5/3/2020 – The final match of the Magnus Carlsen Invitational features the world champion facing quick-play specialist Hikaru Nakamura. They first play a four-game rapid match with a time control of 15 minutes + 10 seconds. In case of a tie, two blitz games with a time control of 5'+3" will follow. If these do not break the tie, an Armageddon game will be played. The action kicks off at 14:00 UTC (16:00 CEST, 10:00 EST). | Photo: Lennart Ootes
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Final match: Carlsen vs Nakamura
The Magnus Carlsen Invitational involves two stages. First a round-robin and then a knockout among the top four players in the standings.
During the round-robin, each match-up will include four rapid games (15 minutes plus 10-second increments), and in case of a tie an Armageddon game (5 v 4 minutes) will be the decider. If a players gets the victory without needing the sudden-death tiebreaker, he will get 3 points, while a win in the playoff will give the winner 2 points and the loser 1 point.
In the semi-finals and the final, the same four-game rapid format will be employed, except that in case of a tie the contenders will play two sets of blitz games (5 minutes plus 3-second increments) before going to Armageddon. The tie can be broken in the first set of blitz encounters.
The most talked-about rising star in the world at the moment, 16-year-old Alireza Firouzja, will be among the eight participants. The wunderkind showed what he is capable of at this year's Tata Steel Masters, getting the sole lead for a couple of rounds. Furthermore, he is known for his abilities in faster time controls, as proven during last year's World Rapid & Blitz Championships, and more recently during a 16-game match with a 3-minute-to-finish time control in which he beat the world champion.
Firouzja will nonetheless be the eighth seed, as he will be joined by the five highest-rated players in the world, perennial elite star Anish Giri and blitz specialist Hikaru Nakamura. The full line-up:
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