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Only 2 players have ever won the Speed Chess Championship: Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura. At this year's edition, which had an in-person final stage in Paris, Carlsen grabbed his fourth SCC title - Nakamura has collected 5 so far - by beating Alireza Firouzja in the final match. Nakamura had secured third place on Saturday.
Firouzja came from showing remarkable chess in the previous rounds, but was outplayed by Carlsen from start to finish. As it is well-known, blitz and bullet chess are all about form, and the former world champion simply had a great day on Sunday. The Norwegian has shown once and again that he has the uncanny ability of (very frequently) performing at his best in the deciding rounds of top events - and this was no exception.
Middlegame Secrets Vol.5 - The Inner Strength of Kings
In this video course, kings will play a role of strong and active pieces. We will explore how Kings can be helpful in defence and prophylaxis, or even in attack!
Carlsen got a 3-point lead in the 5-minute section, widened the gap to 9 points in the following 3-minute section and saw his opponent collapsing in the bullet. As noted by commentator Daniel Naroditsky, though, Firouzja is certainly capable of taking down his famed opponent in fast-paced events, as he had shocked the chess world by beating Carlsen in chess24's Banter Blitz Cup back in 2020 - when Firouzja was only 16 years old!
Soon after losing the match, Firouzja shared on X, referring to the World Rapid and Blitz Championships that are set to take place in New York at the end of the year:
Congrats @MagnusCarlsen.
— Alireza Firouzja (@AlirezaFirouzja) September 8, 2024
See you in New York.
Carlsen, on his part, shared a post in similar concise style:
I show some speed
— Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) September 8, 2024
It all, indeed, had to do with speed, as an ecstatic Carlsen himself explained in the post-match interview with the chess.com team:
What I was most happy about my performance today was that I was thinking a lot clearer with little time. On a lot of days, I'm just guessing when there's little time, and Alireza is usually a lot better than I am in those situations.
Understanding Middlegame Strategies Vol.1 - 9
In this Video-Course we deal with different dynamic decisions involving pawns. The aim of this Course is to arm club/tournament players with fresh ideas which they can use in their own practice.
Alireza Firouzja and Magnus Carlsen | Photo: chess.com / Maria Emelianova
Previous champions of the Speed Chess Championships
Analysis by André Schulz
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.
