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Carlsen Takes 10-Point Lead Before Beating Niemann, Firouzja On Fire Vs. Nakamura
Carlsen defeats his rival in the Semifinals. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

Carlsen Takes 10-Point Lead Before Beating Niemann, Firouzja On Fire Vs. Nakamura

AnthonyLevin
NM AnthonyLevin
| 136 | Chess Event Coverage

For the first time ever, GM Hikaru Nakamura will not be playing in the Speed Chess Championship Final. GM Alireza Firouzja is the first player not named Magnus Carlsen to defeat him since the tournament's inception, and the French number-one won in one-sided fashion, 16-11.

World number-one Carlsen defeated GM Hans Niemann 17.5-12.5 to move on to the title match as well. After Carlsen dominating the 5+1 portion, they had an equal score in the 3+1, but the former world champion racked up a 10-point lead at one point in the bullet to clinch it.

The consolation match between Nakamura and Niemann will take place on Saturday, September 7, starting at 12:00 p.m. ET / 18:00 CEST / 9:30 p.m. IST. The title match, between Firouzja and Carlsen, will be on Sunday.

Speed Chess Championship 2024 Bracket

 

SCC Finals Are Live For The First Time Ever

For the first time ever, the SCC has in-person, live Finals. The three days of the SCC Finals are held at ESpot in Paris, France, with a live audience watching the games. Both semifinal matches were played on day one. On day two, a match will decide third and fourth place, while Sunday will decide this year's champion.

An excited crowd is ready to watch Carlsen vs. Niemann. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

The players wore noise-cancelling headphones and listened to pre-selected playlists while playing on computers directly across from each other. Having a live audience brings its own challenges, but IM Danny Rensch stated that "every device, everything that is here, is being very closely reviewed. I'm going to go on record and say this might be the most secure chess event in history that's about to go down."

The players compete in esports style. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

Pre-Match Interviews: Firouzja Says He's Here To Win

In an exclusive interview with IM Levy Rozman, Firouzja stated that his goal was to win the whole thing:

I think it’s pretty new to everyone, to have a crowd talking and we have headphones, so I look forward to it a lot. I think I have good chances to win the tournament, but I think it depends a lot on the emotion and [chess] technically maybe matters less here.

A new experience for players and fans alike. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

As for who will stand in his way? Nobody. ”I don’t care about who’s my opponent. I care about winning this tournament.”

I don’t care about who’s my opponent. I care about winning this tournament.

—Alireza Firouzja

In his interview with GothamChess, Nakamura pointed out that it's actually not the first SCC Finals he's played live. In 2018, he played in front of a live audience of 120 fans in Johannesburg, South Africa, though Carlsen played from home. This was before Nakamura's streaming days, and the latter won that event.

About his opponent, he stated that he's unlike Carlsen, who "is generally always calm, he doesn't show a lot of emotion"; Firouzja stands out as "very calm or he's very emotional, I don't think there's any in-between." As for Niemann's demeanor, Nakamura stated that he could relate, but that "that attitude is only going to get you so far."

I think times change and people change and I would say for myself certainly when I was younger I'd look at myself along the same vein of Hans, somebody who was really used to sort of being disliked, being a bad boy of chess, to my advantage as sort of the fuel and the fire to get better, but as I've gotten older I've mellowed out a lot and I look at life quite a bit differently. 

He lost earlier this year against Firouzja in the Bullet Chess Championship Final, and he said that what he's learned is that he's getting older, that he's losing time scrambles against players like Firouzja, GM Daniel Naroditsky, or GM Oleksandr Bortnyk "because I'm just not as fast as I once was."

Not as fast as he once was, said Nakamura. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

Hikaru Nakamura 11-16 Alireza Firouzja

SmarterChess predicted a Nakamura victory with 77 percent odds, a prognosis that the French prodigy trashed. GM Robert Hess physically ripped up the page on the broadcast, saying it was a toss-up, echoing the sentiment expressed by Carlsen in his interview with GothamChess published the previous day. Nakamura's previous match record was 31-3, and his three losses all came against Carlsen.

Statistics aside, Carlsen stated that Firouzja is the biggest threat from the next generation to the speed chess throne. His performances in the last half-year have completely shed the disappointment of the 2024 Candidates Tournament. He is now in the form of his life:

  • 2024 Bullet Chess Champion
  • 2024 Chesscom Classic Champion
  • 2024 St. Louis Rapid & Blitz Winner
  • 2024 Grand Chess Tour Winner
  • 2024 Sinquefield Cup Winner
  • First on CCT Leaderboard after three events

Will the 2024 SCC be next?

