“I simply sucked, actually” stated GM Magnus Carlsen about his play after dropping his first recreation within the 2024 Superbet Speedy & Blitz Poland, to GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu. He blundered a queen and misplaced the subsequent recreation as nicely, however his 6/9 blitz rating was greater than respectable. The issue? GM Wei Yi caught hearth after dropping the primary recreation to attain 7.5/8 and go into the ultimate 9 rounds of blitz with an enormous benefit.Â
The ultimate day begins Sunday, Might 12, at 7 a.m. ET / 13:00 CEST / 4:30 p.m. IST.
Superbet Speedy & Blitz Poland Standings After Blitz Day 1
Carlsen Recovers From Tailspin To Preserve Hopes Alive
For one spherical of blitz, the whole lot was going in keeping with plan for Carlsen. He pounced on a single mistake to beat GM Kirill Shevchenko, which was sufficient to catch the chief in first place after Wei misplayed a drawish endgame and misplaced to GM Gukesh Dommaraju. It felt inevitable that the world blitz primary would go on to dominate, particularly as Wei started the day ranked thirty fourth. That is when the whole lot rotated, nonetheless, with Carlsen nonetheless shell-shocked when he talked to GM Cristian Chirila 4 hours later:Â Â
“I simply didn’t have it at this time. I felt good from the beginning, however then I believe my nervous system simply collapsed throughout or after the sport towards Pragg, and after that I simply sucked, actually. The rating was nonetheless half-decent, however clearly if Wei Yi continues to win then it doesn’t matter.”
My nervous system simply collapsed throughout or after the sport towards Pragg, and after that I simply sucked, actually.
—Magnus CarlsenÂ
The opening went comparatively nicely for Carlsen towards Praggnanandhaa, however then he got here below stress, acquired low on time, and errors have been made. His Indian opponent performed the decisive phases of the sport brilliantly.Â
Each gamers struggled to get well from that recreation. Praggnanandhaa, who had moved to inside only one level of Carlsen in third place, went on to lose the subsequent two video games, whereas the previous world champion’s conflict with GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov within the subsequent spherical was the stuff nightmares are manufactured from.
“I’ve no sense of something with just a few seconds,” stated Carlsen of his play in time hassle, and simply when he was about to win a wild rollercoaster of a recreation he blundered his queen and jumped up and again in his chair earlier than expressing his frustration for all to see.Â
A rollercoaster of feelings from Magnus! #SuperbetRapidBlitzPoland #grandchesstour #magnuscarlsen pic.twitter.com/2kIKqWnD6D
— Grand Chess Tour (@GrandChessTour) Might 11, 2024
The dwell commentary caught the feelings and mayhem of these closing moments.
Magnus blunders his queen to Abdusattorov in a wild time scramble able the place he was fully successful! That is now two losses in a row for the world primary 😱#GrandChessTour pic.twitter.com/zsEGA0iGJP
— chess24 (@chess24com) Might 11, 2024
For those who can bear to look, listed here are the ultimate phases of the sport ranging from transfer 38, when Abdusattorov missed a win and blundered as a substitute.
After a recreation like that you simply maybe want a stiff drink, or not less than a comparatively low-stakes pairing within the subsequent spherical, however Carlsen confronted Wei, who had gained his final two video games to open up a two-point lead on the high. It is credit score to Carlsen that he refocused, constructed up an enormous benefit, and as Wei commented, “performed in a short time and robust.” In the long run it wasn’t sufficient, nonetheless, because the Chinese language star mounted an incredible protection and managed to carry.
That is our Sport of the Day, with evaluation by GM Rafael Leitao under:
It might have been comprehensible to break down at that time, however Carlsen went on to attain 4.5/5, digging deep to attain some huge wins from doubtful positions and shrugging off lacking mate-in-three towards GM Anish Giri in addition to a mating assault towards GM Arjun Erigaisi.
The best peril maybe got here towards Gukesh, however the preventing phrases of a rival GOAT gave the added increase required to shrug off the hazard and switch issues round.
Garry Kasparov welcomes Magnus Carlsen earlier than making the primary transfer in Carlsen-Gukesh! #GrandChessTour pic.twitter.com/HVfaWxVu3R
— chess24 (@chess24com) Might 11, 2024
So it was an incredible restoration, however Carlsen summed up the duty forward on the ultimate day: “Just about each recreation is a must-win, that’s for certain!”
Wei Yi Proves He is Additionally A Sensible Blitz ParticipantÂ
We famous a day earlier that Wei had justified his place as world quantity three on the fast rankings, however a day later he made it clear that thirty fourth on the blitz listing was no reflection of his energy. He gained 31 factors and climbed 16 locations as he went on to attain 7.5/9. After dropping the primary recreation he gained all the remaining, aside from that draw towards Carlsen.
| No. | Identify | Fed | Ranking | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Complete |
| 1 | Wei Yi | 2684 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7.5 | ||
| 2 | Magnus Carlsen | 2886 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6.0 | ||
| 3 | Arjun Erigaisi | 2744 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 6.0 | ||
| 4 | Vincent Keymer | 2610 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 5.0 | ||
| 5 | Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu | 2675 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4.5 | ||
| 6 | Jan-Krzysztof Duda | 2766 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 4.0 | ||
| 7 | Nodirbek Abdusattorov | 2661 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 4.0 | ||
| 8 | Anish Giri | 2715 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 3.5 | ||
| 9 | Gukesh Dommaraju | 2651 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 2.5 | ||
| 10 | Kirill Shevchenko | 2546 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2.0 |
Wei confessed to having “some luck” to outlive dangerous positions, mentioning specifically a missed win by Shevchenko, whereas Giri’s bishop sac deserved greater than the loss it finally introduced.
Nobody performs completely at blitz, nonetheless, and total Wei was immensely spectacular, placing all his opponents below stress and changing most of his possibilities ruthlessly. As an illustration, this is how he put Praggnanandhaa to the sword.
When Wei was requested what technique he’ll undertake going into the ultimate day with such a lead over Carlsen, he commented: “I believe I’ll simply play my chess, with none technique!”
I believe I’ll simply play my chess, with none technique!
—Wei Yi Â
The Struggle For Third
With six factors separating Wei from third-placed Praggnanandhaa, one thing mind-blowing must occur for Wei or Carlsen to not win the match, however 4 or 5 gamers are nonetheless in competition for third. Praggnanandhaa had an up-and-down day to finally rating 50 p.c and preserve the third place by which he started the day, however his Indian colleague Arjun was threatening to take over. He matched Carlsen’s 6/9 and at one level had gained 4 video games in a row.
Duda and Abdusattorov are additionally nicely inside touching distance if they will hit high kind. Keymer is far more of an outdoor guess, nevertheless it was heartening to see that he went on to attain 5/9, the day’s fourth greatest rating, regardless of managing to overlook mate-in-one and solely draw towards Abdusattorov within the first recreation of the day. His redemption was full when he delivered mate within the closing recreation of the day vs. Praggnanandhaa!Â
Pleasure is assured on the ultimate day in Warsaw as we get to see Carlsen try and chase down Wei.Â
The 2024 Superbet Speedy & Blitz Poland is the primary occasion on the 2024 Grand Chess Tour and runs Might 8-12 within the POLIN Museum of the Historical past of Polish Jews in Warsaw, Poland. The ten gamers first compete in a single fast round-robin with a time management of 25 minutes plus a 10-second increment per transfer, adopted by a blitz double round-robin with a 5+2 time management.
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