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Carlsen Wins Tournament, But Nakamura Wins Cup

Carlsen Wins Tournament, But Nakamura Wins Cup

NathanielGreen
NathanielGreen
Staff
| 19 | Chess Event Coverage

The last four Titled Tuesday tournaments of 2024 were held on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, and featured four individual tournament winners... plus one additional big winner.

GM Magnus Carlsen celebrated Christmas Eve this year by winning the early event on December 24 with 10.5 points out of 11. FM Reza Mahdavi, aged 16, won the late event with 10 points, needing tiebreaks over... Carlsen, who also scored 10 points. On New Year's Eve, GM Jose Martinez took first place in the early event out of a four-way tie for first, and GM Liem Le won the last Titled Tuesday of the year by a full point.

And while he did not place in the final four events, GM Hikaru Nakamura was nonetheless the year's big winner, claiming the Titled Cup and its $10,000 first-place prize by 4.5 points over second-placed Carlsen ($8,000). GM Alexandra Kosteniuk was the top woman in the Titled Cup, earning $5,000. Also earning $5,000 were GMs Denis Lazavik and Gata Kamsky, who topped the juniors and seniors, while WCM Veronika Shubenkova earned $1,500 for finishing as the top girl.

December 24 Early Tournament

Out of the total 692 players in the early field on Christmas Eve, the only one to slow down Carlsen was GM Javokhir Sindarov with a draw in round seven, which helped Sindarov finish in sole second place on 9.5 points. Behind him was a nine-way tie on nine points, with GMs Wesley So, Anish Giri, and Tuan Minh Le rounding out the top five.

After the draw, Carlsen won his last four games, including against So in round eight and Giri in round 10. Showing just what kind of form Carlsen was in, he needed only 26 moves to beat the great So, sacrificing a piece in the first 10 moves.

December 24 Titled Tuesday | Early | Final Standings (Top 20)

Rk Seed Fed Title Username Name Rating Score Tiebreak 1
1 2 GM @MagnusCarlsen Magnus Carlsen 3306 10.5 83.5
2 9 GM @Javokhir_Sindarov05 Javokhir Sindarov 3145 9.5 78
3 3 GM @GMWSO Wesley So 3213 9 80.5
4 5 GM @AnishGiri Anish Giri 3151 9 77
5 11 GM @wonderfultime Tuan Minh Le 3088 9 76.5
6 27 IM @Murad_Ibrahimli Murad İbrahimli 2957 9 73.5
7 26 GM @shimastream Aleksandr Shimanov 3048 9 70.5
8 23 IM @Rud_Makarian Rudik Makarian 3014 9 70
9 19 FM @rezamahdavi2008 Reza Mahdavi 3083 9 68.5
10 17 GM @Angry_Twin Andrey Drygalov 3075 9 61.5
11 44 GM @BillieKimbah Maxim Matlakov 2972 9 59.5
12 1 GM @Hikaru Hikaru Nakamura 3303 8.5 78
13 34 GM @Jospem Jose Martinez 3039 8.5 74
14 28 GM @rasmussvane Rasmus Svane 3012 8.5 71
15 56 GM @TigrVShlyape Gata Kamsky 2920 8.5 70.5
16 4 GM @DanielNaroditsky Daniel Naroditsky 3124 8.5 59.5
17 15 GM @Oleksandr_Bortnyk Oleksandr Bortnyk 3043 8 71.5
18 129 FM @IMchanged Felix Ilinca 2814 8 71.5
19 48 GM @Sam_ChessMood Samvel Ter-Sahakyan 2946 8 69.5
20 67 IM @the_chess_child Ilamparthi A R 2913 8 69.5
56 91 IM @Sanyura Aleksandra Maltsevskaya 2771 7.5 54.5

(Full final standings.)

Carlsen won the $1,000 prize for first place, with Sindarov taking the $750 for second. So won $350, Giri $200, Le $100, and IM Aleksandra Maltsevskaya another $100 with the top women's score.

December 24 Late Tournament

There were another 523 players in the late tournament. Once again, the top two finishers drew their game, with Mahdavi and Carlsen splitting the point in round eight. Neither player lost in the event, with Carlsen drawing GM Oleksandr Bortnyk in round five and Mahdavi going on to draw GM Benjamin Bok in round 10.

In the final round, Mahdavi had Black against GM Sam Sevian. With tiebreaks comfortably ahead of Carlsen's, Mahdavi's 40-move win clinched first place.