Firouzja has been on a roll. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

Blitz 5+1: Nakamura 3.5-5.5 Firouzja

The French number-one took a two-point lead in the first segment, setting a tone of the match that would essentially go unchanged.

The players traded blows in the first half of the segment, each winning a game with one draw. In the first game, Firouzja sacrificed his queen for a rook and knight, but Nakamura made the most of his material advantage. But two games later, the world number-two played a tempting discovered check too quickly, and the score was once again even.

From there, Firouzja won four out of the next six games, losing two. At one point, he went on a three-game winning streak. In a line of the Ruy Lopez that Nakamura repeated with Black throughout the segment, the tactically aware Firouzja found the zwischenzug 18.e6! to completely refute Nakamura's attempt at an attack.

The U.S. number-one managed to win the last game of the segment, with a slow squeeze in the Italian that culminated with a mating attack in the endgame, to bring the damage down to a two-point deficit. But the 3+1 segment would virtually decide the match.

Blitz 3+1: Nakamura 2.5-6.5 Firouzja

The first half of the 3+1 was full of swindles and miraculous escapes. In the first four games, the player who should have won wasn't able to, except for in game three—and even there, Nakamura came so close to surviving.

After Firouzja's natural and erroneous 53.Rg7+, Nakamura was able to eliminate all of the white pawns, steering the game into a position he could draw. Firouzja found the one way to swindle, by generating a checkmate threat.

Besides that, Nakamura drew a lost position in game one, won a lost position in game two, and then Firouzja drew a lost position in game four.

Firouzja then won the next four games, with one draw, to finish the segment with a six-point lead. We never quite see a tilted Nakamura, who always manages to fight his way back into a match, but the following blunder was a troubling sign for his fans.

That was the first victory for Firouzja on his rampage in the second half. The final game was the most crushing, and the French grandmaster started "weaponizing his lead," according to Naroditsky, as he taunted Nakamura with 19.g3!?, offering a draw that the American could not take.

Nakamura kept the game going, since he was down by five points, but this worked in Firouzja's favor. "Alireza Firouzja played this game like the terminator," exclaimed Rozman after the game's conclusion.

Bullet 1+1: Nakamura 5-4 Firouzja

It was "a nearly unsalvageable situation," said Naroditsky at the start of the bullet portion. Nakamura won the segment, but Firouzja's match victory was never in serious doubt.

After a draw, the players traded wins with the white pieces. But the dispirited five-time SCC champion simply laughed after he hung a bishop in game four.

Two games later, even as Nakamura was winning the game, Naroditsky observed the match clock had just over six minutes left and a five-point deficit for Nakamura. "Alireza will await the winner of Magnus vs. Hans, but he has just made a big statement, Levy, not just in terms of this match but in terms of his chances to win the whole thing."

Though Nakamura won that game and another, with three draws to close out the match, it had already been decided. Firouzja made SCC history, bringing a new name into the Final.

Firouzja said he was exhausted after the match, which he essentially led from start to finish. "It's tough to be up in the match the whole time, you have to keep the lead and it's pretty difficult. I'm happy it's over."

It's tough to be up in the match the whole time, you have to keep the lead and it's pretty difficult.

—Alireza Firouzja

Nakamura walked over to Firouzja to offer the handshake. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

As for defeating one of the greatest speed chess players in the world, Firouzja shared that he was impressed that Nakamura still plays so well despite being "almost at the age of 40." Nakamura is 36. He added, "He's very impressive. It's a pity I didn't play him when he was like 25, 26, I think it would've been a much greater match, much closer match probably... he's one of the legends, of course."

You can listen to Nakamura's video recap below.

Pre-Match Interviews: Niemann States, 'I Think He's Already Broken'

In his pre-match interview with GothamChess, Carlsen said that having the live audience is "potentially a great format for chess." He added that watching games in-person offers a unique experience: "We know from casual games that spectators don’t really shut up when people are playing. So let’s give them a chance to get the hype going."

As for who will challenge him, he said that Firouzja looks like the most likely successor, and keep in mind he stated this before the Semifinals:

Alireza is a very clear number-three and probably will be number-two. (…) I think Alireza will pass Hikaru in a few years. Whether he’ll pass me as well, I’m not sure, but I think he has great potential.

