The World Blitz Championship, which is taking place in the historic Luzhniki Stadium, was opened by Russian footballer and former national team member Evgeni Aldonin, who made the first move on board one, where Hikaru Nakamura was playing Marin Bosiocic.
The first part of the Open tournament saw a surprising performance by the 15-year-old Uzbek GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov who started the Blitz with five wins. The only other player with a maximum score after five rounds was Magnus Carlsen. In Round 6 in a duel between the two, Abdusattorov sacrificed a pawn and played positionally. Carlsen managed to take control of the game by blocking Black’s key pieces, but then the Norwegian blundered his key central pawn. The World Champion couldn’t hide his anger and showed his frustration with a sudden hand movement. The game eventually ended with a draw. Abdusattorov’s performance slipped in the second half of the first day, but with 7/12 and having played some of the strongest players in the Blitz, his score is impressive.
A big surprise in the tournament came in Round 7 which saw Carlsen’s first defeat in the Blitz, having previously won the Rapid without a loss. After drawing his sixth game, Carlsen (who entered round seven with 5½/6) lost to Dmitry Andreikin (8/12), the two-time Russian champion. Carlsen ended in time trouble and his king was in danger. After a few exchanges around the black’s king on the kingside, Carlsen was two pawns down and eventually resigned. This was his first loss having played 21 games in the Rapid and the Blitz without losing. Carlsen quickly brushed off this defeat as in the remaining five rounds he won four games and draw only one – with Nakamura.
The Russian Maxim Matlakov had five points after the first six rounds (four wins and two draws). He then had a series of three consecutive draws followed by three wins which landed him in the second place at the end of the day. Matlakov’s key moment will likely be in the first game of the second day of the Blitz, in Round 13, when he will be facing Magnus Carlsen on board one.
Three players are sharing third to fifth position: Hikaru Nakamura, Daniil Dubov, and Ian Nepomniachtchi. The bronze medalist from the 2018 Blitz in St. Petersburg, Hikaru Nakamura, had the momentum taken away from him in the third round when he suffered a defeat at the hands of Alireza Firouzja (who finished the day with an impressive score of 8/12), and then barely saved a draw in Round 4 against Timur Gareyev (who with 8/12 is someone to watch out for in the final part). Dubov started the Blitz with a loss to Ilia ljiushenok (5½/12) but then regained his confidence and maintained a strong performance until the end of the day, without a loss. Ian Nepomniachtchi suffered two loses in the first day (to Ponkratov (8/12) and B. Socko (8/12)), but won all of his last four games, which will likely bolster his confidence ahead of the decisive day of the Blitz.
Former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik is on 8 points after 12 rounds. Kramnik’s first loss came in Round 5, where he was defeated by Sergey Karjakin (who is on 6½/12). The former world champion lost two more games (to Gabriel Sargissian (8/12) in the seventh round and to Boris Savchenko (8/12) in Round Nine), but secured a place close to the top echelons of the event. Overall, not a bad result so far for someone who has retired from active chess.
Nine games were played on the first day of the Women’s Blitz. Kateryna Lagno showed she was serious about defending her 2018 women's world blitz champion title. She has 8 points out of 9 rounds and has already defeated some of her most likely competitors for the title.
There are four players in the second tier: Alexandra Kosteniuk, Humpy Koneru, Daria Charochkina, and Alina Kashlinskaya, all on 7/9.
Alexandra Kosteniuk finished the day with just one loss (in Round 6, to Gunina) and will face Lagno in the tenth round. The winner of this year’s women’s rapid, Humpy Koneru lost to the day one leader Kateryna Lagno in a dramatic game at the final round of the first day of the Blitz.
30 декабря состоятся заключительные партии чемпионатов мира по блицу. Мужчинам предстоит сыграть 9 туров, а женщинам – 8. Начало партий – в 14:00.
Торжественная церемония закрытия состоится вечером 30 декабря.