GMs Awonder Liang and Jeffery Xiong have been topped because the 2024 Chess.com Bughouse Champions after the pair received every of their knockout matches and picked up the $2,000 first prize on Friday.
Following a Quarterfinal drubbing of GMs Arjun Erigiaisi and Nihal Sarin, Liang and Xiong dominated their Semifinal and Winner’s Ultimate earlier than mounting a comeback to win the Grand Ultimate towards GM Lars Oskar Hauge and NM Isaac Chiu.
Knockout Bracket
Knockout Format
The 2024 Chess.com Bughouse Championship finale was jampacked with motion and featured swashbuckling specialists, super-GMs, and a few severe pace. The staff that rose to the event and seized the title have been all three of those.
Liang and Xiong made an impression from the get-go by dispatching Arjun and Nihal 11.5-1.5.
Should you thought the rating was spectacular, Liang later revealed that of their sole loss to the Indian superstars he had performed with blindfold settings on, confessing it was “tough.”
An equally bruising 11-3 run by Liang and Xiong of their Semifinal towards IM Mark Plotkin and NM Jalen Wang would have come as a shock to their opponents who received 28 straight video games on Tuesday of their qualifier and defeated GM Andrew Tang and Marcel Dubansky by a wholesome margin within the Quarterfinals.
The Winner’s Ultimate was extra of the identical for Liang and Xiong as they notched one other 11-3 rating, this time towards qualifier one winners Hauge and Chiu. Within the place under, Liang forces White to decide on between protection and assault.
Seeing that his teammate is caught defending, Chiu decides to drop a knight on f5 and makes an attempt to go on the assault.
Sadly for Chiu, Liang can promote with examine and drop a pawn on e2, forcing a checkmate in a most of three strikes.
In the meantime, Tang and Dubansky have been resilient sufficient to win three straight matches within the loser’s bracket and so they booked their spot within the Loser’s Ultimate.
The pair, who united in qualifier 5, began strongly on this match and held their very own towards Hauge and Chiu till the scores have been locked at 4-4 however fell simply in need of a loser’s bracket sweep after conceding the ultimate three video games.
After which got here the Grand Ultimate. The match between Liang-Xiong and Hauge-Chiu was a high-octane affair that saved commentators “AnnitaDrink” and GM Krikor Mekhitarian on their toes. Like a Hollywood script, the title match turned out to be the closest of the day.
Regardless of a heavy loss within the Winner’s Ultimate, Hauge and Chiu went blow-for-blow with their opponents till the rating was 2-2, earlier than a purple patch noticed them set up a two-point lead.
The ways, technique, and pace on show on this interval have been each bughouse participant’s dream and the climax was a time-pressure-influenced repetition that Mekhitarian labeled “absurd.”
When the match reached the 21-minute mark the two-point margin nonetheless stood and commentators Mekhitarian and AnittaDrink began to point the potential of an upset. Liang and Xiong have been the definition of sophistication although and clutched up within the ultimate third of the match.
4 straight wins noticed the pair surge previous Hauge and Chiu and when the match clock struck zero, a well timed queen drop, which was additionally checkmate, confirmed victory for Liang and Xiong.
Of their post-match interview, Liang did the vast majority of the speaking for his staff, stating that Xiong and himself have “very comparable types” and “mesh fairly effectively.” Scarily, Liang additionally admitted to being “higher at crazyhouse than bughouse” (crazyhouse chess is the single-player model of bughouse).
Prizes
For his or her efforts, Liang and Xiong will obtain the $2,000 first prize whereas the remaining contributors will all obtain financial prizes for reaching the knockout stage.
| Rank | Companions | Prize |
| 1 | GMs Awonder Liang & Jeffery Xiong | $2,000 |
| 2 | GM Lars Oskar Hauge & NM Isaac Chiu | $1,400 |
| 3 | GM Andrew Tang & Marcel Dubansky | $900 |
| 4 | FM Richard Zheng & NM Vincent Baker | $800 |
| =fifth | NM Jalen Wang & IM Mark Plotkin | $600 |
| =fifth | GM Guillermo Vasquez & Grace Ferguson | $600 |
| =seventh | Bartlomiej Zdybowicz & FM Wojciech Reza | $500 |
| =seventh | GMs Arjun Erigaisi & Nihal Sarin | $500 |
The following variant to take heart stage is Duck Chess and as a part of the Chess.com Neighborhood Championship, a $2,000 prize fund shall be on supply for one of the best participant. With streamers like IMs Levy Rozman and Eric Rosen, and the Botez sisters, having made movies on the variant earlier than, the occasion might lure some superstar contributors.
Easy methods to watch?
You may recap the published of the 2024 Chess.com Bughouse Championship knockouts on the Chess.com Neighborhood YouTube or Twitch channels.
The stay broadcast was hosted by GM Krikor Mekhitarian and “AnnitaDrink.”
The 2024 Chess.com Bughouse Championship is the newest occasion within the Chess.com Neighborhood Championship collection, and anybody can battle for a chunk of this month’s elevated $7,500 prize fund. The event shall be determined with an eight-team double-elimination bracket. Every staff certified by way of one in all eight, two-hour arenas with a 3+0 time management.
Earlier Protection
