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Almost exactly 2 years after the infamous game which saw Magnus Carlsen withdrawing from the Sinquefield Cup after losing to Hans Niemann, the protagonists of the controversy faced off for the first time in an in-person environment. Niemann reached the semifinals of the Speed Chess Championship by knocking out Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Wesley So in previous rounds, while Carlsen got the better of Tuan Minh Le and Arjun Erigaisi.
The much anticipated encounter took place at Espot in Paris. The games were played on computers, with players sitting opposite each other wearing noise-cancelling headphones while a live audience followed the action - they were allowed to cheer or react as they wished. Besides a few complaints by Niemann, there were no major technical issues during the live webcast of the games.
Carlsen obtained a clear 17½-12½ victory over Niemann to reach the tournament final. At some point in the match, the former world champion racked up a 10-point advantage, as he always seemed in control after getting a 7-2 win in the 5-minute section.
The match ended past 1 am in Paris. A visibly exhausted Carlsen told commentators afterwards that he was relieved that the match was over, as he would have preferred not to face Niemann at all. The Norwegian did mention that Niemann's game has improved a lot over the last couple of years, though he also noted that he is much more excited to face Alireza Firouzja in the final, as he will play "somebody who is at, you know, the highest level".
Hans Niemann stopped the games a couple of times, noting that "there's some resistance in my mouse" - arbiter Judit Sztaray patiently dealt with the complaints | Photo: chess.com / Maria Emelianova
Earlier in the day, Firouzja had defeated Hikaru Nakamura in remarkable fashion. The fact that Nakamura will not be playing in the tournament final is big news, since the US star has played in every single final since the inception of the Speed Chess Championship. To reach the semis, Firouzja knocked out Alexander Grischuk and Fabiano Caruana, while Nakamura defeated José Martínez and Ian Nepomniachtchi.
While Carlsen got a major 5-point advantage in the first section of the match against Niemann, Firouzja started the day with a 5½-3½ victory over his opponent. It was in the next section of 3-minute games that the youngster widened the gap and already seemed fully in control of the situation - his 6½-2½ win granted him a 6-point lead going into the bullet.
Nakamura, an online chess expert, got to win the bullet section, but the 5-4 score was not enough to obtain what would have been a miraculous comeback.
Alireza Firouzja | Photo: chess.com / Maria Emelianova
Analysis by Albert Silver
Besides popularising the game greatly, the online-chess boom during the pandemic also created an environment often tainted with drama. Following the controversy surrounding the infamous Carlsen v. Niemann affair, the US rising star also began a campaign questioning the role of chess.com and Hikaru Nakamura in the chess world.
Amid the various disputes, Levy Rozman (a.k.a. Gotham Chess) played a considerable role as the commentator with one of the biggest online audiences in the chess world (only comparable to Nakamura's). It was precisely Rozman who conducted interviews with the semifinalists of the Speed Chess Championship. His 48-minute conversation with Niemann, not surprisingly, was particularly popular. The 21-year-old talked extensively about the chess.com report published by the Wall Street Journal, and was especially biting while referring to Nakamura and Rozman himself.
Watch the remaining interviews: Magnus Carlsen | Hikaru Nakamura | Alireza Firouzja
