GM Hikaru Nakamura and GM Andrew Hong won the first Titled Tuesday events of April 2024. For Hong, it was a milestone, being his first-ever win in Titled Tuesday, and he did it outright with 10 points while Nakamura neededtiebreaks earlier after finishing in a four-way tie for first.

Nakamura also made the top five late, finishing fourth, while IM Meri Arabidze swept the women's prizes.

Joining Nakamura on 9.5 points in the early tournament, out of the original field of 672 players, were GMs Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Levan Pantsulaia, and Gata Kamsky. The group of four only played two games against each other, and Nakamura was a part of both: the round before he and Kamsky made a draw, Nakamura came out ahead of Duda in round nine.

We highly recommend that you not try this opening at home, unless you are absolutely sure you know what you're doing.

If the four tied players that emerged from round nine weren't enough, those players all drew each other in round 10, which helped create a seven-way morass at the top of the standings with one round left. Kamsky was the "lucky" one who faced a player on eight points, but that was only fair; he was the person who toppled GM Magnus Carlsen in round nine.

Kamsky's 11th-round game wasn't easy, either, coming against GM Jose Martinez, but his win was only enough for fourth place after tiebreaks. Elsewhere, Nakamura defeated IM Rudik Makarian, Duda overcame GM Tuan Minh Le, and Pantsulaia won against GM Shamsiddin Vokhidov. Duda took two bishops and a better pawn structure to the house and finished second, leaving us to wonder what would have happened had he held against Nakamura earlier.

April 2 Titled Tuesday | Early | Final Standings (Top 20)

(Full final standings here.)

Nakamura won the $1,000 first place prize and wasn't quite done earning money yet. Duda won $750 in second place, Pantsulaia claimed $350 in third, and Kamsky won $200 in fourth. GM Denis Lazavik led tiebreaks for the three players on nine points to claim $100, while Arabidze scored 7.5 points to win the $100 women's prize.

Hong had much less difficulty in securing the early tournament out of a field of 483. He began on a perfect 9/9 score, including a win over Nakamura in round seven after things got very interesting right out of the opening.

The Hong train was stopped in its tracks in the 10th round, however, derailed by GM Alexey Sarana, who ultimately rode into second place with the victory.

Hong managed to get back on track in the final round, winning against Duda in a romp after Duda made the mistake of "castling into it." Hong's win secured the tournament after Sarana and GM Aleksandr Shimanov only managed a draw against each other.

Nakamura wasn't able to sweep the day but he did place in both events, recovering from losses in rounds seven and eight with three straight victories, including the final one over GM Matthias Bluebaum.

April 2 Titled Tuesday | Late | Final Standings (Top 20)

(Full final standings here.)

Hong won the $1,000 first place prize, with Sarana accepting $750 for second, and Shimanov claiming the $350 for third. Nakamura added $200 to his total for the day, making him the big overall earner at $1,200. GM Dmitry Andreikin, who always seems to be lurking somewhere in Titled Tuesday, managed fifth place for $100. Finally, Arabidze tacked on her second $100 women's prize of the day.

The biggest standings change this week came in the junior section, with Lazavik taking the top spot from CM Artem Bardyk. Lazavik still has three tournaments left to reach the cap of 20 qualifying events, so it is difficult to see him falling back behind Bardyk. (GM Pranav Venkatesh, on 120.5 points through 15 tournaments, could potentially be another matter, though.)

Meanwhile, Nakamura continues to accumulate points, his top 20 results now averaging 9.3 points per tournament. The only change in the top five this week was Andreikin reclaiming the fifth spot from GM Jeffery Xiong. There was also a change to fifth place in the women's section this week, with WFM Katarzyna Dwilewicz taking it.

Continuing to lead the seniors and girls are Kamsky (no surprise after his early tournament this week) and WCM Veronika Shubenkova.

Juniors: GM Denis Lazavik (143.0 points)

Seniors: GM Gata Kamsky (159.0 points)

Girls: WCM Veronika Shubenkova (79.5 points)

The new Titled Cup fantasy game Chess Prophet continues as well. Current standings can be found here. (Login required.)

