9/4/2024 – On Friday 6th September at 20:00 CEST in Paris an explosive duel that the chess world has been waiting for for weeks will begin: Hans Niemann will face Magnus Carlsen in the semi-finals of the chess.com Speedchess Championship. After his defeat against Niemann in the 2022 Sinquefield Cup, Carlsen indirectly accused Niemann of cheating, which led to heated discussions, headlines around the world and a defamation suit by Niemann. Alireza Firouzja will play Hikaru Nakamura in the second semi-final. The four finalists in Paris will play online on the computer, but will face each other live.
new: Fritz 20
Your personal chess trainer. Your toughest opponent. Your strongest ally. FRITZ 20 is more than just a chess engine – it is a training revolution for ambitious players and professionals. Whether you are taking your first steps into the world of serious chess training, or already playing at tournament level, FRITZ 20 will help you train more efficiently, intelligently and individually than ever before.
YOUR PERSONAL CHESS COACH - Whether you’re taking your first steps into the world of club chess, or already playing at a tournament level: with FRITZ, you can train more efficiently, intelligently and with a more personalised approach than ever before. FRITZ is more than just a chess engine – it’s a training revolution! Whether you’re taking your first steps into the world of club chess, or already playing at a tournament level: with FRITZ, you can train more efficiently, intelligently and with a more personalised approach than ever before.
Why memorising endless theory might not be the best path - and how an idea-based repertoire can change your game.
€39.90
In June, Chess.com launched this year's Speedchess Online Championship. After the preliminary rounds, 16 world-class players competed in the main knockout tournament. Four players made it to the final: Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Alireza Firouzja and Hans Niemann.
The semi-final pairings are: Magnus Carlsen against Hans Niemann and Hikaru Nakamura against Alireza Firouzja. The match between Carlsen and Niemann is of course particularly explosive. Carlsen had withdrawn from the 2022 Sinquefield Cup after losing to Hans Niemann because he believed that Niemann had played against him with unfair means, i.e. computer assistance. In an online tournament shortly afterwards, Carlsen refused to play Niemann.
This was followed by an extensive public discussion and a lawsuit by Niemann against Carlsen and all those he felt had defamed him. The case has since been dropped, the parties involved have found a modus vivendi and Carlsen and Niemann have played against each other in online tournaments.
Since then Magnus Carlsen has avoided the Sinquefield Tournament, where he used to play regularly, and has only played as a guest on the Grand Chess Tour.
The Norwegian may have relinquished his World Championship title, but he is still the undisputed number one in the world (in classical, blitz and rapid chess) and therefore the favourite to win the tournament. However, Nakamura and Firouzja are the strongest opponents imaginable in this format and Niemann is a dark horse who can do anything.
Niemann has repeatedly declared that he wants to become world champion, and he has also initiated a series of matches against top players under the evocative title "Hans Niemann against the World". After beating Anish Giri, Nikita Vitiugov and Etienne Bacrot in these matches, Niemann is currently ranked 16th in the world.
In the Blitz live rankings Niemann is 23rd with a rating of 2709. Carlsen is first with 2888, Firouzja second with 2871 and Nakamura third with a rating of 2860.
It is going to be exciting.
When, how and where
The Chess.com Speed Chess Championships consist of three-hour matches with three different time controls:
90 Minutes 5+1
60 Minutes 3+1
30 Minutes 1+1
The number of games is not fixed. Only the time is.
The venue in Paris is the eSpot (Rue de Rivoli), close to the Louvre.
A limited number of spectators are able to follow the events live on site. Chess.com offered tickets for $99 (silver), $200 (silver weekend party), $225 (gold), $349 (platinum) and $1500 (diamond). However, the expensive tickets are already all sold out.
The spectacle starts next Friday, and Nakamura and Firouzja will kick off the event at 16:00 CEST, Carlsen and Niemann will start their match at 20:00 CEST.
Schedule
6 September 2024 Hikaru Nakamura vs. Alireza Firouzja - Live from Paris 16:00 CEST
6 September 2024 Magnus Carlsen vs. Hans Niemann - Live from Paris 20:00 CEST
7 September 2024 Consolation Match (3rd Place Playoff) - Live from Paris 18:00 CEST
8 September 2024 Championship Match - Live from Paris 18:00 PM CEST
YOUR PERSONAL CHESS COACH - Whether you’re taking your first steps into the world of club chess, or already playing at a tournament level: with FRITZ, you can train more efficiently, intelligently and with a more personalised approach than ever before.
The Hyper-Accelerated Dragon is fast, from the very first moves, your bishop heads to g7, seizes the long diagonal, and turns into the most feared piece on the board.
It rewards players who love initiative and clear attacking plans.
The Hyper-Accelerated Dragon is fast, from the very first moves, your bishop heads to g7, seizes the long diagonal, and turns into the most feared piece on the board.
It rewards players who love initiative and clear attacking plans.
The Hyper-Accelerated dragon is fast, from the very first moves, your bishop heads to g7, seizes the long diagonal, and turns into the most feared piece on the board.
It rewards players who love initiative and clear attacking plans.
“Mate is great!” – Tactical training with Oliver Reeh, “The 8th rank” – Andy Woodward analyses his game against Magnus Carlsen from TePe Sigeman 2026, “A modern Nimzo-Indian” – Andrei Volokitin introduces readers to "his" system and much more!
Chess is a concrete game. There is no way around training your calculation skills. Improve your visualization, pattern recognition and learn calculation techniques such as reciprocal thinking with this course.
This compact course is designed specifically for practical play. Instead of overwhelming you with endless theory, it focuses on the critical lines, typical plans, and recurring tactical ideas.
Slav and Semi-Slav Powerbase 2026 is a database and contains a total of 11 766 games from Mega 2026 or the Correspondence Database 2026, of which 1136 are annotated.
€9.90
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.
Pop-up for detailed settings
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies, analysis cookies and marketing cookies. You can decide which cookies to use by selecting the appropriate options below. Please note that your selection may affect the functionality of the service. Further information can be found in our privacy policy.
Technically required cookies
Technically required cookies: so that you can navigate and use the basic functions and store preferences.
Analysis Cookies
To help us determine how visitors interact with our website to improve the user experience.
Marketing-Cookies
To help us offer and evaluate relevant content and interesting and appropriate advertisement.
