Carlsen On Track For Title Defense; Five Players Lead
GM Magnus Carlsen's title defense is alive and well after the first day of play at the 2023 FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship when the Norweigian favorite scored 4.5/5. Carlsen is joined by GMs Arjun Erigaisi, Yu Yangyi, Vidit Gujrathi, and Ivan Cheparinov, the latter of whom scored the most stunning victory of the day over GM Richard Rapport.
In the women's section, all of the top-10 seeds dropped a least one point, leaving 2023 FIDE World Cup grand finalist IM Nurgyul Salimova and Chinese GM Zhu Jiner atop the leaderboard on 4/4. GM-elect Vaishali Rameshbabu spearheads the chasing pack on 3.5/4.
The 2023 FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship will continue with rounds six through nine on Tuesday, December 27, starting at 5 a.m. ET/11:00 CET/3:30 p.m. IST.
2023 World Rapid Championship | Round 5 Standings (Top 20)
| Rank | Seed | Fed | Title | Name | Rating | Score |
| 1 | 1 | GM | Carlsen, Magnus | 2818 | 4.5 | |
| 2 | 26 | GM | Erigaisi, Arjun | 2654 | 4.5 | |
| 3 | 43 | GM | Cheparinov, Ivan | 2618 | 4.5 | |
| 4 | 15 | GM | Yu, Yangyi | 2699 | 4.5 | |
| 5 | 18 | GM | Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi | 2691 | 4.5 | |
| 6 | 137 | GM | Bharath, Subramaniyam H | 2426 | 4 | |
| 7 | 4 | GM | Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime | 2767 | 4 | |
| 8 | 13 | GM | Dubov, Daniil | 2712 | 4 | |
| 9 | 39 | GM | Anton Guijarro, David | 2625 | 4 | |
| 10 | 51 | GM | Shimanov, Aleksandr | 2599 | 4 | |
| 11 | 56 | GM | Gareyev, Timur | 2588 | 4 | |
| 12 | 42 | GM | Shevchenko, Kirill | 2619 | 4 | |
| 13 | 52 | GM | Xu, Xiangyu | 2598 | 4 | |
| 14 | 41 | GM | Mamedov, Rauf | 2622 | 4 | |
| 15 | 77 | GM | Holt, Conrad | 2548 | 4 | |
| 16 | 49 | GM | Chanda, Sandipan | 2602 | 4 | |
| 17 | 63 | GM | Ponkratov, Pavel | 2580 | 4 | |
| 18 | 8 | GM | Rapport, Richard | 2735 | 3.5 | |
| 19 | 57 | GM | Chigaev, Maksim | 2587 | 3.5 | |
| 20 | 23 | GM | Nihal, Sarin | 2667 | 3.5 |
(Full standings here.)
The World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships bridge the gap between Christmas and New Year and, despite discourse surrounding the accessibility of the location, many of the world's top players managed to make the journey to Samarkand, Uzbekistan to vie for one of the four world championship titles on offer.
The city of Samarkand holds a special place in chess history, with the earliest known recognizable chess pieces, dating back to 700 AD, having been excavated in the region (they are still on display in the State Museum of Samarkand).
The Silk Road Resort, on the outskirts of the city and near the original excavation site, is the perfect backdrop for a tournament that will see the 2023 world rapid and blitz chess champions crowned, as well as $1 million in prize money dished out.
🔥 The FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championships 2023 officially started yesterday with the opening ceremony in Samarkand, 🇺🇿Uzbekistan, and will last until December 30. #RapidBlitz
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) December 26, 2023
👀 Watch the video highlights 👀 pic.twitter.com/u68CeUvH99
The defending rapid champion and four-time winner Carlsen is the headline act and he is joined by three former champions; GMs Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2013), Daniil Dubov (2018), and Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2021) in the open event.
Carlsen's tournament did not start as smoothly as he would have hoped as he was held to a draw by GM Nikita Petrov in round one, but the four-time world rapid champion bounced back, winning the remainder of his games and finishing the day in equal first.
In the final round of the day, he was paired with the blindfold world record holder GM Timur Gareyev, who was the only player left on 4/4, and swiftly exploited his opponent's double-edged opening.
Of the top 10 seeds, GM Richard Rapport was the only one to scoop up a win with the black pieces in round one. After dismantling GM Levan Pantsulaia's Old Benoni Defense and then GM Pavel Ponkratov with his second Caro-Kann of the day, Rapport appeared to be the form player on day one.
A twist in this tale came in round five as Cheparinov dealt Rapport a surprising loss in a 25-move miniature. A clear candidate for the Game of the Day, Cheparinov's blistering win over Rapport has been annotated by GM Rafael Leitao.
For Candidates hopeful GM Anish Giri, his prospects of a fairytale qualification took a hit as he slumped to a round-one loss following a heartbreaking blunder.
The Dutch GM either needs to finish on the podium in the rapid or win the blitz championships to garner enough FIDE Circuit points to book his spot for the 2024 Toronto blockbuster, a feat that will prove difficult after he finished the first day on 3.5/5.
The opening five rounds were riddled with upsets and Giri was not the only 2700+ classical player who fell by the wayside. In round two GM Ian Nepomniachtchi was stunned to find himself in a losing position against Emur Amangeldy, a 15-year-old, 2012-rated Kazakhstani, and luckily found a threefold repetition to steal a half-point from the game.