Titled Tuesday is Chess.com's weekly tournament for titled players, with two tournaments held each Tuesday. The first tournament begins at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time/17:00 Central European/20:30 Indian Standard Time, and the second at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time/23:00 Central European/2:30 Indian Standard Time (next day).

Go here to read the rest:

Titled Tuesday - April 2, 2024 - Chess.com

Edited on April 2, 2023: Happy April Fools' Day, everyone. Stay safe!

Chess.com is excited to announce a complete overhaul of the chess-playing experience, now especially crafted for the next generation of young talents.

With a swipe-centered approach and multiple new features, playing chess is easier and more fun than ever before. Borrowing from popular apps like TikTok, Chess.com now packs an innovative and modern interface that is more in tune with the current times.

Tried and tested by some of the most prominent players in the world, the new Chess.com interface has proven to be a huge hit.

"We understand clicking is cringe. Tapping lacks rizz. Swiping hits different, and we're ready for it," said IM Danny Rensch. "No cap," he added.

Tapping lacks rizz. Danny Rensch, CCO of Chess.com

Tapping is so 2023. We understand that swiping is a faster and more efficient way to do just about anything in life. With this in mind, our new interface makes playing chess much easier by applying a swipe-centered approach to moving your pieces.

How will it work? Its all very simple: first, youll see one of your pieces appear on your screen. If thats the piece you want to move, all you have to do is swipe right. If it isnt, you should swipe left to see your next piece. You repeat this process until you get to the piece youd like to move.

Next, youll see a square on your screen (ex: the a1-square). Swipe up or down to indicate if thats the square you want your piece to land on. This revolutionary way of moving pieces will ensure that you never have to use the tip of your fingers again!

Weve all played that one player who likes to think about their moves. In olden times, youd have no choice but to sit there and actually think about your own movesbut who wants to do that?

Now, with our new feature, youll never have to be bored again. With a simple swipe of the thumb, you can open other games like Subway Surfers as you wait for your opponent to contemplate their next move. Surf and tag train cars to your delight while swiping into chess victory at the same time!

Now, when youre playing on Chess.com, literally anyone in the world will be able to watch your games live and react to your every move. Watch in amazement as emojis pop up on your screen while youre pre-moving in time scramble to deliver a complicated checkmate.

We understand losing is frustrating and that you deserve a better rating than what you currently have. When you lose a game, you can now share it with your network along with an inspiring caption going over your feelings and what you learned from the game. Other members will be able to engage with your post with nothing but supportive messages, as is common on the internet. If you get enough engagement from the community, well refund all your lost rating points!

"Chess is all about community," said Erik Allebest, Chess.com's CEO. "We want to bring chess closer to the real world of social media, where engagement is all that matters."

We want to bring chess closer to the real world of social media. Erik Allebest, CEO of Chess.com

Start sharing your games and prove why you are better than what your rating says. With this feature, even if your opponent wins, you can not lose.

Chess.com believes this swipe-centered paradigm will shift the way people engage with the game online forever. This new release is set to make the game even more appealing to the masses, and the stats prove it:

"After 2023's chess craze, the chess-playing demographic has seen a major shift toward younger audiences. Gen Z players are now approximately 80.5% of Chess.com's active member base, while Utah-based Boomers account for 10.4%, and Millennials only 5%, with the rest of the members being Vegan," said Brenan Klain, Chess.com's Utah-based Head of Engagement. "We're excited to have a new and better way to serve this massive chunk of our community."

If youve not received the update yet, dont worry! Within 24 hours, youll be able to join the younger generation of masters like Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Denis Lazavik, and Anish Giri, who are already having a blast with the new version of Chess.com.

What do you think of these updates? Let us know in the comment section below!

Read more:

Chess.com Announces Massive Changes To Website: Gameplay, Interface, and More! - Chess.com

World number-one Magnus Carlsen beatGM Vincent Keymer to wrap up victory in the 2024 GRENKE Chess Classic round-robin. He now faces GM Richard Rapport in Monday's title match, while GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave takes on Keymer for third place. World Champion Ding Liren suffered as he lost to Keymer, then lost two games of a three-player tiebreak, before finally grabbing a first win in 27 games. He'll play the man he beat, GM Daniel Fridman, for fifth place.

