Ups and downs

Alireza Firouzja won the Super Rapid & Blitz Croatia after defeating Nodirbek Abdusattorov in an Armageddon decider in Zagreb. The French GM finished level with Abdusattorov on 23½ points, before taking the title by drawing the final tiebreak game with the black pieces.

The outcome was far less straightforward than Firouzja's position before the final day had suggested. He entered the second day of blitz with a three-point lead, having scored 8/9 in the first half of the blitz section. His advantage disappeared after a poor run of 2/7, during which Abdusattorov caught and briefly overtook him.

The shift began in the first round of the day, when Maxime Vachier-Lagrave beat Firouzja in a Najdorf Sicilian and Abdusattorov defeated Gukesh Dommaraju from what should have been a balanced endgame. The Uzbek GM went on to score an unbeaten 6½/9, combining accurate endgame play with several convincing wins.

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Nodirbek Abdusattorov in the players' lounge | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Firouzja's day, meanwhile, included losses to Vincent Keymer, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Jorden van Foreest. Van Foreest's win over Firouzja came at a crucial moment, in the 16^th round of blitz, shortly after Abdusattorov had drawn level, and gave the Uzbek grandmaster a half-point lead with two rounds to play.

The penultimate round changed the race again. Firouzja faced Gukesh, who came from winning three games in a row and obtained a winning position against the long-time tournament leader. Firouzja first escaped and then made the most of his chances to get a winning advantage and convert it into a full point, a result that allowed him to enter the final round level with Abdusattorov rather than needing to win on demand.

Gukesh 0-1 Firouzja

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The all-important penultimate-round clash between Gukesh Dommaraju and Alireza Firouzja | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Firouzja had the white pieces in the last-round showdown against Abdusattorov and at one point stood better, but he failed to convert his advantage. The draw left both players tied for first place. Abdusattorov would have shared the top Grand Chess Tour points allocation with Firouzja, but he was playing in Croatia as a wildcard.

The final round | Photo: Lennart Ootes

The playoff for first place began with two games at 8+3 - the tournament is a rapid and blitz event, after all. Both games were drawn, with Firouzja creating the more notable imbalance in the first game through an exchange sacrifice, though without obtaining a decisive advantage. The title was thus decided in Armageddon, where Firouzja had black and draw odds, while Abdusattorov received an extra minute.

Abdusattorov built a significant lead on the clock and had chances to put Firouzja under greater pressure, but he did not find a decisive continuation. The game eventually came down to time management, as Abdusattorov tried to flag his opponent. But Firouzja, a specialist in online bullet chess, kept his nerve and held the draw required to win the tournament.

Playoff games

Only two players remained on the stage to decide who would take the tournament title in Zagreb | Photo: Lennart Ootes

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The playoff | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Praggnanandhaa and Vachier-Lagrave shared third place, 1½ points behind the leaders. Pragg caught MVL after scoring 6/9 on the final day, including a penultimate-round win over the Frenchman from a lost position.

Keymer produced the best blitz score of the final day with 7/9, though his recovery only took him to fifth place overall.

Final standings

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu | Photo: Lennart Ootes

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Maxime Vachier-Lagrave only lost 4 of the 27 games he played throughout the five days of action - in round ten of the blitz, he defeated Alireza Firouzja | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Vincent Keymer was the top scorer on Sunday | Photo: Lennart Ootes

The result puts Firouzja back into contention for a place in the Grand Chess Tour Finals. He now stands in third place behind Fabiano Caruana and Vincent Keymer, though he has played one more event than the two frontrunners.

GCT overall standings

Crosstable - Blitz

All games - Blitz

Crosstable - Rapid (win = 2 pts, draw = 1 pt)

All games - Rapid

Links

• Official website
• Tour's overall standings