December 24 Titled Tuesday | Late | Final Standings (Top 20)

Rk Seed Fed Title Username Name Rating Score Tiebreak 1
1 14 FM @rezamahdavi2008 Reza Mahdavi 3083 10 75
2 1 GM @MagnusCarlsen Magnus Carlsen 3306 10 70
3 8 GM @mishanick Alexey Sarana 3108 9 74
4 12 GM @GMBenjaminBok Benjamin Bok 3065 9 66
5 7 GM @xiaotong2008 Xiao Tong 3104 8.5 74.5
6 23 GM @rasmussvane Rasmus Svane 3012 8.5 73.5
7 26 IM @scarabee43 Marco Materia 3013 8.5 72.5
8 2 GM @GMWSO Wesley So 3213 8.5 70
9 37 GM @Vladimir_Zakhartsov Vladimir Zakhartsov 2970 8.5 70
10 71 GM @vladislavkovalev Vladislav Kovalev 2851 8.5 69.5
11 15 GM @Oleksandr_Bortnyk Oleksandr Bortnyk 3043 8.5 68
12 3 GM @DanielNaroditsky Daniel Naroditsky 3124 8.5 62
13 17 IM @0gZPanda Anthony He 3046 8.5 56
14 28 GM @platy3 Alan Pichot 2989 8 75
15 4 GM @Konavets Sam Sevian 3131 8 75
16 115 GM @olksuna Leandro Krysa 2778 8 73.5
17 9 GM @Grischuk Alexander Grischuk 3085 8 70.5
18 45 GM @SavelijTartakover Dmitry Kryakvin 2918 8 70
19 19 GM @LiemLe Liem Le 3018 8 67.5
20 43 GM @MarkusRagger Markus Ragger 2903 8 65.5
41 86 IM @Flawless_Fighter Polina Shuvalova 2769 7.5 58

(Full final standings.)

Mahdavi claimed $1,000 for first place, with Carlsen settling for $750 and a total of $1,750 on the day. GM Alexey Sarana and Bok finished on nine points, with Sarana's better tiebreaks earning him $350 to Bok's $200. The $100 prizes went to GM Xiao Tong and women's prize winner IM Polina Shuvalova. 

December 31 Early Tournament

The early tournament on New Year's Eve was joined by 727 eager participants, four of whom ended up with a claim to first place: Martinez, GM Dmitry Andreikin, Bortnyk, and GM Sam Shankland, who all scored 9.5 points. Martinez's tiebreaks won out fairly comfortably, with his wildly unpredictable eighth-round win over Andreikin turning out to be the tournament's critical game.

December 31 Titled Tuesday | Early | Final Standings (Top 20)

Rk Seed Fed Title Username Name Rating Score Tiebreak 1
1 15 GM @Jospem Jose Martinez 3046 9.5 79.5
2 9 GM @FairChess_on_YouTube Dmitry Andreikin 3112 9.5 76
3 18 GM @Oleksandr_Bortnyk Oleksandr Bortnyk 3031 9.5 72
4 28 GM @Shankland Sam Shankland 3067 9.5 71
5 72 FM @Carnivoras Quoc Hy Nguyen 2924 9 74
6 69 GM @dretch Conrad Holt 2949 9 72.5
7 3 GM @AnishGiri Anish Giri 3150 9 70.5
8 30 GM @francyIM Francesco Sonis 2944 9 68
9 29 GM @Vaathi_Coming Aravindh Chithambaram 3008 9 63.5
10 77 GM @kleinebeer98 Thomas Beerdsen 2917 9 59
11 4 IM @Rud_Makarian Rudik Makarian 3141 9 55.5
12 42 GM @Anton_Demchenko Anton Demchenko 2988 8.5 78
13 12 GM @BogdanDeac Bogdan-Daniel Deac 3093 8.5 77.5
14 32 CM @stollenmonster Egor Baskakov 2942 8.5 75
15 147 IM @TERMINATOR_PC Panagiotis Hristodoulou 2778 8.5 65.5
16 1 GM @ChessWarrior7197 Nodirbek Abdusattorov 3170 8.5 63.5
17 178 IM @CheckThis4 Richard Pert 2740 8.5 62
18 1 GM @Hikaru Hikaru Nakamura 3295 8 81.5
19 8 GM @DanielNaroditsky Daniel Naroditsky 3092 8 75.5
20 58 NM @Chessgodisback2008 Ethan Sheehan 2956 8 73
52 96 GM @ChessQueen Alexandra Kosteniuk 2792 7.5 63

(Full final standings.)