The final matches start on Monday at 10 a.m. ET / 15:00 CET / 7:30 p.m. IST.

Day five of the GRENKE Chess Classic got off to an unusual start as IM Ilja Schneider successfully proposed to his girlfriend Olga Ivanova, who was also playing in the Open tournament.

Then it was down to business, with Carlsen and Rapport, the two players who had made the running for the first four days, sealing the top spots and a match for the title. Vachier-Lagrave booked a match for third place, but the final spots would only be decided in a grueling tiebreak tournament.

GRENKE Chess Classic | Standings After Round 10

The most keenly-anticipated game in round nine was Rapport vs. Vachier-Lagrave, where a win for the Frenchman would have seen him catch his opponent in the standings. It was a tense game, but Rapport held firm, so that Carlsen knew that a draw would be enough to guarantee him a match for the title.

He got off to a great start against Keymer, impressing our commentators with a rare idea of playing g3 but then developing his bishop to d3 instead of g2. Keymer's 13...Ba6? released the pressure on e4, which invited trouble.

14.f4! left the former world champion close to strategically winning, but when the position became closed it was a question of whether he would settle for the draw he needed or push for more. To no one's great surprise, he took the maximalist approach.

After 48.h4! he went on to win in sparkling style.

An easy draw against Vachier-Lagrave in the final round meant he finished on 7/10, scoring five wins and four draws after his round-one loss to Rapport.

Rapport could still theoretically be caught by Vachier-Lagrave, but the Frenchman made a quiet draw against Carlsen, so that there was no pressure on Rapport as he held an 81-move draw against Fridman.

The drama in round 10 was in Keymer vs. Ding, which, after many near misses, saw last-placed Keymer pick up a first win of the event. That's our Game of the Day, with analysis by GM Rafael Leitao below.

During the game, GM Anish Giri reflected on how brutal top-level chess can be.

If that game had been drawn the day would be over, with Ding playing Vachier-Lagrave for third place, while Fridman would take on Keymer for fifth.

Instead, we had a three-way tie for fourth place, which, it turned out, meant a potentially six-round-long double round-robin tiebreak at a 10+2 time control. In the end, five rounds were needed, with Keymer scoring 2.5/3 to win the battle to face Vachier-Lagrave.

GRENKE Chess Classic | 4th Place Tiebreak

It felt like cruel and unusual punishment for a clearly out-of-form and dispirited world champion. Ding missed a decent chance to play for a win as he drew the first game vs. Keymer, blundered and lost to Fridman, then lost on time in a miserable position to Keymer.

The only glimmer of light was that, after a remarkable 27 games across different formats and time controls without a win, Ding finally beat Fridman in the final game of the day. It was a close-run thing, however, since the Chinese star had spoiled a good position and then allowed Fridman a chance to win on the spot with a sacrifice on c5.

Ding's win did little for his own situation, since he'll now play a match to avoid last place for a second tournament in a row, but it did mean that Keymer had clinched victory to complete a remarkable turnaround on the final day of the round-robin.

The final matches on Monday will be played over two 45-minute games with a 10-second increment, with two 10+2 games, then two 5+2, then an armageddon game possible in case of ties.

We'll also see the final two rounds of the GRENKE Open, which is currently led by GMs Ivan Saric, Vladimir Fedoseev, and Velimir Ivic on 6.5/7, but with 14 players just half a point behind.

The winner of the Open will qualify for next year's Classic.

The 2024 GRENKE Chess Classic takes place from March 26-April 1 in Karlsruhe, Germany. The six-player double round-robin features two rounds per day played at a 45-minute time control with 10 seconds added per move. On the last day, two-game matches will be played to decide the final places, with 1st vs. 2nd, 3rd vs. 4th, and 5th vs. 6th.

How to watch?

