GM Magnus Carlsen is the primary finalist within the 2023 Chess.com Pace Chess Championship offered by means of Coinbase. He defeated GM Wesley So by means of a rating of 22-7.
The reigning international blitz chess champion gained all 3 segments, with essentially the most dominant efficiency being within the 3+1 portion, the place he gained seven video games in a row. So gained one blitz recreation and one bullet recreation in all of the event.
Carlsen will play the winner of the opposite semifinal event between GM Hikaru Nakamura and GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. That event takes position on Wednesday, September 20, at 12:00 p.m. ET / 18:00 CEST / 9:30 p.m. IST.
Carlsen 22-7 So | Semifinals
It was once the heavyweight conflict between the two-time SCC champion and the three-time runner-up. Maximum startling was once their bullet head-to-head document. Of their earlier bullet video games on Chess.com, Carlsen gained 22 occasions and not misplaced, with two attracts.
The previous international champion is a favourite in opposition to nearly somebody, and SmarterChess predicted a victory in all 3 segments. Complimenting their bullet head-to-head rating, it predicted the overall phase could be Carlsen’s most powerful.
On the other hand, the victory and the overall rating had been a lot more pronounced than expected.
5+1: Carlsen 6.5-2.5 So
Carlsen gained just about each recreation earlier than the primary spoil, shedding only one draw (from a successful place) in recreation two. He misplaced one recreation within the phase and completed with a +4 rating.
The primary recreation noticed Carlsen bounce out to an early lead—one he would by no means let move. It was once antique Carlsen, squeezing a slight endgame merit with just right knight vs. unhealthy bishop. This lesson in positional play is our Recreation of the Day, annotated by means of GM Rafael Leitao underneath.
Leitao describes Carlsen’s energy which has once in a while been referred to as magic: “It is spectacular how he is aware of which sorts of endgames are equivalent, however tricky to protect.”
Recreation 3 was once some other great one as, after sacrificing a pawn previous, Carlsen performed the innocent-looking 21.a3!?. This flow created luft for the king, however it additionally had a devious entice in thoughts—one who Rensch straight away referred to as and that performed out within the recreation.
It took simply two strikes for Black to stumble right into a misplaced place.
Profitable gained positions is handiest part the method for greatness within the SCC. What Carlsen—and, in a similar fashion, Nakamura—excels at is saving complete issues, now not handiest drawing misplaced positions however steadily even successful them. Recreation 8 was once an ideal representation of Carlsen’s ability on this recognize.
With a draw within the final recreation, Carlsen ended the 5+1 phase with a four-point lead.
3+1: Carlsen 8-1 So
There have been 9 video games and Carlsen gained the primary seven. The final two video games resulted in attracts, leaving Carlsen with an 11-point lead.
Hopes for a So comeback had been dampened in the first actual recreation. After a one-move blunder on flow 21, he resigned a flow later.
Wesley So blunders and resigns after Black’s subsequent flow! Are you able to see why?#SpeedChess %.twitter.com/ZEOy2qGcQR
— chess24.com (@chess24com) September 19, 2023
The Norwegian grandmaster gained recreation two with an acrobatic king who castled by means of hand (15.Kd2!?) after which, to win the queen endgame, traveled up the board like a salmon swimming upstream. A good looking demonstration of the use of the king as an energetic piece:
So misplaced the 3rd recreation on time. After which misplaced the following 4 video games in a row.
“Down at the board, down at the clock. How again and again have we mentioned that?” mentioned Naroditsky all the way through the 8th recreation, simply earlier than Carlsen blundered right into a misplaced place. Even nonetheless, it resulted in a draw. The following recreation resulted in a draw, and the phase concluded, unusually, with each avid gamers shopping disenchanted.
Carlsen lets in two attracts after successful seven consecutive video games within the 3+1 phase.
However which participant appears to be like extra disenchanted? 🤔#SpeedChess %.twitter.com/y8HUtTsvAA
— chess24.com (@chess24com) September 19, 2023
1+1: Carlsen 7.5-3.5 So
Carlsen began the bullet portion of the event with an 11-point lead, one that might be prolonged to fifteen over the part hour. It wasn’t precisely a query of who would win anymore; however, that ceased to be a query someplace within the 3+1 phase.
“That is redonkerbonker,” mentioned Rensch as Carlsen crashed via with 16.Nxf7! and a raging assault within the first recreation.
After successful recreation two, Carlsen blundered a complete piece in recreation 3. He went on to attract—after even lacking a win for one flow.
Aaaand Magnus saves it with a draw, after even lacking a win for one flow.#SpeedChess https://t.co/s0wuADZsmn %.twitter.com/ndmnhCBeAJ
— chess24.com (@chess24com) September 19, 2023
He gained the following recreation. For a couple of seconds, each commentators stopped speaking, and Naroditsky chimed in, “Now not a lot to mention. It is a blowout!”
In recreation 9 of the bullet portion, So earned his 2d victory of the event. It was once additionally his first time ever beating Carlsen in a bullet recreation on Chess.com. The final two video games resulted in attracts, and that was once that. Carlsen gained the event.
Carlsen joined for a post-match interview. He seemed Nakamura to be a favourite in opposition to Vachier-Lagrave however certified by means of pronouncing it was once going to be a battle. “Maxime’s probabilities [lie] in striking power with the white items, I feel…. There have been many explanation why he beat me [in 2020], however one key explanation why was once that he was once in fact striking a large number of power on me with the white items.”
A few imaginable rematch with Nakamura: “To be fair, I used to be beautiful positive I used to be gonna beat him within the ultimate final time” he mentioned, with the smile you notice on this article’s thumbnail.
Carlsen, who’s his personal largest critic, ended with pronouncing with a large grin: “I’m pleased with my play lately, I can come up with that.” He earns $13,189.66 for successful the event and So makes $1,810.34 by means of win share.
Bracket
All Video games | Carlsen vs. So | Semifinals
The principle tournament of the 2023 Pace Chess Championship Introduced by means of Coinbase takes position September 4-22. It’s the most powerful on-line pace chess contest on the earth, with 16 avid gamers—12 invited and 4 qualifiers—vying for a percentage of the $150,000 prize fund at the side of one of the crucial prestigious titles in on-line chess.
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