"Cancun Carlsen" Comes Just Short Vs. First-Time Titled Tuesday Winner; Xiong Wins Late
GMs Nikolas Theodorou and Jeffery Xiong took home the Titled Tuesday tournaments of October 22, both scoring 9.5 points. It was Theodoru's first win in Titled Tuesday and Xiong's 14th since October 2020, and Xiong's third of 2024. Tiebreaks were good for each winner: Theodoru emerged from a four-way tie that included GM Magnus Carlsen playing from Cancun, Mexico, during a Chess.com meeting, and Xiong outlasted IM Renato Terry.
he's in first place too 🥶 @MagnusCarlsen pic.twitter.com/uMejqo3tjG
— Chess.com (@chesscom) October 22, 2024
Early Tournament
There were 723 participants in the early tournament, and four of them would end up on 9.5 points: Carlsen, GM Denis Lazavik, and GM Levon Aronian.
The shape of the tournament was as messy as the final result. GM Kayden Troff, who delivered Carlsen's only loss of the tournament in round six, started 7/7 to become the last perfect player. But he would then only score half a point the rest of the way, stopped by Lazavik in round nine and Theodorou in round 10, and finished 41st. Lazavik's win put him in sole first at 8.5/9 points.
Unfortunately for Lazavik, his opponents in the last two rounds were Carlsen and GM Hikaru Nakamura. Lazavik held his own, drawing both games, and even retained sole first after round 10, but it wasn't enough.
The biggest beneficiary was Theodorou, of course, who won his last four games, including a mad time scramble in the final round. The computer finds the final position equal—if White finds Ne8+—but Theodorou took two fewer seconds to get to that position after Black took his last four seconds trying to stay alive.
Carlsen climbed into second place by defeating GM Jose Martinez in the final round. Carlsen also won on time but in a somewhat different situation. He was down a pawn in the final position... in exchange for a knight, rook, and two queens.
October 22 Titled Tuesday | Early | Final Standings (Top 20)
| Number | Rk | Fed | Title | Username | Name | Rating | Score | Tiebreak 1 |
| 1 | 4 | GM | @NikoTheodorou | Nikolas Theodorou | 3169 | 9.5 | 79 | |
| 2 | 1 | GM | @MagnusCarlsen | Magnus Carlsen | 3293 | 9.5 | 75 | |
| 3 | 8 | GM | @DenLaz | Denis Lazavik | 3145 | 9.5 | 72.5 | |
| 4 | 20 | GM | @LevonAronian | Levon Aronian | 3076 | 9.5 | 67 | |
| 5 | 35 | FM | @rezamahdavi2008 | Reza Mahdavi | 2976 | 9 | 73.5 | |
| 6 | 2 | GM | @Hikaru | Hikaru Nakamura | 3256 | 9 | 70.5 | |
| 7 | 54 | FM | @Bauman_Guy | Konstantin Popov | 2919 | 9 | 68.5 | |
| 8 | 68 | IM | @Kosak12 | Jakub Kosakowski | 2910 | 9 | 68 | |
| 9 | 6 | GM | @artooon | Pranesh M | 3128 | 9 | 60.5 | |
| 10 | 51 | GM | @Anton_Demchenko | Anton Demchenko | 2938 | 9 | 55.5 | |
| 11 | 5 | GM | @lachesisQ | Ian Nepomniachtchi | 3128 | 8.5 | 76 | |
| 12 | 40 | GM | @Sychev_on_YouTube | Klementy Sychev | 2962 | 8.5 | 73.5 | |
| 13 | 62 | GM | @Alexander_Donchenko | Alexander Donchenko | 2941 | 8.5 | 73 | |
| 14 | 46 | IM | @Rud_Makarian | Rudik Makarian | 2952 | 8.5 | 72.5 | |
| 15 | 9 | GM | @wonderfultime | Tuan Minh Le | 3113 | 8.5 | 72 | |
| 16 | 32 | GM | @DanielNaroditsky | Daniel Naroditsky | 2984 | 8.5 | 72 | |
| 17 | 30 | GM | @AryanTari | Aryan Tari | 2975 | 8.5 | 71.5 | |
| 18 | 18 | GM | @Jospem | Jose Martinez | 3060 | 8.5 | 71.5 | |
| 19 | 28 | GM | @Zhalmakhanov_Ramazan | Ramazan Zhalmakhanov | 3013 | 8.5 | 70 | |
| 20 | 119 | FM | @hakanazeri2 | Khagan Ahmad | 2829 | 8.5 | 68.5 | |
| 57 | 151 | GM | @ChessQueen | Alexandra Kosteniuk | 2749 | 7.5 | 60.5 |
(Full final standings here.)
Theodorou won $1,000 for his victory, with Carlsen earning $750. Lazavik won $350 and Aronian $200 in third and fourth place. The $100 prizes went to FM Reza Mahdavi in fifth place and GM Alexandra Kosteniuk with the highest women's score.
Late Tournament
Neither Xiong nor Terry lost a game in the late tournament, which was joined by 526 players. Five total players started on 8/9, but only those two won their 10th-round game. Xiong did it against IM Alexander Khlebovich...
