GM Luca Moroni Jr. has been topped as Chess.com’s high wizard after toppling IM Nhat Minh To in a grandfinal reset within the 2024 Spell Chess Championship. Moroni, who was the one GM to qualify for the knockout, gained $600 for his first-place end forward of To who will obtain $350 for second place.
Heavyweight IMs Yoseph Taher and Ranindu Dilshan Liyanage certified for the semifinals however had been defeated by To and Moroni, respectively, whereas the Chess.com Group Championship Sequence defending champion CM Matfey Rogov was swept 3-0 in his quarterfinal after which once more within the comfort bracket abruptly packet Yash Shah.
Buckle up and get practising along with your finest bughouse associate as a result of the Chess.com Group Championship Sequence will return with the bughouse championship later in August (dates to be confirmed).
Standings
| # | Title | Prize |
| 1st | GM Luca Moroni Jr. | $600 |
| 2nd | IM Nhat Minh To | $350 |
| third | IM Ranindu Dilshan | $250 |
| 4th | IM Yoseph Taher | $200 |
| fifth= | Yash Shah | $150 |
| fifth= | Cesar Frank Talledo Lagos | $150 |
| seventh= | Cesar Sanchez | $100 |
| seventh= | CM Matfey Rogov | $100 |
Moroni proved on Friday that the talents that GMs possess can switch to different variants and the 2558-rated Italian began by knocking over Ecuadorian knowledgeable Cesar Sanchez 3-0. Within the third sport, Moroni appeared to be on the verge of defeat after his queen was frozen by Sanchez.
Then, Moroni adopted up with the spectacular 12.Nc4!! and saved his freeze spell for one thing extra vital… White permits his queen to be captured on f6 however threatens to freeze Black’s personal queen and king. 13.Nd6 can then be performed which is checkmate as Black is unable to freeze White’s knight because of the three-turn cooldown.
In the meantime, within the different quarterfinals, IMs To, Taher, and Liyanage comfortably gained their matches and arrange all-titled semifinals, whereas the remaining gamers had been relegated to the comfort bracket.
One of the crucial nail-biting clashes of the day was Taher-To which required a sudden demise 1+2 sport to determine a winner. In the long run, it was To who got here out on high after castling queenside and flagging Taher. Even when Taher had stopped checkmate, To’s two remaining soar spells would have allowed him to forcibly take White’s king.
Moroni-Liyanage was a 3-0 blowout in favor of the eventual winner and an important win with Black got here for the Italian when he miraculously stopped his king from being taken through the use of a soar spell of his personal to throw his queen within the line of fireside.
Regardless of shedding his semifinal 3-0, it was Liyanage who performed 18.Rh1!!, a transfer that commentator and FM James Canty claimed was the transfer of the event: “I’ve by no means seen a better transfer than this on this format.”
“I’ve by no means seen a transfer better than this on this format. That is the perfect transfer I’ve ever seen,” says Canty as IM Ranindu Dilshan Liyanage is about to take down GM Luca Moroni. pic.twitter.com/btgivCjKPC
— chess24 (@chess24com) August 2, 2024
Although Moroni would put up a clear sweep in opposition to To within the subsequent winner’s remaining, one particular characteristic of the Group Championship Sequence is that gamers have a second probability to win the occasion ought to they win the losers remaining.
To did not simply win the loser’s remaining and e-book a grand remaining spot with Moroni, he additionally managed to defeat him 3-1 to power a grandfinal reset. The excessive level of this match was within the fourth sport when commentator AnnitaDrink acknowledged: “He (Moroni) is shaking his head, he sees one thing that I do not see.”
To right away adopted up with a devastating mixture that confirmed AnnitaDrink’s suspicions.
Within the above place, if Black captures White’s now-unfrozen queen then White can play 19.Bxd8++ with a soar spell and due to this fact, should play 18…Kf8 and quit his queen. Moroni humorously blamed his sub-optimal play on the lasagna he had for dinner. The quintessential Italian!
Whereas ready for the grandfinal reset, commentators Canty and AnnitaDrink acquired wind that the world quantity two GM Hikaru Nakamura was attempting his hand at Spell Chess… and shedding! Should you want any additional proof that Spell Chess is tough for anybody beginning out, take a look at Nakamura being 4 transfer checkmated in a foyer sport in opposition to a 1500-rated participant.
After the interlude, Moroni rallied to win the reset by a margin of 3-1, resulting in an alternate between the gamers the place Moroni claimed he “stole this event so dangerous.”
In his post-match interview, Moroni spoke about how he meant to play future editions of the Group Chess Championship and regardless of claiming he’s “not good” at bughouse, recommended he may return to defend his title.
The Chess.com Spell Chess Championship is the third occasion within the Chess.com Group Championship collection and contains a chess variant born from a partnership with the creators of Conflict of Clans, Supercell.
The format contains eight 75-minute arenas with a 3+2 time management with the highest participant from every qualifier enjoying in an eight-player, double-elimination bracket the place $2,000 in prizes will likely be break up between the perfect finishers.
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