, Naroditsky went on to win every single game after that—five wins in a row—before drawing So in the last round. The players he beat during that impressive rampage were GMs Andy Woodward, Laurent Fressinet, Mikhail Antipov, Vasyl Ivanchuk, and finally Leinier Dominguez.

"I feel sorry about what Kramnik did to you," So told Naroditsky before their three-move draw. Photo: Lennart Ootes/FIDE.

He wasn't without some luck. Naroditsky received nothing short of a miracle against GM Vasif Durarbayli in round four, when he won a queen endgame down two pawns.

The Bortnyk brothers, GM Oleksandr Bortnyk and IM Mykola Bortnyk, also had performances to be proud of. Both finished with 9/13. Mykola, who lives in New York, won his last three games, finishing Giri off last. Mykola is an exceptional case of someone who is rated 2400 in classical chess and currently 2616 in blitz.

Mykola Bortnyk beat Giri in the last round. Photo: Michal Walusza/FIDE.

We saw a picturesque checkmate from GM Johan-Sebastian Christiansen.

And, finally, a 14-move win with checkmate from Mr. Stafford Gambit himself, IM Eric Rosen.

Rosen finished with a respectable 5/13, with an 11.7 rating point gain. Okay, we have to throw in one more stalemate trick he found against GM Felix Blohberger.

Tune in on Tuesday for the unmissable Knockout that decides two world champions!

How To Watch
You can watch the tournaments on Chess24 YouTube or Twitch channels. You can follow the action with GM Hikaru Nakamura's recaps on YouTube; also watch his stream on Kick. You can also check out the games on our dedicated events page.
GM Jan Gustafsson and FM James Canty III hosted the broadcast.

The 2024 FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championships decide the world champions of rapid and blitz chess in Open and Women's sections. For the rapid championships, the Open was a 13-round Swiss; the Women's was an 11-round Swiss. The time control for both tournaments was 15 minutes plus a 10-second increment. The Blitz championships are the same number of rounds followed by a Knockout played by the top-eight finishers, with a time control of 3+2 for all games. The prize fund is $1.5 million.

Previous coverage:

AnthonyLevin
NM Anthony Levin

NM Anthony Levin caught the chess bug at the "late" age of 18 and never turned back. He earned his national master title in 2021, actually the night before his first day of work at Chess.com.

Anthony, who also earned his Master's in teaching English in 2018, taught English and chess in New York schools for five years and strives to make chess content accessible and enjoyable for people of all ages. At Chess.com, he writes news articles and manages social media for chess24.

Email:  [email protected]

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