In round three, though, the tournament's second seed was less fortunate against Hungary's Sergey Grigoriants and was defeated, courtesy of two brilliant moves that coerced Nepomniachtchi into ill-fated liquidation.
Some chess drama followed, with Nepomniachtchi complaining about special privileges for the world champion, and getting support from fellow top GMs Fabiano Caruana and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave:
Can't be stressed more that everyone should play under the same conditions https://t.co/B3FyJsoyJM
— Fabiano Caruana (@FabianoCaruana) December 26, 2023
Because we love drama 😃 and I also believe all the players should have equal playing conditions. The personal lounge is not the issue here but the easy access to a computer in between the games is one serious inequity. https://t.co/tInRHIH6pr
— MVL (@Vachier_Lagrave) December 26, 2023
A clarification followed, however, that Carlsen didn't actually have access to a computer.
Carlsen's father tells TV 2: "Magnus does not have access to a laptop inbetween the games." https://t.co/w3eXx4ROW4
— Tarjei J. Svensen (@TarjeiJS) December 26, 2023
While Indian superstars Arjun and Vidit found themselves on 4.5/5, 16-year-old GM Bharath Subramaniyam stole the show with his 4/5 run that included wins over GMs Vincent Keymer, Henriquez Cristobal Villagra, and Xu Xiangyu. Notably, Arjun is on track for Candidates qualification should he finish strongly in the rapid championships.
In round six, Vidit will take the white pieces against Carlsen while Cheparinov will attempt to continue in his giant-killing ways as GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave floats up to face him.
2023 Women's World Rapid Championship | Round 4 Standings (Top 20)
| Rank | Seed | Title | Name | Fed | Rating | Score |
| 1 | 21 | IM | Salimova, Nurgyul | 2371 | 4 | |
| 2 | 11 | GM | Zhu, Jiner | 2431 | 4 | |
| 3 | 51 | IM | Bodnaruk, Anastasia | 2265 | 3.5 | |
| 4 | 45 | WGM | Tokhirjonova, Gulrukhbegim | 2285 | 3.5 | |
| 5 | 32 | WIM | Omonova, Umida | 2331 | 3.5 | |
| 6 | 20 | IM | Vaishali, Rameshbabu | 2373 | 3.5 | |
| 7 | 29 | WGM | Zhai, Mo | 2351 | 3.5 | |
| 8 | 37 | IM | Mammadzada, Gunay | 2315 | 3.5 | |
| 9 | 48 | WGM | Munkhzul, Turmunkh | 2279 | 3 | |
| 10 | 54 | IM | Guichard, Pauline | 2257 | 3 | |
| 11 | 34 | IM | Munguntuul, Batkhuyag | 2322 | 3 | |
| 12 | 35 | IM | Kiolbasa, Oliwia | 2320 | 3 | |
| 13 | 12 | GM | Muzychuk, Anna | 2424 | 3 | |
| 14 | 71 | WGM | Kamalidenova, Meruert | 2196 | 3 | |
| 15 | 8 | GM | Koneru, Humpy | 2444 | 3 | |
| 16 | 30 | IM | Tsolakidou, Stavroula | 2349 | 3 | |
| 17 | 14 | GM | Gunina, Valentina | 2412 | 3 | |
| 18 | 46 | WGM | Pourkashiyan, Atousa | 2281 | 3 | |
| 19 | 56 | IM | Padmini, Rout | 2255 | 3 | |
| 20 | 6 | GM | Lagno, Kateryna | 2463 | 3 |
(Full standings here.)
The women's championship immediately descended into absolute pandemonium as the top seven seeds of the tournament failed to win their first-round games. With only 11 rounds in the women's division, the race to the world title has truly opened up.
Among the casualties in the early rounds were former champions; GMs Alexandra Kosteniuk (2021) and Humpy Koneru (2019), who lost to FM Gergana Peycheva and WGM Turmunkh Munkhzul respectively. Though Humpy fought her way back to 3/4, Kosteniuk is effectively out of the race for first as she only picked up 1.5/4 on day one.
Bulgaria's Salimova, who was the runner-up in the 2023 FIDE World Cup, has continued her successful year with an undefeated first day and will face Zhu in a top-of-the-standings clash in round five. Despite her reputation for swashbuckling attacks, Salimova relied on her endgame technique on Tuesday, as highlighted in her clash with WGM Atousa Pourkashiyan.
Hot on the heels of the leaders is Vaishali, who benefitted from a time-pressure blunder in her fourth-round clash with WGM Daria Voit. See if you can find the correct path to victory below!
With two days of play left, followed by the blitz championships, there is plenty more action coming your way before the end of the year. Tune in tomorrow to see if Carlsen can rise above the rest once again, and if the underdogs can keep their lead in the women's division.
How to watch?
You can watch the 2023 FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championship on Chess.com/TV. You can also enjoy the show on Twitch and catch all our live broadcasts on YouTube. Games from the event can be viewed on our events page: World Rapid | Women's World Rapid.
The live broadcast was hosted by GMs Daniel Naroditsky and Peter Leko.
The FIDE World Rapid Championship is an over-the-board event that determines the FIDE World Rapid open and women's champions. The event starts on December 26 at 5 a.m. ET/11:00 CET/3:30 p.m. IST and features a $500,000 prize fund.
The current rapid and blitz chess champion Carlsen will attempt to defend his titles in a stacked field including Nepomniachtchi, Duda, Vachier-Lagrave, Caruana, and many more 2700+ players.
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