See also:

Here is the original post:

GRENKE Chess Day 5: Carlsen Wins Round-Robin As Ding Suffers - Chess.com

Bullet Brawl is Chess.com's two-hour arena with a 1+0 time control where titled players compete for a piece of the $1,000 prize fund. Events take place every Saturday at 12 p.m. ET/18:00 CEST.

The Bullet Brawl consists of a two-hour bullet arena with a 1+0 time control for titled players. This event is a score-based arena where players get paired based on their scores instead of their rating. The player who stacks up the most points by the end of the arena wins.

The event takes place every Saturday starting at 12 p.m. ET/18:00 CEST.

The event features a weekly $1,000 prize fund, distributed as follows:

Bullet Brawl is open to all titled players. To participate in the event, head over to our Tournaments page and join the tournament within an hour before it starts.

While only titled players can play in Bullet Brawl, untitled members of our community who are looking for high-speed competition can play in the Community Bullet Brawl! Join our official Community Club and play in the Community Bullet Brawl every Saturday starting at 1 p.m. ET/19:00 CEST.

Read the original post:

Bullet Brawl - All The Information - Chess.com

Many chess players dream of someday becoming world champion. It's a long and difficult journey to get there. You need to play amazing chess, but you also need to know how to qualify and the steps to take along the way. In case you want to become the champion, let's examine what you'll need to do to get there and which players are currently on the path to glory!

The first step to becoming the world champion is to qualify for the Candidates Tournament. This is an eight-player double round-robin event and the upcoming one starts on April 4. Top grandmasters from around the world will compete for the right to challenge the current world champion, GM Ding Liren. Here are the ways to qualify for the Candidates:

The first qualifier is often the person least happy about it. The person defeated in the previous world title match was automatically entered into the next Candidates. This year it's GM Ian Nepomniachtchi, who is attempting to win the Candidates for a third time and get a rematch with Ding.

The next cycle will actually remove this qualification path. It will be replaced with another spot in the FIDE Circuit Qualifier, which you'll read about below. This means whoever loses the next world championship won't be promised another chance!

The FIDE World Cup is a knockout tournament featuring 206 of the best players in the world, held every two years. Players reach the World Cup through dozens of regional tournaments around the globe, along with the 13 highest-rated players in the world, who also get a spot.

After eight rounds of tough competition over 25 days, the former world champion GM Magnus Carlsen won the 2023 FIDE World Cup and qualified for the Candidates. GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu also qualified for his impressive second-place performance, and GM Fabiano Caruana qualified by taking third place.

Carlsen was already the world champion for a decade and has moved on to other challenges. He thus declined his spot in the Candidates, which meant that the fourth-place finisher from the World Cup, GM Nijat Abasov, took Carlsen's place in the Candidates.

The second biggest tournament for the Candidates qualification is the FIDE Grand Swiss. This tournament was held on the Isle Of Man last fall. After 11 rounds, GM Vidit Gujrathi won the tournament with 8.5 points. GMHikaru Nakamura took second place to join Vidit in the Candidates.

Here's the game that brought Vidit first place and punched his Candidates ticket.

The next qualifier for the Candidates gets in as the highest-rated player who hasn't qualified with one of the other methods. In this cycle, GM Alireza Firouzja narrowly and dramatically edged out GM Wesley So to take the spot.

In the next cycle, the rating spot will be determined by the average rating for the last half year.

The final qualified player for the Candidates made it by doing well in a series of tournaments called the FIDE Circuit. Caruana won the FIDE Circuit but had already qualified, so the coveted Candidates spot went to FIDE Circuit second-place, GM Gukesh Dommaraju.

In the next cycle, the FIDE Circuit will award two players spots in the Candidates. The second spot will replace the one that was automatically awarded to the previous challenger.

Once you're in the Candidates, all you need to do is win it! The tournament runs from April 3 to 22. It's a 14-round tournament, where each Candidate plays with White and Black against all of their rivals. Typically a score of between 8.5 and 9.5 out of 14 games is enough for a victory. This will be an intense event, where finishing in first place and getting a shot at the title is the only relevant prize. You will be able to watch games live on Chess.com/TV.

The winner of the Candidates plays a best-of-14 games match against the reigning world champion, Ding. The winner of that match becomes the next world champion.

