Latest news with #ChampionsChessTour
Spectator
6 days ago
- Sport
- Spectator
Resigning in error
Anyone who plays chess will know the feeling of reaching a winning position, only to screw it up and to lose the game instead. So far so normal, and the cliché about 'snatching defeat from the jaws of victory' can apply to any sport. But chess offers a far more piquant anguish, unavailable in most other endeavours. Even among chess players, only a tiny minority will experience it. Directly resigning in a winning position – that is the stuff of nightmares. It sounds ridiculous – why would you ever do that? All it takes is to overlook one crucial resource, and it happened last week to one of the best in the world. The diagram position below is taken from an online game played in the Champions Chess Tour. Nakamura, rook for bishop ahead, has just offered an exchange of rooks on the g-file. Hikaru Nakamura-Magnus Carlsen Champions Chess Tour Knockout, May 2025 Carlsen plays his trump card, clearly planned a few moves earlier: 32…Bg4! From the video stream, it is evident that Nakamura has not seen that coming, and 33 Rxg4 Qxf3+ is catastrophic. He holds his head, gestures in despair and resigns 25 seconds later. Just after the game finishes, Nakamura checks the game with his computer, only to be confronted with the brutal truth that his position was actually winning. The cold-blooded 33 Rfg3!! wins, since 33…Bxh5 34 Rxg8 is mate. 33…Rg5 is a better try, but 34 Qe8+ Rg8 35 Qf7 should win. Nakamura has to smile, no doubt sensing the absurdity of his error. That lucky break handed Carlsen a 3-1 victory over Nakamura, and he went on to dominate the final match against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, winning 2.5-0.5. The first game was particularly elegant. Magnus Carlsen-Maxime Vachier-Lagrave Champions Chess Tour Knockout, May 2025 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 h3 Nc6 5 d4 cxd4 6 Nxd4 e5 7 Nf3 h6 8 Bc4 Be6 9 Bb3 Be7 10 O-O O-O 11 Re1 Rc8 12 Nd5 Bxd5 13 exd5 In principle, White would prefer to play 13 Bxd5 Nxd5 14 Qxd5 to retain the d5 square as an outpost for a piece, but 14…Nb4! is a refutation.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
24-05-2025
- Sport
- First Post
'Can't I just buy an island...': Magnus Carlsen gets funny when asked about his retirement plans
Magnus Carlsen recently won the 2025 Classic. The five-time world champion dominated the tournament ahead of Norway Chess. After the event, he joked about retiring on an island with WiFi when asked about his future plans. read more Magnus Carlsen , one of the greatest chess players in the world right now, had a fun moment during a post-match interview after winning the 2025 Classic. Carlsen had a smooth journey in the tournament, beating France's Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the Grand Finals on Friday to win the second leg of the Champions Chess Tour. With this win, Carlsen earned a prize money of $150,000 and once again showed why he is considered one of the best ever in the sport. After the match, Carlsen was asked if he sees himself playing chess into his 50s or wants to retire and buy an island to live a peaceful life off the grid, without the noise and commotion of city life. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Can't I just buy an island and then get WiFi and play chess from there?' Magnus Carlsen said and asked the question by commentator David Howell. Carlsen admits it was not the best practice for Norway Chess Interestingly, Carlsen didn't even have to play too many games to win the 2025 Classic and he won the whole event without losing a single game. Talking about this, Carlsen admitted it wasn't the best practice before his next big challenge, the Norway Chess tournament, starting Monday (26 May) in Stavanger. Carlsen also added that he hasn't done a lot of preparation for Norway Chess and is curious to see how he performs against some of the best classical players there. 'I was really hoping this event would be good practice for Norway Chess, but it probably wasn't — I played the minimum amount of games to win. I've done some prep, but not a whole lot, so we'll see how I stack up against some of the more serious players," he said. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, on the other hand, had an incredible run too. Even though he lost in the final, he made it there by fighting through the losers' bracket. He defeated top names like Arjun Erigaisi, Levon Aronian, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, and Hikaru Nakamura to reach the title clash. His strong performance also earned him a spot in the upcoming Esports World Cup.
