Wesley So runs away with the Chess.com Global Championship!!
New Chess.com Global Champion!!! Rapid and Blitz World Championship Announced
And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. Your new Chess.com Global Champion, Grandmaster Wesley So! I extend my hearty congratulations to Wesley for winning not only this esteemed event, but a humongous $210,000 prize as well.
It only took Wesley two games to win today, as he had a 3–1 lead coming out of yesterday’s matchup. The first was a draw, and the second a victory. The first game featured Wesley playing with the white pieces and Nihal with black. Wesley went with 1.d4, probably looking for a peaceful game. Nihal went for the Modern defense with 1.g6, an opening he’s been using when he needs to win with black, albeit unsuccessfully. Wesley played the game in a very solid and nonconfrontational way, and was able to lead the game into a draw.
His score is now 3.5, and he only needs one more point to win the match. Nihal Sarin is now with white, and once again went for 1.d4 despite his lack of experience with the opening. He again played in a very offbeat way and Wesley was able to develop an advantage by only move 10 due to Nihal’s passive play. He activated his pieces, grabbed a pawn, and got Nihal to unnecessarily sacrifice his bishop. This brought about a completely winning endgame for Wesley where he was simply up a bishop. Nihal Sarin resigned on move 43.
After briefly covering the games, I can’t move on without giving Nihal his flowers. Despite being only 18 years old he was able to take down a former World Championship Candidate in Anish Giri as well as other elite Grandmasters. This incredible showing by the young prodigy is, in my opinion, a sign of greater things to come. And besides, it’s not like he can be too sad after all, walking away from the event with a very respectable $100,000.
Rapid and Blitz World Championship Announced
FIDE, the international governing body of chess, has announced new information regarding the Rapid and Blitz World Championship. It is going to be held in the city of Almaty, Kazakhstan (seen below).
A beautiful city, no doubt, but I can’t say I support the decision by FIDE. Kazakhstan in general has been very volatile and violent recently with Almaty being no exception. I’m hoping that the players are safe and that things are peaceful during their duration there.
FIDE has also announced that the event will begin on Christmas, and end on December 30th. It will also have a staggering $1,000,000 prize fund. It seems like the magnitude of chess tournaments, in regards to prize fund, coverage, and sponsorships, has been steadily climbing these last couple of years and I’m very glad to see it! I’ll certainly be tuning in to this event when it happens. The players are still to be determined.
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