To summarize, to become the world champion, a player must qualify for the Candidates Tournament, win a double round-robin event, and then defeat the current world champion in a match. Now that you know how to do it, the rest is easy!

Who do you think will be the next world champion? Let us know in the comments.

See original here:

How To Become The Chess World Champion - Chess.com

Uniquely Unlucky

In this article I'm sharing a selection of exceptional blunders. In the process of looking for great moves, while browsing through a huge database of games played online, there is an abundance of blunders to be found. Massive amounts of blunders are played all the time by millions of online players. Most blunders are as stupid as they are predictable. However, in this huge pile of stupid moves, occasionally youll find an unexpected move that is unbelievable as well as devastating.

In general, I dont feel sorry for people when they blunder, because that happens to every player often enough. Especially with common positions, I dont really care for players that blunder. But there is an exception.

One a kind blunders

When a move is terrible, unnecessary and also illogical, no sane person should play it, ever. Thats why I find it interesting whenever I discover such a crazy move being played anyway. Theres something fascinating about knowing that somewhere in the world exists an unlucky soul that had to live through the experience of playing that move. Thats why I save positions like this whenever I find one.

Practically, it just means that these blunders are only made by one player, according to openingtree.com. Its a tool that uses the Lichess games database for all games played at a 1600 rating or higher. When looking at all Lichess games and also including all games on chess.com, its likely there will be more players falling for the same traps, but as it stands, they are still unique.

The selection

# 1 Hillbilly Attack (Schaeffer Gambit)

Setup

The Hillbilly Attack is not a strong opening and this specific variation is fairly speculative, but it can be dangerous for players that aren't familiar with it. White is threatening mate very early in the game.

Key Moment

Black missed the threat and plays Nd7, blundering a mate in one. But that's not the part that interests me.

It's the one white player that lost the game from this position!

#2 Successful Pirc Trap

Setup

Thanks to my friend Kevin who shared this idea with me recently.

After blacks plays Nxf4 the game is over, white has a forced mate in 2 after Nxc7+ Kf8 Rd8#. In 7.6k games (99.3%) of all 7.7k games in the database white plays Nxc7+, only 57 players (0.7%) blunder and play Nxf4. After Nxc7+ around 1,000 black players resign and the other 6.7k players are forced to play Kf8.

Obviously, white's trick worked and the game is essentially over and black can safely resign, like the thousand players that did so on the previous move. But there's a reason people keep saying "never resign". And even in a desperate position like the one after Kf8, there's always hope. In this position 2.3% of players will not see the mate in one. Mostly because their greedy eyes are distracted by the free Rook. Only 13 white players (0.2%) are oblivious to both the checkmate and the free Rook, and will simply play a move like Nf3 or g3.

Key moment

My heart goes out to the player that played Rd7, arguably the worst possible move white can play, perhaps literally the worst move. Everything went according to plan, with finish in sight, all they had to do was drag the Rook a 7 square distance towards the enemy back rank. So close!

#3 Is this even Legall?

Setup

This one is not a mouse slip. This one is just a player being stupid.

It's hilarious that there are 825 players that go for the free Queen (5. Bxd1), but that's nothing special. Thousands of players have fallen for this trap or one of the many variations of the same tactic.

Key Moments

Again, there's one unlucky player that missed his opportunity to win and went on to lose the game even.

This one is worse. Playing Bxf7+ to force the King to e7, only to play Kxd1 anyway. This player was lucky enough to save some dignity and win the game.

#4 Caro-Kann Pawn Tactic

Setup

This a fairly common position in the Caro-Kann Botvinnik-Carls Defense. White makes a mistake in response to Qb6 and black can win the pawn on d4 after removing the defender.

Key moment

We can only speculate on what happened here, my money would be on a misclick.

That's All!

Thanks for reading.

Originally posted here:

One of a kind blunders - Chess.com

MADISON Madison City Chess League or MCCL was well represented and awarded for masterful playing at the 2024 Alabama State Scholastic Chess Championship.

