Carlsen and Karjakin dominate Blitz World Championship
12/29/2016 – Sergey Karjakin and Magnus Carlsen were the two dominating players in the first 12 rounds of the World Blitz Championship in Doha. Karjakin finished the day with 10.0/12, did not suffer a single loss and defeated Carlsen in round 5. Though he lost against Karjakin, Carlsen was also in splendid shape. He finished with 10.0/12 and now shares the lead with Karjakin. Impressions, games, standings.
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Photos Maria Emelianova (Tournament page)
The 2016 FIDE World Blitz Championship is a 21-round Swiss open with a time-limit of 3 minutes for the whole game and an increment of 2 seconds per move, starting from move one. The total prize fund is 200,000 USD of which the winner receives 40,000 USD.
After a disappointing 9.0/15 in the rapid tournament, Karjakin seemed determined to do better in blitz and began the tournament with 6.0/6. In round 5 he played against Carlsen who blundered in an equal position and lost.
Magnus Carlsen vs Sergey Karjakin
The final position of Carlsen vs Karjakin
After starting with 6.0/6 Karjakin slowed down a bit and finished day 1 with 10.0/12. He shares first place with Carlsen who recovered quickly from his loss against Karjakin. Carlsen and Karjakin are 1.5 points ahead of four players with 8.5/12 each.
Standings after 12 rounds
| Rg. | Name | Elo | Pts | TB1 | |
| 1 | GM | Karjakin Sergey | 2800 | 10,0 | 2740 |
| 2 | GM | Carlsen Magnus | 2873 | 10,0 | 2706 |
| 3 | GM | Dubov Daniil | 2724 | 8,5 | 2740 |
| 4 | GM | Morozevich Alexander | 2684 | 8,5 | 2710 |
| 5 | GM | Bosiocic Marin | 2659 | 8,5 | 2673 |
| 6 | GM | Vachier-Lagrave Maxime | 2823 | 8,5 | 2649 |
| 7 | GM | Salem A.R. Saleh | 2636 | 8,0 | 2792 |
| 8 | GM | Dominguez Perez Leinier | 2783 | 8,0 | 2705 |
| 9 | GM | Yu Yangyi | 2712 | 8,0 | 2704 |
| 10 | GM | Jobava Baadur | 2752 | 8,0 | 2682 |
| 11 | GM | Nakamura Hikaru | 2842 | 8,0 | 2661 |
| 12 | GM | Ivanchuk Vassily | 2754 | 8,0 | 2647 |
| 13 | GM | Dreev Aleksey | 2563 | 7,5 | 2712 |
| 14 | GM | Anand Viswanathan | 2754 | 7,5 | 2675 |
| 15 | GM | Nepomniachtchi Ian | 2830 | 7,5 | 2674 |
| 16 | GM | Wojtaszek Radoslaw | 2666 | 7,5 | 2672 |
| 17 | GM | Grischuk Alexander | 2761 | 7,5 | 2664 |
| 18 | GM | Radjabov Teimour | 2800 | 7,5 | 2656 |
| 19 | GM | Mamedyarov Shakhriyar | 2813 | 7,5 | 2640 |
| 20 | GM | Leko Peter | 2697 | 7,5 | 2624 |
| 21 | GM | Aronian Levon | 2830 | 7,5 | 2611 |
... 106 players
Source: chess-results.com
Things did not go to well for reigning Blitz World Champion Alexander Grischuk:
With 7.5/12 he is place 17.
Hikaru Nakamura has 8.0/12
Alexander Morozevich did not play in the rapid tournament
but in the blitz tournament he has 8.5/12.
Vishy Anand and Santosh Vidit have a friendliy chat after their game
Games
The Women's Tournament
17 rounds are played in the Women's Tournament and after 9 rounds Alexandra Kosteniuk is sole leader with 7.5/9. Anna Muzychuk, who had dominated the rapid tournament, is having more difficulties in blitz but with 6.5/9 she is only one point behind Kosteniuk.
Standings after nine rounds
| Rg. | Snr | Name | Country | Elo | Pts | TB1 | K | rtg+/- | |
| 1 | 12 | GM | Kosteniuk Alexandra | RUS | 2500 | 7,5 | 2476 | 20 | 48,2 |
| 2 | 5 | GM | Ju Wenjun | CHN | 2571 | 7,0 | 2486 | 20 | 26,4 |
| 3 | 10 | GM | Harika Dronavalli | IND | 2501 | 6,5 | 2526 | 20 | 40,2 |
| 4 | 2 | GM | Lagno Kateryna | RUS | 2641 | 6,5 | 2458 | 20 | -3,0 |
| 5 | 1 | GM | Muzychuk Anna | UKR | 2645 | 6,5 | 2446 | 20 | -7,0 |
| 6 | 6 | WGM | Tan Zhongyi | CHN | 2552 | 6,0 | 2466 | 20 | 6,4 |
| 7 | 9 | GM | Koneru Humpy | IND | 2502 | 6,0 | 2424 | 20 | 6,2 |
| 8 | 27 | IM | Kashlinskaya Alina | RUS | 2286 | 5,5 | 2455 | 20 | 56,0 |
| 9 | 14 | IM | Arabidze Meri | GEO | 2445 | 5,5 | 2415 | 20 | 6,8 |
| 10 | 21 | WGM | Goryachkina Aleksandra | RUS | 2371 | 5,0 | 2510 | 20 | 35,6 |
| 11 | 8 | GM | Zhao Xue | CHN | 2526 | 5,0 | 2455 | 20 | -10,6 |
| 12 | 3 | GM | Gunina Valentina | RUS | 2605 | 5,0 | 2454 | 20 | -27,2 |
| 13 | 20 | IM | Charochkina Daria | RUS | 2375 | 5,0 | 2418 | 20 | 13,2 |
| 14 | 15 | IM | Gaponenko Inna | UKR | 2414 | 5,0 | 2353 | 20 | -11,2 |
...34 players
Source: chess-results.com
Anna Muzychuk (left), who yesterday became Women's World Champion in rapid chess
Alexandra Kosteniuk leads
With 6.5/9 Harika Dronavalli is currently shared third
Games
The action will continue tomorrow, December 30, 3 pm local time, with the last 9 rounds of the World Blitz Championship.
