Firouzja on tilt? Bullet-chess spree amid Candidates Tournament

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
6/30/2022 – Alireza Firouzja had a brilliant 2021. The youngster reached the second spot in the world ranking and qualified to the Candidates Tournament. Expectations were high after Magnus Carlsen hinted that he would gladly face him in a World Championship match — unlike other opponents. Things have not been going according to plan in Madrid, though. After his round-10 loss, the 19-year-old played over 300 bullet-chess games online, and not during a rest day. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

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Back to his bullet roots

After ten rounds, Alireza Firouzja is sharing 6th-8th place at the Candidates Tournament in Madrid. So far, the youngster has lost three games and beaten Richard Rapport, and is out of the race for first place.

Last year, the Iranian-born star reached the second spot in the world ranking. Expectations were high after Magnus Carlsen hinted that he would gladly face him in a World Championship match — unlike other opponents. Things have not been going according to plan in Madrid, though. After his round-10 loss, the 19-year-old played over 300 bullet-chess games online, and not during a rest day.

The world champion shared on Twitter:

One of Firouzja’s rivals during his bullet-chess spree was GM Daniel Naroditsky, who is working as an official commentator in the Candidates. Anish Giri quipped:

Not surprisingly, the excellently prepared Firouzja had a good run during his marathon on LiChess. He gained almost 150 rating points in 357 games!

Alireza Firouzja, LiChess

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Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.