As the tiebreaks shook out, Martinez won $1,000, Andreikin $750, Bortnyk $350, and Shankland $200. The $100 prizes went to FM Quoc Hy Nguyen in fifth and Kosteniuk with the highest women's score.

December 31 Late Tournament

And finally, 410 players found time in their New Year's Eve festivities to participate in the last Titled Tuesday of 2024. Le was the only one who never lost, only making draws in rounds six and 10. The last perfect score of the evening belonged instead to GM Daniel Naroditsky on 8/8, but that came to an end against Le in round nine.

After his 10th-round draw, Le was tied with Bortnyk, half a point ahead of GMs Amin Tabatabaei and Bogdan-Daniel Deac. Le won while Tabatabaei and Deac drew, creating the full-point final margin in the standings.

December 31 Titled Tuesday | Late | Final Standings (Top 20)

Rk Seed Fed Title Username Name Rating Score Tiebreak 1
1 15 GM @LiemLe Liem Le 3072 10 74
2 1 GM @nihalsarin Nihal Sarin 3165 9 78
3 6 GM @amintabatabaei Amin Tabatabaei 3118 9 78
4 7 GM @DanielNaroditsky Daniel Naroditsky 3092 9 73.5
5 10 GM @Oleksandr_Bortnyk Oleksandr Bortnyk 3031 9 72
6 9 GM @BogdanDeac Bogdan-Daniel Deac 3093 9 70.5
7 22 IM @mbojan Bojan Maksimovic 2983 8.5 78
8 11 GM @GMBenjaminBok Benjamin Bok 3084 8.5 77
9 4 IM @Rud_Makarian Rudik Makarian 3141 8.5 71
10 12 FM @rezamahdavi2008 Reza Mahdavi 3068 8.5 64
11 2 GM @mishanick Alexey Sarana 3079 8.5 62
12 28 FM @ReadySkate Hamidreza Ebrahimi Herab 2920 8.5 56
13 56 IM @Legendinunknown Harshavardhan GB 2825 8 69.5
14 8 GM @Jospem Jose Martinez 3046 8 67
15 54 FM @KogotBobra17 Egor Koshulyan 2839 8 66.5
16 50 GM @Caracternin123 Santiago Avila Pavas 2855 8 64
17 55 FM @luckyswitchback Daniil Plyasunov 2816 8 63.5
18 19 IM @FaustinoOro Faustino Oro 2972 8 63.5
19 75 NM @MightyGMpretender Antoni Kozak 2813 8 60
20 52 FM @only_strong_moves Maksym Dubnevych 2783 8 57.5
27 77 GM @Goryachkina Aleksandra Goryachkina 2770 7.5 65

(Full final standings.)

Le won the year's final $1,000 first-place prize. GM Nihal Sarin finished second for $750. Tabatabaei won $350 in third, Naroditsky $200 in fourth, and Bortnyk $100 in fifth, with Deac on the outside looking in. GM Aleksandra Goryachkina won the year's final $100 women's prize.

Final Titled Cup Standings

Open

# Username Score Player
1 @Hikaru 201.0 GM Hikaru Nakamura
2 @MagnusCarlsen 197.5 GM Magnus Carlsen
3 @jefferyx 189.0 GM Jeffery Xiong
4 @Firouzja2003 188.0 GM Alireza Firouzja
5 @mishanick 188.0 GM Alexey Sarana

Women

# Username Score Player
1 @ChessQueen 145.5 GM Alexandra Kosteniuk
2 @Goryachkina 145.0 GM Aleksandra Goryachkina
3 @Flawless_Fighter 143.5 IM Polina Shuvalova
4 @Meri-Arabidze 143.0 IM Meri Arabidze 
5 @Sanyura 142.0 IM Aleksandra Maltsevskaya

Other Category Leaders

Juniors: GM Denis Lazavik (185.5 points)

Seniors: GM Gata Kamsky (171.5 points)

Girls: WCM Veronika Shubenkova (124.5 points)

The Titled Cup fantasy game Chess Prophet continues as well. Current standings can be found here. (Login required.)

Titled Tuesday

Titled Tuesday is Chess.com's weekly tournament for titled players, with two tournaments held each Tuesday. The first tournament begins at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time/17:00 Central European/20:30 Indian Standard Time, and the second at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time/23:00 Central European/2:30 Indian Standard Time (next day).

NathanielGreen
Nathaniel Green

Nathaniel Green is a staff writer for Chess.com who writes articles, player biographies, Titled Tuesday reports, video scripts, and more. He has been playing chess for about 30 years and resides near Washington, DC, USA.

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