Carlsen sits for an interview the day before the matches begin. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

Before the match, Carlsen tweeted the following, implicitly comparing Niemann to the basketball player.

As for his opponent, Niemann, he said that "it was certainly an impressive feat to beat" both GM Wesley So and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in earlier stages of this tournament. But he also added that "neither of them are good enough to sort of control matches."

Niemann has certainly become a lot better at chess the last couple of years, and I don’t know how good he is exactly, but it seems that he has become a lot stronger. Even though it’s a match-up I certainly didn’t want, it’s going to be interesting from a pure chess perspective to see what he can do.

There were several interesting moments in Niemann's 48-minute interview. For example, Niemann started off by giving Rozman a one-time offer of joining a week-long training camp with himself and GM Vladimir Kramnik for the price of "$100,000 each" for a week. He promised Rozman would become a grandmaster after this camp.

He also pointed out that his "bad boy of chess" status is unwarranted. "Wesley also called me the most disrespectful teenager in chess... I think I'm actually the most polite and kindest chess player," pointing to his philanthropic monetary donations to children improving in chess. Much later, he justified his temperance:

Revolutionaries will always be sort of looked down upon and will be looked [at] like they're crazy... that's always what happens to people who fight because they're great.

Niemann initiated a long debate about Rozman's partnership with Chess.com and, earlier, with Nakamura—calling him a "puppeteer." Rozman responded by saying that he stopped doing commentary on Nakamura's channel in 2021 "because I didn't want to be the guy who was always attached at the hip to Hikaru." He also pointed out that he "openly criticized Chess.com and how they handled the scandal and I have openly criticized them for, let's say, the Kramnik Clash of Claims and the glitch that happened."

They moved onto a long, nonlinear segment about Chess.com's report on Niemann, the merger with the Play Magnus Group, and Chess.com's "commercial monopoly" in the chess world. Not much new was stated from the previous 30-minute interview he gave Chess.com, though he stated that Naroditsky vindicated his innocence, falsely claiming twice that Naroditsky had been on the fair play team. 

Something new he brought up about the 2022 Sinquefield Cup was that GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov—who was coaching him—sent him a text message before his game with Carlsen, "Check the Catalan. Go try some weird stuff," explaining why he came so well-prepared for the opening.

Niemann, who later compared himself with GM Bobby Fischer, was optimistic about defeating Carlsen, saying he was "very mentally ready for the intensity that the match will have." He corrected Rozman's question, "if you win," to "when I win."

I think that he’s already broken. I saw his interview after the Erigaisi match. He already seemed broken and mentally destroyed. I think that as long as I can look him in the eyes and understand that there’s absolutely nothing he can do to even enter my mind space, then I believe that victory will be mine.

Niemann was focused on winning the match. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

Magnus Carlsen 17.5-12.5 Hans Niemann

SmarterChess awarded Carlsen 83 percent odds of winning the match, anticipating larger gains in the 3+1 and 1+1 portions. He lived up to the expectation of winning the match, even though he stated after that he was displeased with his form.

Blitz 5+1: Carlsen 7-2 Niemann

Carlsen was in full control of the 5+1 portion. He lost one game due to a blunder, but he won nearly all the rest, letting two draws slip from superior positions.

The former world champion won three out of the first four games, and he was pressing for the win in that one draw too. Game three was the most crushing; with Fischer-like style, the world number-one won with a one-sided initiative in the King's Indian Attack. GM Dejan Bojkov unpacks the Game of the Day below.

Chess.com Game of the Day Dejan Bojkov

Niemann won the next game after Carlsen blundered a tactic that Hess had just pointed out in the commentary. However, despite winning, Niemann was upset and complained to the arbiters about clock issues. Incredibly, Niemann was talking to the arbiter and hardly looking at the screen while also converting the advantage flawlessly.

After several minutes, the match resumed. Chess.com is investigating logs and video to this claim as well as Niemann's later complaint about mouse issues and server issues.

Carlsen won three out of the next four games again, dropping one draw. Niemann scored poorly on the white side of the Italian Opening, but he continued to repeat it. In the penultimate 5+1 game, Rensch commented, "This has been the same approach from Hans in the opening, but it feels like Magnus is figuring it out, getting better game by game." 

