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The boldly dubbed "Hans Niemann against the world" series kicked off in Utrecht on Wednesday. Niemann's first opponent, Anish Giri, was also the highest-rated of the three players who will face the talented US youngster this month. In the coming two weeks, Niemann will play against Nikita Vitiugov (in London) and Etienne Bacrot (in Paris).
It was a very successful start for the 21-year-old from San Francisco. Niemann obtained a convincing 24-18 victory over Giri after winning both the blitz and classical sections and safely keeping his advantage by drawing the rapid segment. The final 6 games of the match, with a 15+10 rapid time control, took place on Sunday, all finished decisively, as the contenders obtained 3 wins each.
A number of chess enthusiasts made their way to the elegant playing hall at the Utrecht City Hall to follow the action live.
The rapid section of the match in progress | Photo: De Pion
The first 4 games finished with wins for the player marshalling the white pieces, and at that point Niemann had already secured overall victory. The fact that the match was decided did not prevent the contenders from continuing to play creative chess, however, as the last 2 games of the contest concluded with wins for the player who had the black pieces.
Niemann's victories in the blitz and classical sections granted him considerable rating gains - he climbed 4 spots in the classical live ranking after gaining 8 Elo points, and climbed 25 spots in the blitz live ranking after gaining 22.5 Elo points.
Using the now well-known "let chess speak for itself" motto, Niemann posted on X:
Final score 24-18
— Hans Niemann (@HansMokeNiemann) August 11, 2024
Respect to Anish for his fighting spirit.
Hans Niemann against the World continues in London on August 14th
No more drama, only letting the chess speak for itself pic.twitter.com/gHGmT9nqcI
According to the information available on GMHans.com, the match against Vitiugov will kick off on Wednesday in London. After that match ends next Sunday, Niemann will quickly make his way to Paris, as the match against Bacrot is set to start only two days later, on 20 August.
Niemann will then get two weeks off, as the much-anticipated match against Magnus Carlsen will kick off on 6 September, also in Paris.
Anish Giri | Photo: De Pion
Blitz
| Rk. | Name | RtgI | TB1 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM | Niemann, Hans Moke | 2611 | 7,5 | |
| 2 | GM | Giri, Anish | 2686 | 4,5 |
Classical
| Rk. | Name | RtgI | TB1 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM | Giri, Anish | 2746 | 7,5 | |
| 2 | GM | Niemann, Hans Moke | 2711 | 10,5 |
Rapid
| Rk. | Name | RtgI | TB1 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM | Niemann, Hans Moke | 2598 | 6 | |
| GM | Giri, Anish | 2668 | 6 |