Twenty-three MCCL members competed in this event on March 23-24 in Pike Road with hosts Pike Road Elementary School and Rasberry Chess Academy. Alabama Chess Federation runs this annual event.

Several Madison schools won top team awards in their sections at the State Scholastic, MCCL Executive Director Todd Guthrie said.

Bob Jones High School was the first-place team in the High School Championship section. Team members are Xavier Bruni, Steven Pan, Nirvana Rajbhandari, Aadi Saxena and Jacob New Andrew Yang.

Xavier Bruni was named High School State Champion. Steven Pan finished in third place in the section, and Andrew Yang and Jacob New tied for fifth place. Aadi Saxena finished eighth, and Nirvana Rajbhandari finished ninth.

Discovery Middle School ruled as first-place team in the Middle School Championship section. Team members are Noah Hsu, Caden Jordan and Holland Lang. Individually, Sophia Jerez of Journey Middle School finished third in the section.

The team from Rainbow Elementary School with Annabelle Hsu and Dennis Lenski was the first-place team in the Elementary Championship section. Individually, Esteban Jerez of Horizon Elementary School finished second in the Elementary Championship section. Dennis Lenski tied for second. Annabelle Hsu finished in sixth place.

The Mill reek Elementary School team with Brandon Edmondson and Ananth Ravishekar was the first-place team in the Primary Championship section. In individual standings, Ananth Ravishekar finished second in the Primary Championship section, Milan Malak from Heritage Elementary School tied for second, and Brandon Edmondson finished in fifth.

Congratulations to MCCL member Grattan ONeill who finished third in the High School Under 1,300 section, Guthrie said. Abigail Barbre from Discovery Middle School and Daksh Sunil from Liberty Middle School both finished tied for fifth place in the Middle School Under 1,100 Section.

Christopher Chan from Columbia Elementary School finished second in the Elementary Under 700 section. Austin Pullum from Rainbow Elementary School finished tied for first place in the Primary Under 400 section.

For more information, visit Madisonchess.com.

Go here to read the rest:

Bob Jones hails as section's top team at Scholastic Chess Championship - The Madison Record - themadisonrecord.com

Only a select few in the annals of chess history have broken into the world top-five before their 20th birthday. GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov has now joined that prestigious list, and shares his insights with Chess.com on his rise from prodigy to chess superstar.

The latest FIDE ratings for April, released on Sunday, once again see GM Magnus Carlsen at the top. The Norwegian maestro holds a comfortable lead of 27 points over GM Fabiano Caruana, with another 14-point gap to GM Hikaru Nakamura in third place.

However, stealing the spotlight is Abdusattorov, who not only breached the top-10 for the first time, but takes it one step further to make the top-five, climbing from 11th to 4th. While there is a gap of 24 points up to Nakamura, the young Uzbek is three points ahead of World Champion Ding Liren.

Abdusattorov's entry into the elite circle follows a 17-point gain after he tied for first placein the 2024 Tata Steel Chess in January. He then added another 15 points by winning the Prague Masters with a round to spare in March.

Research conducted by Chess.com reveals the rarity of Abdusattorov's achievement, attained at a historically very early age. In fact, only five players have previously made the top-five before turning 20: GMs Garry Kasparov (1982), Alexei Shirov (1992) and Vladimir Kramnik (1994) achieved the milestone in the 80s and 90s, while Carlsen (2010) and GM Alireza Firouzja (2021) round out the exclusive group.

Noteworthy mentions include Caruana who reached seventh as a 19-year-old, GM Gata Kamsky hit eighth at a mere 16, GM Veselin Topalov eighth at 18, while GM Vasyl Ivanchuk was sixth before his 20th birthday.

Speaking to Chess.com in an exclusive interview, Abdusattorov responds with a smile when informed about the feat:

"I am pleasantly surprised to hear that. I didn't know. It's a great achievement, but at the same time, it's a big responsibility for me as it's a totally new level. I am really happy to be there."

Abdusattorov calls it an important step forward in his career, and feels that his jump from 2720 and breaking into the top-10 was a "huge breakthrough." However, he has always remained firmly grounded, acknowledging that he is just getting started. Nothing is taken for granted:

"I will try my best to push even more, but it will take some time."

