World Rapid Teams: Al-Ain top the standings, Carlsen beats Ding

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
8/4/2024 – After 8 out of 12 rounds at the World Rapid Team Championship in Astana, the Al-Ain ACMG UAE have taken the lead with 14/16 match points - Daniil Dubov, Parham Maghsoodloo and Vladislav Artemiev play on the top three boards of the Emirati team. Decade China, led by world champion Ding Liren, stand in sole second place a match point behind, while Chessy (Richard Rapport) and Team MGD1 (Arjun Erigaisi) stand a match point further back. | Photo: FIDE / Maria Emelianova

ChessBase 17 - Mega package - Edition 2024 ChessBase 17 - Mega package - Edition 2024

It is the program of choice for anyone who loves the game and wants to know more about it. Start your personal success story with ChessBase and enjoy the game even more.

More...

Al-Ain first, Decade China second

A sole leader emerged after two days of action at the World Rapid Team Championship - the Al-Ain ACMG UAE. The squad captained by Sami Khader has Daniil Dubov, Parham Maghsoodloo and Vladislav Artemiev on the top three boards. After 8 rounds, the leaders have scored 6 match wins and 2 draws, with victories over defending champions WR Chess and draws against two of the top contenders for the title, Decade China and Chessy.

Individually, the Al-Ain have in Maghsoodloo their top scorer with 7 out of 8 points. The Iranian star has collected victories over Ian Nepomniachtchi, Jorden van Foreest and Timur Gareyev, all achieved on Saturday. Also strong have been the performances of Artemiev and Dmitry Andreikin, on boards 3 and 4 respectively.

In second place, a match point behind, Decade China are very much in the race for the world rapid title. The squad led by world champion Ding Liren are unbeaten in Astana, with 5 wins and 3 draws. Ding's first loss of the event came in round 8, when he was defeated by none other than Magnus Carlsen. The best performances for the Chinese team have been achieved by Wei Yi on board 2 (6½/8 points) and by Pang Bo on the "recreational" board (7/7 points) - as per the tournament regulations, teams are forced to include a player who has never surpassed the 2000 rating mark in an official FIDE ratings list.

A match point behind Decade China, tied for third place, are Chessy and Team MGD1. Chessy remained unbeaten until round 7, but suffered their first loss in Saturday's final round, precisely against Team MGD1. Team MGD1, on their part, have suffered two losses so far in the event, against WR Chess and Decade China.

Pang Bo

Decade China's Pang Bo has a perfect 7/7 score | Photo: FIDE / Maria Emelianova

Ding Liren, Richard Rapport

Richard Rapport (Chessy) signed a draw in his game against Ding Liren (Decade China) - Rapport helped Ding to win the 2023 World Championship match, which also took place in Astana | Photo: FIDE / Maria Emelianova

Kateryna Lagno

Kateryna Lagno (Al-Ain) beat Hou Yifan, the highest-rated woman player in the world, in the fifth round | Photo: FIDE

Carlsen 1 - 0 Ding

Ding Liren, Magnus Carlsen

Ding Liren resigns the game against Magnus Carlsen | Photo: FIDE / Maria Emelianova

Standings after round 8

Rk. Team TB1
1 Al-Ain ACMG UAE 14
2 Decade China Team 13
3 Chessy 12
4 Team MGD1 12
5 WR Chess Team 11
6 Ashdod Chess Club 11
7 Q4Rail Kingsofchess Krakow 10
8 Kazchess 10
9 Hunnu Air 10
10 Astana-1 10

...38 teams

All games

Links


Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.
Discussion and Feedback Submit your feedback to the editors