Indian Express
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
Why Magnus Carlsen felt Champions Chess Tour wasn't ideal prep for Norway Chess
Magnus Carlsen had no real difficulties in winning the second leg of the Champions Chess Tour — 2025 Classic — after beating France's Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the Grand Finals on Friday to complete his double in CCT. With this win, Carlsen pocketed $150,000 and reaffirmed his status as one of the greatest players to have ever played this sport. MVL, meanwhile, confirmed his spot in the upcoming Esports World Cup by reaching the Grand Finals all the way through the losers' second round bracket. He beat Arjun Erigaisi, Levon Aronian, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Hikaru Nakamura to qualify for the title clash before losing against Carlsen. The Norwegian maestro had to play the minimum amount of games to win the tournament, with none of the players able to enforce tiebreaks in any of the games, as Carlsen suggested it was not a very good practice for the upcoming 'Norway Chess'. His home tournament will feature some of the very strong players in classical chess, as Carlsen hoped for a good practice ground in CCT. 'I was really hoping that this event would be very good practice for Norway Chess, but it probably wasn't—because I played the minimum amount of games, more or less, in order to win the event.' Regarding the classical event that starts in Stavanger on Monday, he said he's done some prep, 'but not a whole lot, so we'll see how I stack up against some of the more serious players,' he said after winning the event. The five-time World Champion was sublime throughout the event, taking an early lead. 'I think in these matches the first game always makes a big difference. Honestly, it felt to me in the second game that… he was a bit rattled and he made like four or five moves in a row which positionally I thought weren't very good… after that, it was kind of a lot easier than I expected,' he said. Apart from Arjun and Jan Krzysztof Dud, who already qualified after reaching the playoffs round of this event, Vladislav Artimiev, Alireza Firouzja, Vladimir Fedoseev, Fabiano Caruana and Wei Yi confirmed their spots for EWC, set to happen in Saudi Arabia capitals Riyadh later this year. Earlier, Carlsen, Nakamura and Nepomniachtchi had already qualified after finishing in the top three of CCT's first leg event. After the 12 players qualified for EWC, four more spots are left, which will be decided through the 'Last Chance Qualifier' (LCQ).
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
22-05-2025
- Sport
- First Post
Arjun Erigaisi becomes first Indian chess player to qualify for upcoming Esports World Cup
Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi, who had joined leading Esports organisation Gen.G in February, secured his qualification for the second edition of the Esports World Cup by qualifying for the playoffs of the Classic, the second event of the Champions Chess Tour. read more Arjun Erigaisi became the first Indian chess player to qualify for the Esports World Cup that will be taking place in Saudi Arabia later this year. The 21-year-old Grandmaster confirmed his participation in the upcoming event by finishing among the top 12 players in the Champions Chess Tour. Arjun confirmed his ticket to the Saudi capital, which will be hosting the second edition of the Esports World Cup from 8 July to 24 August this year, by advancing to the playoffs of the Classic – the second event of the Champions Chess Tour that got underway on Sunday and will conclude on Saturday. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD How Arjun secured his qualification for the Esports World Cup Arjun had already collected 40 CCT points with a semi-final finish in the Chessable Masters event that took place in February, where he lost to eventual champion Magnus Carlsen. And by advancing to the playoffs of the Classic, Arjun ensured that he finishes among the top 12 in the CCT leaderboard. A total of 16 players will be participating in chess section of the Esports World Cup ; while 12 players qualify on the basis of their standings, the remaining four will have to confirm their place in the tournament by participating in a 'Last Chance Qualifier'. Polish GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda too confirmed his participation at the EWC along with Arjun by entering the Classic playoffs in addition to collecting 50 points in the first leg of the tour. World No 1 Carlsen as well as Hikaru Nakamura and Ian Nepomniachtchi had already qualified for the World Cup before the second leg of the tour even began. Exclusive | Arjun Erigaisi 'excited' to participate in ESports World Cup: 'It will open many doors' Reigning world champion D Gukesh received a direct invitation into the Classic playoffs, only to lose to Slovenian GM Vladimir Fedoseev, who had won the Swiss round of the tournament with 7.5 points out of 9. He would lose his subsequent match in the loser's bracket against Arjun, who in turn would get vanquished by French GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in his subsequent game. Arjun and Gukesh weren't the only Indians competing in the second leg of the Champions Chess Tour though, with R Praggnanandhaa, Vidit Gujrathi, Nihal Sarin and M Pranesh having also taken part. Arjun, incidentally, was also among the first chess players to join an Esports organisation, having signed with Gen.G in February. Nihal and Aravindh Chithambaram would join Indian Esports organisation S8UL a couple of months later. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
The Hindu
21-05-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Arjun Erigaisi qualifies for Esports World Cup 2025
Indian Grand Master Arjun Erigaisi on Tuesday became the first Indian chess player to qualify for the Esports World Cup to be held in Saudi Arabia later this year. The 21-year-old secured a passage by finishing in the top 12 of the Champions Chess Tour (CCT). Erigiasi advanced to the Playoffs of the 2025 Classic, a Champions Chess Tour (CCT) event, which got him the required points to secure a spot in the top 12. He had won 40 points when he managed a semifinals finish at the Chessable Masters event earlier this year. The Indian eventually bowed out after losing to Ian Nepomniachtchi in Armageddon. The other Indian in action, R. Praggananandhaa also lost his first round Playoffs tie to Ding Liren. World champion D. Gukesh was invited directly to the Playoffs and lost to Vladamir Fedoseev.