Abdusattorov has been eating such records for breakfast for quite some time in his short career. The highlight is becoming the youngest-ever world champion by winning the 2021 World Rapid Championship as a 17-year-old, ahead of the entire world elite.

The Uzbek also holds the record as the youngest-ever 2400-rated player, a feat he achieved at the age of just ten-and-a-half. As an 11-year-old he set a record by becoming the youngest player to enter the top-100 juniors.

Youngest Players To Break 2400

Responding to the question of whether he pays attention to such records, he says with a smile:

"It's been some sort of competition. I have always wanted to break records. It gives me motivation and it's also a very tough challenge. But if you set a goal, you have to motivate yourself with a tough challenge. When I was a kid, I set myself a goal to become the youngest grandmaster at the time. After I became a grandmaster, I set myself a goal to reach 2700. Then you set new goals every time, and that becomes a motivation."

It's been some sort of competition. I have always wanted to break records. It gives me motivation and it's also a very tough challenge.

Nodirbek Abdusattorov

Abdusattorov's record-breaking journey started when he became the Under-8 World Youth Champion in 2012. Only two years later, at the age of nine, he caught the attention of the entire chess world by beating two grandmasters in a single tournament.

His win against 2600-rated GM Andrey Zhigalko at home in Tashkent in 2014, makes him the fifth-youngest player to defeat a grandmaster in classical chess of all time. However, his achievement is perhaps the most impressive of all considering his opponent's strength.

"It was a very special feeling as it was the first time I played against a 2600-grandmaster. I think it was my first open tournament as well, so I had never had a chance to play against s strong grandmaster. And the first time I play against a 2600-rated grandmaster, I managed to beat him. I couldn't believe it myself! I didn't understand what I did at the time. It was a special achievement."

I couldn't believe it myself. I didn't understand what I did at the time. It was a special achievement.

Abdusattorov on his victory against a 2600-rated GM as a nine-year-old

He reveals an amusing story about how he at the time had just discovered who the world number one since 2010 was, one he would later be competing against and even defeating.

"I didn't know Magnus at all. I hadn't heard about him. First time I heard about him was in the 2013 Candidates. I was like eight years old. At the time I found out that he was the world number one. I just knew the world champion, Vishy, and I only knew Magnus as a famous player. When I found out that Magnus is much stronger and higher-rated, I was kind of surprised."

"After the match against Vishy, Magnus was clearly stronger and much better. I was just so impressed with him. He was my idol at the time."

I was just so impressed with him. He was my idol at the time.

Abdusattorov on Carlsen in 2013

Just two years later, in 2015, Abdusattorov had quite the breakthrough. He catapulted from 2263 to 2465 in a matter of a month. That same year he participated in the Qatar Masters, rubbing shoulders with some of the world's biggest chess stars for the first time.

Eight years later, he has a confession to make: "I was looking at each player and seeing them for the first time with an open mouth. It was so exciting!"

In Qatar he also got to show off his skills, such as incredible pace and determination on the soccer (football) pitch, as this reporter witnessed first-hand. "I remember I scored a goal," he says smilingly, adding that he is still a keen player.

He ended up taking a picture with Carlsen, who won the tournament. "I did not talk to him. I was just happy to get the picture!"

Abdusattorov has the memory fresh is his mind when now he has become a star himself and fans are chasing after a selfie with him instead. The young Uzbek's rise has been meteoric. He was barely 13 when he became a grandmaster, the sixth youngest in history, and 15 when he crossed the 2600 barrier. He faced Carlsen for the first time in the 2019 World Blitz Championship, where he held a draw as Black.

In the 2021 World Rapid Championship he won a key game against Carlsen that sensationally secured him the title. After defeating him in their first classical encounter in Tata Steel Chess 2023, Abdusattorov remains the only top player with a plus score against the Norwegian in classical chess.

"After that event, it was obvious that I was going to reach the very top very soon. My childhood time had passed, and I had to grow and take it seriously from that point. Now it's very, very serious."

