So Captures First Knockout Victory in Bullet Playoff
GM Wesley So won week 21 of the 2022 Rapid Chess Championship presented by Coinbase, defeating GM Sam Sevian in the closely-fought final match that culminated in a bullet playoff.
GMs Dmitry Andreikin and Maxim Matlakov made it to the semifinals. GM David Paravyan, Alexander Grischuk, Parham Maghsoodloo, and Andrey Esipenko finished in the quarterfinals.
Participating in the event were 54 competitors—now open to all GMs as well as the top-10 women, top-10 juniors, as well as 10 wildcards. The event continues on July 23-24, starting at 9 a.m. PT / 18:00 CEST.
You can watch the 2022 Rapid Chess Championship presented by Coinbase on Chess.com/TV. You can also enjoy the show on the Twitch channel and catch all our live broadcasts on YouTube.com/ChesscomLive.
Swiss
Sevian clinched clear first with seven points, defeating GM Alexey Sarana in round seven with a beautiful tactical sequence.
Andreikin finished second with the top tiebreaks of the players with 6.5 points. He defeated Sarana in round five with an insightful pawn sacrifice―with check―to activate his rook.
So finished third with an undefeated 6.5 score. His critical victory was in round six against GM Pavel Tregubov. So won a pawn with a tactical sequence and then trapped Tregubov's knight in the endgame.
Saturday Swiss | Final Standings (Top 20)
| Number | Rk | Fed | Title | Username | Name | Rating | Score | SB |
| 1 | 6 | GM | Konavets | Sam Sevian | 2765 | 7 | 35.5 | |
| 2 | 2 | GM | FairChess_on_YouTube | Dmitry Andreikin | 2780 | 6.5 | 34.25 | |
| 3 | 4 | GM | GMWSO | Wesley So | 2756 | 6.5 | 33.25 | |
| 4 | 19 | GM | BillieKimbah | Maxim Matlakov | 2644 | 6.5 | 30.75 | |
| 5 | 16 | GM | dropstoneDP | David Paravyan | 2667 | 6.5 | 29.25 | |
| 6 | 14 | GM | Andreikka | Andrey Esipenko | 2677 | 6.5 | 26.5 | |
| 7 | 15 | GM | Grischuk | Alexander Grischuk | 2661 | 6.5 | 26.25 | |
| 8 | 10 | GM | Parhamov | Parham Maghsoodloo | 2694 | 6 | 24.25 | |
| 9 | 17 | GM | Jospem | Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara | 2644 | 6 | 24 | |
| 10 | 7 | GM | mishanick | Alexey Sarana | 2715 | 5.5 | 25.75 | |
| 11 | 21 | GM | ChessLover0108 | Mahammad Muradli | 2631 | 5.5 | 22.25 | |
| 11 | 12 | GM | amintabatabaei | Amin Tabatabaei | 2676 | 5.5 | 22.25 | |
| 13 | 11 | GM | Oleksandr_Bortnyk | Oleksandr Bortnyk | 2673 | 5.5 | 20.75 | |
| 14 | 22 | GM | erichansen | Eric Hansen | 2603 | 5.5 | 17 | |
| 15 | 31 | GM | Jumbo | Rinat Jumabayev | 2557 | 5 | 21.5 | |
| 16 | 1 | GM | FabianoCaruana | Fabiano Caruana | 2737 | 5 | 18 | |
| 17 | 8 | GM | viditchess | Vidit Gujrathi | 2684 | 5 | 17.75 | |
| 18 | 43 | GM | SantoBlue | Vahap Sanal | 2494 | 5 | 16 | |
| 19 | 5 | GM | jefferyx | Jeffery Xiong | 2722 | 5 | 15 | |
| 20 | 20 | GM | Njal28 | Aram Hakobyan | 2601 | 5 | 14 |
(Full final standings here.)
Knockout
The knockout started with the Swiss winner, Sevian, drawing against Maghsoodloo in a very evenly-fought rapid game. They also drew in their blitz tiebreaker, repeating moves in an equal ending. In the bullet playoff, Sevian set up all his pieces on powerful locations in his opponent's position on all sides of the board and soon checkmated.
Paravyan held an amazing draw against Matlakov in their rapid game. Paravyan fought out the last 25+ moves of the game with just seconds on the clock while Matlakov had nearly two minutes.
Their blitz tiebreaker was equal throughout, leading to a draw. In their bullet playoff, Matlakov overcame by using his rook on the seventh, supported by a passed d-pawn, and his queen to checkmate.
Andreikin defeated Grischuk with incredible technique in the rook ending.
