Legends Fall, Prodigies Prevail
Day two of the Chess.com Global Chess Championship featured epic battles between today's up-and-comers and icons of chess history. Teenage GMs Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Raunak Sadhwani defeated their respective veteran opponents, GMs Boris Gelfand and Veselin Topalov. Two more legends of chess, GMs Viswanathan Anand and Michael Adams, fell to GMs Pavel Ponkratov and David Navara in matches that culminated in armageddon playoffs. Former world championship challenger, GM Gata Kamsky, scored a victory for the old guard, prevailing against GM Vladimir Fedoseev.
Additionally, GM Anish Giri defeated the reigning women's world champion, GM Ju Wenjun. GMs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Dmitry Andreikin won their matches convincingly in three games.
The round of 64 continues on Friday, September 16, starting at 4 a.m. PT / 13:00 CEST.
In a duel of new blood vs. old guard, 17-year-old reigning World Rapid Champion Abdusattorov went undefeated against Gelfand, gaining his first victory against the former world championship challenger with striking tactical play.
28.Bc4! leaving the rook on d1 hanging was a killer blow for reigning World Rapid Champion Abdusattorov who scores a win against Boris Gelfand! pic.twitter.com/m7fAo0ohH5
— ChesscomLive (@ChesscomLive) September 15, 2022
In the next duel of prodigy vs. legend, Sadhwani, the 16-year-old known for his victory fist-pumps, went 2.5/3 against Topalov. Both of Sadhwani's victories involved winning the former FIDE world champion's queen.
Raunak @sadhwani2005 dominates the d-file and traps Topalov's queen to score the first win in their match!
— ChesscomLive (@ChesscomLive) September 15, 2022
A notable win for the talented junior who was born the year Topalov won the @FIDE_chess world championship! pic.twitter.com/1fJfc4iq6g
Online it seems like the young guys are just extremely sharp.
—Levy Rozman
The biggest upset of the day was Ponkratov's victory over Anand. Anand won the fourth game on demand, bringing the match into an armageddon playoff. The 15th world champion then ambitiously bid seven minutes for the black pieces with draw odds. This decisive game is our Game of the Day.
Considering that Anand is a former world champion known for his skill in rapid time controls, it's a bit of a surprise to see him eliminated in the first knockout stage. But Ponkratov is a creative and dangerous player who can beat anyone. His games are never boring, and I can tell he likes to play with the initiative and enjoys seeing chaos on the board. It's also clear, in retrospect, that Anand gave up too much of his time to play with the black pieces in the armageddon.
Andreikin concluded his match vs. GM Aram Hakobyan with a picturesque checkmating combination. Can you find it?
Vachier-Lagrave won his first game against GM Eduardo Iturrizaga with a powerful kingside attack.
After two draws, Giri pulled ahead of Ju in the third game with stunning tactical play.
Kamsky pulled off a comeback in his match vs. GM Vladimir Fedoseev, winning both of the last two games. He clinched the match by picking apart his opponent's kingside defenses. Afterward, Kamsky jubilantly celebrated his victory with his hands in the air.
Down a point in a must-win position entering game four, Navara made an astounding comeback vs. GM Michael Adams. Just as Adams looked to be saving the game, Navara discovered a clever way to play for the win.
David Navara wins after sacrificing the exchange and sends the match to the armageddon tiebreaker!#ChesscomGlobal pic.twitter.com/ualksAcTq8
— ChesscomLive (@ChesscomLive) September 15, 2022
Round of 64 Scoreboard
The 2022 Chess.com Global Championship (CGC) is the first Chess.com global championship cycle open to all Chess.com verified players. Players compete in official Chess.com verified events for their share of the $1,100,000 prize fund and the Chess.com Global Champion title.
Chess legends, such as GMs Viswanathan Anand, Vasyl Ivanchuk, Vladimir Kramnik, and Veselin Topalov, compete against today's best (online) players, including GMs Hikaru Nakamura, Ding Liren, Levon Aronian, and Jan-Krzysztof Duda, and more.
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Vanessa West is a National Master, a chess teacher, and a writer for Chess.com. In 2017, they won the Chess Journalist of the Year award.
You can follow them on X: Vanessa__West