...and Terry toppled Jose Martinez. One mistake by Martinez and Terry was off to the races.
Now, the only two co-leaders, Xiong and Terry, kept that status through the last round. Matched for the final game, they went for the Berlin Draw. The mutual decision paid off when the only players who could catch them, GMs Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Oleksandr Bortnyk, also made a draw—theirs in 81 moves and not ending until lone kings.
October 22 Titled Tuesday | Late | Final Standings (Top 20)
| Number | Rk | Fed | Title | Username | Name | Rating | Score | Tiebreak 1 |
| 1 | 14 | GM | @jefferyx | Jeffery Xiong | 3072 | 9.5 | 76 | |
| 2 | 21 | IM | @MITerryble | Renato Terry | 3011 | 9.5 | 70.5 | |
| 3 | 69 | FM | @Legit | Krzysztof Raczek | 2869 | 9 | 74.5 | |
| 4 | 10 | GM | @Polish_fighter3000 | Jan-Krzysztof Duda | 3072 | 9 | 69 | |
| 5 | 73 | GM | @WoodlandMagic | Gleb Dudin | 2853 | 9 | 68 | |
| 6 | 4 | GM | @Oleksandr_Bortnyk | Oleksandr Bortnyk | 3096 | 9 | 66.5 | |
| 7 | 65 | IM | @Alexander_Khlebovich | Alexander Khlebovich | 2886 | 9 | 64.5 | |
| 8 | 22 | GM | @jcibarra | José Carlos Ibarra Jerez | 2981 | 9 | 62 | |
| 9 | 16 | GM | @dropstoneDP | David Paravyan | 3018 | 8.5 | 74 | |
| 10 | 127 | GM | @JanistanTV | Jan Gustafsson | 2759 | 8.5 | 71 | |
| 11 | 37 | GM | @Zhigalko_Sergei | Sergei Zhigalko | 2916 | 8.5 | 68 | |
| 12 | 225 | FM | @SalihEke | Salih Eke | 2643 | 8.5 | 63 | |
| 13 | 56 | GM | @Igor_Lysyj | Igor Lysyj | 2861 | 8.5 | 63 | |
| 14 | 38 | GM | @TigrVShlyape | Gata Kamsky | 2912 | 8.5 | 52.5 | |
| 15 | 3 | GM | @lachesisQ | Ian Nepomniachtchi | 3113 | 8 | 72.5 | |
| 16 | 61 | IM | @HamedWafa4 | Hamed Wafa | 2875 | 8 | 71 | |
| 17 | 5 | GM | @Msb2 | Matthias Bluebaum | 3060 | 8 | 70.5 | |
| 18 | 49 | GM | @K_A_S_T_O_R | Rodrigo Vasquez | 2891 | 8 | 70 | |
| 19 | 9 | GM | @Jospem | Jose Martinez | 3061 | 8 | 69 | |
| 20 | 30 | GM | @Alexander_Donchenko | Alexander Donchenko | 2927 | 8 | 65 | |
| 75 | 181 | IM | @karinachess1 | Karina Ambartsumova | 2616 | 6.5 | 54 |
(Full final standings here.)
Xiong won $1,000 for first place, and Terry $750 for second. FM Krzysztof Raczek, Duda, and GM Gleb Dudin rounded out the top five to earn $350, $200, and $100, respectively. IM Karina Ambartsumova won the $100 for the women's highest score.
Titled Cup Standings
Open
| # | Username | Score | Player |
| 1 | @Hikaru | 198.5 | GM Hikaru Nakamura |
| 2 | @MagnusCarlsen | 193.5 | GM Magnus Carlsen |
| 3-t | @Jospem | 187.0 | GM Jose Martinez |
| 3-t | @jefferyx | 187.0 | GM Jeffery Xiong |
| 5-t | @mishanick | 186.5 | GM Alexey Sarana |
| 5-t | @jefferyx | 186.5 | GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda |
Women
| # | Username | Score | Player |
| 1 | @Goryachkina | 143.5 | GM Aleksandra Goryachkina |
| 2-t | @Flawless_Fighter | 142.0 | IM Polina Shuvalova |
| 2-t | @ChessQueen | 142.0 | GM Alexandra Kosteniuk |
| 4-t | @Meri-Arabidze | 138.5 | IM Meri Arabidze |
| 4-t | @annasargsyan_m | 138.5 | IM Anna M. Sargsyan |
Other Category Leaders
Juniors: GM Denis Lazavik (185.0 points)
Seniors: GM Gata Kamsky (171.0 points)
Girls: WCM Veronika Shubenkova (121.5 points)
The Titled Cup fantasy game Chess Prophet continues as well. Current standings can be found here. (Login required.)
Titled Tuesday is Chess.com's weekly tournament for titled players, with two tournaments held each Tuesday. The first tournament begins at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time/17:00 Central European/20:30 Indian Standard Time, and the second at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time/23:00 Central European/2:30 Indian Standard Time (next day).
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.
