Speed Chess Grand Prix 4: Yakubboev Wins With Xiong Already Through To Main Event
The 2021 Speed Chess Championship Grand Prix concluded Saturday with the fourth and final leg. There were $11,000 in prizes to play for even though GM Jeffery Xiong had already clinched the overall Grand Prix standings and a spot in the Speed Chess Championship Main Event with his outstanding play in the previous three legs. Xiong had nothing to worry about as he left the Grand Prix to play his fourth-round game at the U.S. Championships instead.
In the Swiss portion of the final Grand Prix leg, another Main Event participant, GM Hikaru Nakamura, scored 8/10 and held the best tiebreaker to win first place. Already a participant in the Main Event, Nakamura was ineligible for the ensuing knockout, making GM Oleksandr Bortnyk the top seed. Bortnyk was eliminated in the semifinals by GM Baadur Jobava, who in turn was defeated by GM Nodirbek Yakubboev in a dramatic final.
The Speed Chess Championship Grand Prix took place Sept. 18, 25, Oct. 2, and Oct. 9. The winner of the Grand Prix has qualified for the 2021 Speed Chess Championship Main Event. Games and commentary were broadcast on Chess.com/tv.
With the qualification spot already claimed, the Swiss event took on greater importance this week. By winning it, Nakamura claimed the day's largest cash haul of $2,500. Yakubboev, by finishing third in the Swiss and then winning the knockout, earned the second-most with $2,300, while Bortnyk took $1,800 by virtue of finishing second in the Swiss.
Entering the final round of the Swiss tournament, the first-place prize was still anyone's to grab: Bortnyk and GM Boris Savchenko led the field with 7.5/9 while six players, including Nakamura, were right behind them at 7/9. Bortnyk quickly made a draw, while Yakubboev toppled Savchenko and moved into the top three.
But it was Nakamura who finished in first place after defeating GM Mikhail Demidov and then ending with the best tiebreaker of the four players on 8/10.
The final player on 8/10 was Russian NM Valery Sviridov, who won $1,000 for the effort.
Both 3|1 games in the final of the knockout stage between Yakubboev and Jobava were back-and-forth draws, leading to the dramatic 1|0 bullet game to decide who would win the $1,000 for claiming the final. It was Yakubboev after delivering checkmate on move 41.
The SCC Grand Prix is in the books, but two more spots are still to be had in the SCC Main Event. The Speed Chess Championship Super Swiss will be held next weekend, October 16-17. After that and the finals of the 2021 Junior Speed Chess Championship between GMs Nihal Sarin and GM Raunak Sadhwani, the Main Event field will be complete. It begins November 12.
Speed Chess Championship Grand Prix 4 | Final Standings (Top 20)
| Number | Rk | Fed | Title | Username | Name | Rating | Score | SB | Prize |
| 1 | 1 | GM | Hikaru | Hikaru Nakamura | 3177 | 8 | $2,500 | ||
| 2 | 12 | GM | Oleksandr_Bortnyk | Oleksandr Bortnyk | 2983 | 8 | 50 | $1,800 | |
| 3 | 14 | GM | hanzo_hasashi1 | Nodirbek Yakubboev | 2971 | 8 | 48 | $2,300 | |
| 4 | 17 | NM | Sviridov_Valery | Valery Sviridov | 2955 | 8 | 47.5 | $1,000 | |
| 5 | 30 | GM | tigra | Boris Savchenko | 2909 | 7.5 | 46 | $500 | |
| 6 | 27 | GM | exoticprincess | Baadur Jobava | 2911 | 7.5 | 42 | $400 | |
| 7 | 7 | GM | RaunakSadhwani2005 | Raunak Sadhwani | 2985 | 7.5 | 41 | $300 | |
| 8 | 24 | GM | Infernal_XaM | Pavel Ponkratov | 2934 | 7.5 | 36.25 | $250 | |
| 9 | 41 | IM | DenLaz | Denis Lazavik | 2841 | 7 | 41 | $250 | |
| 10 | 20 | GM | RD4ever | Rustam Khusnutdinov | 2912 | 7 | 40.25 | $100 | |
| 11 | 28 | IM | Kacparov | Kacper Drozdowski | 2882 | 7 | 35.75 | $100 | |
| 12 | 34 | GM | Onischuk_V | Vladimir Onischuk | 2869 | 7 | 34.25 | $100 | |
| 13 | 38 | FM | Reader777 | Read Samedov | 2843 | 7 | 33.25 | $100 | |
| 14 | 23 | FM | yavrukurt40 | Dincer Tasdogen | 2909 | 7 | 31.25 | $100 | |
| 15 | 26 | GM | kuli4ik | Mikhail Demidov | 2913 | 7 | 31 | $100 | |
| 16 | 42 | GM | alexrustemov | Alexander Rustemov | 2819 | 7 | 29.5 | $100 | |
| 17 | 4 | GM | FairChess_on_YouTube | Dmitry Andreikin | 2983 | 6.5 | 40 | ||
| 18 | 10 | IM | MITerryble | Renato Terry | 2952 | 6.5 | 38 | ||
| 19 | 29 | GM | TigrVShlyape | Gata Kamsky | 2890 | 6.5 | 37.5 | ||
| 20 | 6 | GM | ChessWarrior7197 | Nodirbek Abdusattorov | 2974 | 6.5 | 35.75 |
(Full final standings here.)
Related:
Nathaniel Green is a staff writer for Chess.com who writes articles, player biographies, Titled Tuesday reports, video scripts, and more. He has been playing chess for about 30 years and resides near Washington, DC, USA.
