"My best match so far"

Magnus Carlsen and Alireza Firouzja have dominated this year’s Champions Chess Tour, reaching the Grand Final in three out of the four events. Carlsen bested his younger rival at the Chessable Masters in February, while Firouzja claimed victory over the former world champion at the Chess.com Classic in May. In their latest encounter at the Julius Baer Generation Cup, it was Carlsen who prevailed, securing a 2½-1½ victory in a tense deciding match.

Master Class Vol.17 - Boris Spassky

In this video course, experts including Dorian Rogozenco, Mihail Marin, Karsten Müller and Oliver Reeh, examine the games of Boris Spassky. Let them show you which openings Spassky chose to play, where his strength in middlegames were and much more.

Despite winning two out of their three Grand Finals, Carlsen currently sits second in the overall tour standings, as Firouzja's runner-up finish at the CrunchLabs Masters gave him a slight edge. That tournament was won by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, while Carlsen was eliminated by Ian Nepomniachtchi in the semifinals of the losers' bracket. Firouzja and Carlsen, along with MVL, Nepomniachtchi, Wesley So, Denis Lazavik, Vincent Keymer, and Levon Aronian, have qualified for the in-person final event in Oslo this December.

Tuesday's Grand Final was a tightly fought contest, with all three of the initial games ending in draws. The second game was particularly dramatic, as Carlsen managed to salvage a draw from a losing position. In the decisive fourth game, Carlsen outplayed Firouzja in a complex major-piece endgame, finding two critical pawn advances to gain a decisive advantage despite being low on time.

After sealing his victory, Carlsen reflected on his performance and future plans. He stated, "For the rest of the year, I will only be playing rapid and blitz, so it's good to see that I'm playing myself into shape. The Finals are going to be awesome, [it will feature a] good field and a rare chance to play a tournament in Oslo". Carlsen also remarked that this was probably his "best match so far" in the tour.

The Julius Baer Generation Cup also featured exciting action in its lower divisions. Wesley So triumphed in Division II, defeating Denis Lazavik in an Armageddon tiebreaker, while Fabiano Caruana won Division III with a convincing victory over Vincent Keymer.

Carlsen 1 - 0 Firouzja

Game 4

All games - Division I

Bracket - Division I

Revealing Modern Grandmaster Secrets Vol. 1 & 2

This isn’t just another chess tutorial—it’s your all-access pass to the strategies, insights, and techniques that define modern grandmaster play.

Division II

All games - Division II

Bracket - Division II

Division III

Navigating the Ruy Lopez Vol.1-3

The Ruy Lopez is one of the oldest openings which continues to enjoy high popularity from club level to the absolute world top. In this video series, American super GM Fabiano Caruana, talking to IM Oliver Reeh, presents a complete repertoire for White.

Bracket - Division III

Links

• Official website
• Four ‘regular’ events and a grand finale in this year’s Champions Chess Tour
• 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