The Norwegian showcased his skills in the chess.com speed championship, but the US star and streamer was twice beaten
Magnus Carlsen, the world No 1, visited Central London last weekend and won the chess.com speed championship for the fourth time in a row. The Norwegian, 35, defeated France’s Alireza Firouzja, 22, by 15-12 after a three-hour struggle. Last year in Paris the same two players met, but Carlsen’s winning margin was a much wider 23.5-7.5.
The format for speed chess is 90 minutes of five minutes blitz, 60 minutes of three minutes blitz, and 30 minutes of one minute bullet. All the segments had additional increments of one second per move.
Carlsen won the five-minute segment, the three-minute was tied, then Carlsen edged the one-minute bullet, Firouzja’s speciality, by 5-4. In game nine, Carlsen’s white rook and two bishops dominated Firouzja’s black queen. Carlsen said: “I felt as though I just outlasted him in the end.”
The event, which had a $250,000 prize fund, is highly valued among grandmasters. In its 10 years of competition, it has only ever been won by the world Nos 1 and 2, Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura. Carlsen has only ever lost two matches.
