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Magnus Carlsen gave up his classical-chess world champion title this year by withdrawing from the latest cycle. In December last year, he already knew he would lose the title he held for a decade, and made a point of showing his best at the Rapid & Blitz World Championships. Incredibly, he succeeded in winning both world titles.
This year, besides playing in the Champions Chess Tour (the Aimchess Rapid begins today), the Norwegian participated in the two stages of the Grand Chess Tour with a rapid and blitz format. And he also won the GCT event in Warsaw back in June.
Master Class Vol.8 - Magnus Carlsen 2nd Edition
Let our authors show you how Carlsen tailored his openings to be able to outplay his opponents strategically in the middlegame or to obtain an enduring advantage into the endgame.
At the SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz in Zagreb, Carlsen lost twice on the second day of action to finish two points behind then co-leaders Ian Nepomniachtchi and Fabiano Caruana. As per his style, he gained momentum as the tournament progressed. On Saturday, his perfect 9/9 at the start of the blitz was one for the history books. Such a formidable achievement left him 3 points ahead of his closest chasers going into the final day of action.
On Sunday, Carlsen kicked off with draws against Caruana and Jan-Krzysztof Duda. Then he revved up again, scoring four wins in a row to secure tournament victory with three rounds to spare. His win in round 15, the one that granted him the title, was achieved over none other than Nepomniachtchi.
With the title in the bag, Carlsen lost two games in a row in rounds 16 and 17, against Alireza Firouzja and Richard Rapport respectively. Firouzja’s win was particularly important, as thanks to that full point he managed to finish in sole third place — in addition, he kept his spot as the highest-rated player in blitz.
Nepo, on his part, got second place, as his three consecutive draws after losing to Carlsen allowed him to outscore Firouzja by a half point in the end.
Magnus Carlsen took home $40,000 for his triumph | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Attack like a Super Grandmaster
In this Fritztrainer: “Attack like a Super GM†with Gukesh we touch upon all aspects of his play, with special emphasis on how you can become a better attacking player.
Two Indian greats — Dommaraju Gukesh (aged 17) and Viswanathan Anand (53) | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Alireza Firouzja was one of only two players who beat Magnus Carlsen in the blitz section of the event | Photo: Lennart Ootes
