Speed Chess Championship: Carlsen and Firouzja advance to the final

Clear wins for the finalists

Almost exactly 2 years after the infamous game which saw Magnus Carlsen withdrawing from the Sinquefield Cup after losing to Hans Niemann, the protagonists of the controversy faced off for the first time in an in-person environment. Niemann reached the semifinals of the Speed Chess Championship by knocking out Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Wesley So in previous rounds, while Carlsen got the better of Tuan Minh Le and Arjun Erigaisi.

The much anticipated encounter took place at Espot in Paris. The games were played on computers, with players sitting opposite each other wearing noise-cancelling headphones while a live audience followed the action - they were allowed to cheer or react as they wished. Besides a few complaints by Niemann, there were no major technical issues during the live webcast of the games.

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Carlsen obtained a clear 17½-12½ victory over Niemann to reach the tournament final. At some point in the match, the former world champion racked up a 10-point advantage, as he always seemed in control after getting a 7-2 win in the 5-minute section.

The match ended past 1 am in Paris. A visibly exhausted Carlsen told commentators afterwards that he was relieved that the match was over, as he would have preferred not to face Niemann at all. The Norwegian did mention that Niemann's game has improved a lot over the last couple of years, though he also noted that he is much more excited to face Alireza Firouzja in the final, as he will play "somebody who is at, you know, the highest level".

Hans Niemann stopped the games a couple of times, noting that "there's some resistance in my mouse" - arbiter Judit Sztaray patiently dealt with the complaints | Photo: chess.com / Maria Emelianova

Earlier in the day, Firouzja had defeated Hikaru Nakamura in remarkable fashion. The fact that Nakamura will not be playing in the tournament final is big news, since the US star has played in every single final since the inception of the Speed Chess Championship. To reach the semis, Firouzja knocked out Alexander Grischuk and Fabiano Caruana, while Nakamura defeated José Martínez and Ian Nepomniachtchi.

While Carlsen got a major 5-point advantage in the first section of the match against Niemann, Firouzja started the day with a 5½-3½ victory over his opponent. It was in the next section of 3-minute games that the youngster widened the gap and already seemed fully in control of the situation - his 6½-2½ win granted him a 6-point lead going into the bullet.

Nakamura, an online chess expert, got to win the bullet section, but the 5-4 score was not enough to obtain what would have been a miraculous comeback.

Alireza Firouzja | Photo: chess.com / Maria Emelianova

Nakamura 0 - 1 Firouzja (Game #7, 5-minute section)

Analysis by Albert Silver

Nakamura, Hikaru3198

0–1

Firouzja, Alireza3173

Main Event https://www.chess.com06.09.2024

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.0-0 d6 6.Be3 Bb6 7.Bb3 0-0 8.h3 h6 9.c3 Ne7 10.Nbd2 c6 11.d4 Ng6 12.Re1 Re8 13.Bc2 Bc7 14.c4 exd4 15.Bxd4 Be6 16.b3 Nd7 17.Nf1 Nde5 18.Ng3 Bb6 19.Re3 Qf6 20.Bxb6 axb6 21.Nd4 Nf4 22.Nge2 Neg6 23.a4 Ra5 24.Rg3 h5 25.Nxf4 Nxf4 26.Kh1

26...Bg4‼ An amazing shot that is 100% correct and reminiscent of a famous move by Alpha Zero vs Stockfish (Bg5!!). It would be amazing enough to find this in classical chess, but in a blitz with a couple of minutes left on the clock? Just wow. 27.hxg4 While this is the obvious mainline, the engines don't place it in the top two, showing just how strong this 'bolt from the blue' is. Regardless, all lines do win. 27.Qd2 This is the primary choice of the computers, but it does not defend, it simply loses less. Ne2 This is the point. The knight on d4 is pinned due to the skewer from the queen. 28.Rd3 only forestalls the death on the skewer after 28.Rd1 just allows Nxg3+ 29.fxg3 Bxd1 28...Nxd4 29.Rxd4 c5! 27...hxg4 28.Qxg4 The beautiful point can be seen after 28.Rxg4 Rh5+ 29.Kg1 Qh6! And White loses the queen to prevent mate. Not 29...Qxd4 with the idea of Qxd4 and Ne2+ because White instead plays 30.Rxf4 and Black is lost. 28...Qxd4 The engines suggest inserting the zwischenzug Rh5+ first before taking on d4, but it does not make a big difference. 29.Rd1 Qf6 30.Kg1 Rh5 31.f3 Ne2+ 32.Kf2 Nxg3 33.Qxg3 Qc3 34.Bb1 Qxb3 35.Qxd6 Qxc4 36.Rd2 Rh1 37.Ba2 Qf1+ 38.Ke3 Qe1+ 39.Re2 Qc1+ 40.Qd2 Rd8 41.Qxc1 Rxc1 42.Rb2 g5 43.Bb1 Rc3+ 44.Ke2 b5 45.axb5 c5 46.e5 c4 47.b6 Rb3 48.Rxb3 cxb3 0–1

The pre-match interviews

Besides popularising the game greatly, the online-chess boom during the pandemic also created an environment often tainted with drama. Following the controversy surrounding the infamous Carlsen v. Niemann affair, the US rising star also began a campaign questioning the role of chess.com and Hikaru Nakamura in the chess world.

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Amid the various disputes, Levy Rozman (a.k.a. Gotham Chess) played a considerable role as the commentator with one of the biggest online audiences in the chess world (only comparable to Nakamura's). It was precisely Rozman who conducted interviews with the semifinalists of the Speed Chess Championship. His 48-minute conversation with Niemann, not surprisingly, was particularly popular. The 21-year-old talked extensively about the chess.com report published by the Wall Street Journal, and was especially biting while referring to Nakamura and Rozman himself.

Watch the remaining interviews: Magnus Carlsen | Hikaru Nakamura | Alireza Firouzja

The games of the semifinals

Carlsen v. Niemann

Firouzja v. Nakamura

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Links

• Official website
• Carlsen to face Niemann next month in Paris
• Carlsen beats resilient Firouzja, wins Chessable Masters
• Firouzja takes down Carlsen to win Chess.com Classic
• Vachier-Lagrave beats Firouzja in Armageddon, bags CrunchLabs Masters