Carlsen went on to win a stunning endgame, and starting with 33...f6!? he found several short tactics to support a deadly passed c-pawn. It ended with a one-square queen move that threatened unstoppable checkmate. 

FM James Canty III repeated boxer Mike Tyson's timeless quote, "Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face," before the next segment. Niemann got punched, and now it was time to pivot.

Blitz 3+1: Carlsen 4-4 Niemann

This was Niemann's best segment and he certainly held his own against the world's highest-rated player. The problem was that this still left him with a five-point deficit.

The players were evenly matched in the first half of the 3+1 segment, each scoring two wins with the white pieces in the first four games. Niemann was winning in both games that he lost. In Carlsen's first win, 34.Ra6! was the only move to survive, and Carlsen bamboozled his opponent in mutual time pressure.

Carlsen's next win was even more tragic for Niemann, who won a free pawn and then an exchange. The latter went on to first blunder into a drawn position...

... and then even lost when he blundered back the exchange, entering a rook endgame down two pawns. 36.Nf6+ Ke7 37.Ne4 was the winning sequence.

The final four games featured two draws and a win for each side. The very last one was the most wild, where Carlsen again crawled back into the game, was even winning, but after a queen trade collapsed in the endgame.

Despite losing the last game, Carlsen was still up by five points going into the bullet. No player in SCC history has recovered from such a deficit.

Bullet 1+1: Carlsen 6.5-6.5 Niemann

After trading wins, Carlsen took off with a five-game winning streak, ballooning his advantage to 10 points. By the time Carlsen had mathematically clinched the match, Niemann made a comeback and won the last five games, though it didn't change the ultimate victor.

Once the Norwegian grandmaster got going, his momentum was nearly unstoppable. Game three was one of the finer wins, where he swung a rook from a1 to the kingside in one fell swoop, ending the game by surprisingly trapping the opponent's bishop on g7.

Pretty soon, the case for Niemann looked hopeless.

But Niemann won the last five games of the match. Admittedly, Carlsen mouse slipped a few times, and he was finally winning a game when Niemann encountered issues that impacted his browser's performance.

It was 1 a.m. local time. After several minutes of delay, the game was ultimately aborted, and the match resumed. Niemann won the last two games, though the match was already long over.

Arbiter Judit Sztaray did a heroic job in mediating a tense day. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

Carlsen expressed several times that he would have preferred not to have Niemann as his opponent. After the match, he said that he felt sure of victory as early as the 5+1 portion, and that he was "going through the motions for a long time. I just wanted the match to be over with."

Carlsen has won three out of the five SCC events he's played in, and Firouzja stands between him and his next potential title. He's excited about the match, though he said that his form today would not cut it against the 21-year-old talent. "That match [against Firouzja] is a lot more motivating since I'm actually playing somebody who is at, you know, the highest level. And I know I really have to bring it."

Both he and Firouzja will have a rest day on Saturday, while we will see the faceoff of Niemann vs. Nakamura, both with a bone to pick, in the consolation match. In his interview, Niemann said about Nakamura:

The thing with Hikaru is that I don’t have to beat him today. He’s 36. There’s going to be a time when he’s sitting in his pineapple shirt and he’s not playing chess anymore, and he’s just going to have to watch me win tournament after tournament.

How to watch?
You can watch the event on Chess.com/TV. You can also enjoy the show on our Twitch channel and catch all our live broadcasts on YouTube.com/Chess. You can watch Nakamura's coverage on his Twitch or Kick channels. Games from the event can be viewed on our events page.

The live broadcasts were hosted by GM Daniel Naroditsky, GM Robert Hess, IM Danny Rensch, IM Levy Rozman, and FM James Canty III. 

The Speed Chess Championship is Chess.com's most important speed chess event. Some of the biggest names in chess compete to determine the best speed chess player in the world. The main event started with qualifiers on June 27 and 28 and concludes with the first-ever Final on September 8, live in Paris. The games are played with time controls of 5+1, 3+1, and 1+1. The prize fund is $173,000.

Previous reports:

    AnthonyLevin
    NM Anthony Levin

    NM Anthony Levin caught the chess bug at the "late" age of 18 and never turned back. He earned his national master title in 2021, actually the night before his first day of work at Chess.com.

    Anthony, who also earned his Master's in teaching English in 2018, taught English and chess in New York schools for five years and strives to make chess content accessible and enjoyable for people of all ages. At Chess.com, he writes news articles and manages social media for chess24.

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