So created a monster knight on d5, and soon his pieces rolled Esipenko's pieces practically off the board.
Sevian kicked off the semifinals with a quick draw against Matlakov in the rapid, aiming to take his chances with black in the blitz playoff. Sevian came through, saving a worse endgame and then flipping it into a victory.
So declined a draw in the ending against Andreikin and then accurately converted his better position into victory.
The Sevian vs. So final started with a hard-fought game, full of dynamic play, that ended in a draw.
After reaching an equal position out of the opening, So offered a draw in the blitz tiebreaker. In the bullet playoff, he gained an extra pawn and, as he pressed in the ending, Sevian blundered a knight.
So played convincing, impregnable chess throughout all of his matches. In his interview, he shared his approach to the games and the different time controls:
To be honest, I just wanted to play it safe in every game. I don't usually play well in the Sunday section. Before, I would be too ambitious and just get a totally worse position with white. It almost happened in the blitz game with Sam. I quickly offered a draw and fortunately, he accepted.
I just wanted to play it safe and keep my chances alive. I think in bullet if you're not playing Hikaru, I think the chances are 50/50. You have a decent chance. As long as you haven't lost the game yet, you still have life. You can keep the game going.
I just wanted to play it safe and keep my chances alive.
-Wesley So
Standings, Results, Prizes
The winner of the Swiss tournament is Sevian, and the winner of the knockout tournament is So. Below are the full standings and prizes of the knockout:
Sunday Knockout | Final Standings
| # | Fed | Player | Place | Prize |
| 1 | Wesley So | Winner | $7,500 | |
| 2 | Sam Sevian | Finalist | $3,500 | |
| 3-4 | Dmitry Andreikin | Semifinalist | $2,500 | |
| 3-4 | Maxim Matlakov | Semifinalist | $2,500 | |
| 5-8 | Alexander Grischuk | Quarterfinalist | $1,000 | |
| 5-8 | David Paravyan | Quarterfinalist | $1,000 | |
| 5-8 | Parham Maghsoodloo | Quarterfinalist | $1,000 | |
| 5-8 | Andrey Esipenko | Quarterfinalist | $1,000 |
The Rapid Chess Championship is a weekly tournament held by Chess.com. It is a nine-round Swiss event with a 10+0 time control held every Saturday, followed by a knockout event on Sunday between the top-eight finishers and a 10+2 time control. If players draw, they play a 3+2 game; if drawn, they play a 1+1 game; and if that is drawn, a single armageddon game is played.
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Previous coverage
- Sevian Wins Week 21 Swiss Heading Into Knockout: Summary Report
- Nakamura Wins 6th Knockout: 'In Bullet, I Have A Better Chance Of Winning'
- Bortnyk Wins Week 20 Swiss Heading Into Knockout: Summary Report
- Dubov Clinches 1st Knockout: 'Kramnik Was The Only Reason I Played'
- Sevian Wins Week 19 Swiss Heading into Knockout: Summary Report
- Fighting Spirit Prevails: Andreikin Wins Third Knockout
- Nakamura Wins Week 18 Swiss Heading into Knockout: Summary Report
- Battle Of Escape Artists: Andreikin Wins 2nd Knockout
- Fedoseev Wins Week 17 Swiss Heading into Knockout: Summary Report
- Grischuk Wins Knockout: Rapid Chess Championship Week 16
- Nakamura Wins 5th Knockout: Rapid Chess Championship Week 15
- Nakamura Wins 4th Knockout: Rapid Chess Championship Week 14
- Nakamura Wins Third Knockout: Rapid Chess Championship Week 13
- Nepomniachtchi Wins Knockout: Rapid Chess Championship Week 12
- Sarana's First Knockout Victory: Rapid Chess Championship Week 11
- Aronian Clinches Knockout: Rapid Chess Championship Week 10
- Nakamura Wins Knockout: Rapid Chess Championship Week 9
- Rapid Chess Championship Week 8: Maghsoodloo Wins Swiss and Knockout
- Rapid Chess Championship Week 7: Andreikin Wins Knockout
- Rapid Chess Championship Week 6: Matlakov Wins Knockout
- Rapid Chess Championship Week 5: Nakamura Bests Aronian
- Rapid Chess Championship Week 4: Aronian Wins Knockout
- Rapid Chess Championship Week 3: Caruana Wins Second Consecutive Week
- Rapid Chess Championship Week 2: Caruana Wins
- Rapid Chess Championship Week 1: Nepo Strikes Back And Wins
- 2022 Rapid Chess Championship: All The Information
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