"Looking back at the time, it was my dream to play even one classical game against him. After some time, I am almost playing against him in every big tournament. It is changing in a very straightforward and unexpected manner. It's a very pleasant feeling to play against him. I enjoy it, but at the same time it's some kind of competition."

Abdusattorov has a clear warning for the world number one.

"Now it's obvious that Magnus is... despite being the best player in the world, our generation is coming for him. It's going to be very tough for Magnus."

Our generation is coming for him. It's going to be very tough for Magnus.

Nodirbek Abdusattorov

Carlsen himself said he feels the youngsters, including Abdusattorov, still have some way to go before they are at his level.

"For the moment, I don't think any of them are close to being at my level. That doesn't mean that it's always easy," Carlsen said in the recent Sjakksnakk podcast.

The former world champion has previously praised Abdusattorov's concentration and discipline, and abilities to defend inferior positions, calling him "extremely impressive." However, the former world champion rates Firouzja higher.

"There's no doubt that Alireza is a bigger talent. Whether he is a more likely pick to have a better chess career than Abdusattorov, I am not sure. But I am not 100 percent convinced by Abdusattorov, still. I am talking in terms of being a clear number one, not whether he is going to be a perennial top player, obviously. But it's still hard to say," Carlsen said.

Whether Abdusattorov will make it to the very top one day remains to be seen, but he certainly seems to be in a good place.

Read this article:

Abdusattorov Enters World Top 5 Before Age 20: 'I Always Wanted To Break Records' - Chess.com

As eight of the world's very best grandmastersGMs Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, Alireza Firouzja, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, Gukesh Dommaraju, Vidit Gujrathi, and Nijat Abasovdescend on Toronto, Canada for the 2024 Candidates Tournament, only one can emerge with the rights to faceGM Ding Liren in the 2024 FIDE World Championship.

But who will it be? That's the question we're looking at today. Below, you can see the odds that each of these stars takes one step closer to the glory of becoming a world champion, and read on to find out why. Many thanks to Tai Pruce-Zimmerman (@chessnumbers) for running the numbers!

In addition to the stats, four grandmasters have graciously offered their thoughts on the favorites, underdogs, and everyone in between: commentators extraordinaire GM David Howell and GM Robert Hess, 12th women's world champion GM Alexandra Kosteniuk, and Chess.com resident GM Rafael Leitao. Our thanks to all of these brilliant players!

Note: Stats are based on players' official March 2024 ratings.

Caruana is the only player in the world, besides GM Magnus Carlsen, who enters the Candidates Tournament maintaining a 2800 rating. He also has by far the most Candidates Tournament experience in the field, with 2024 being his fifth straight. It all adds up to some very high expectations for the three-time U.S. champion.

Most of our grandmasters agreed with the stats that Caruana is the single favorite in the tournament.

Although I don't like giving predictions in general... Caruana has been showing very consistent results in the last year and clearly is the main contender to win this tournament.

GM Alexandra Kosteniuk

By rating, Nakamura is easily one of the top two players in the Candidates, on a margin of almost 30 points over Firouzja. Nakamura has been in the world's top five every month for a year and, after Caruana, has the tournament's best chance at advancing to the World Championship.

Nakamura just constantly looks like he's in the zone... and he's turned winning into a habit.

GM David Howell

The youngest of the four players who has been in a Candidates before, and one of just three participants who has ever been rated 2800, Firouzja has the third-best statistical chances to win the event. Still, he finds himself closer to the rest of the field than to the top two of Caruana and Nakamura.

The grandmasters were rather split on Firouzja's chances.

If I had to make a bet with these odds, Firouzja would be my choice for a value bet.

GM Rafael Leitao

Nepomniachtchi has won this tournament twice in a row, his first two times playing in it. Statistically speaking, however, this fact neither increases or decreases his odds of winning a third time in a row, and he is just a fraction less likely than Firouzja to take the tournament.

There was perhaps no greater disagreement between the grandmasters and the percentages than with Nepomniachtchi.

This percentage almost feels disrespectful!

GM Robert Hess

The ranking of the three Indian players in the field has been constantly shuffling in the past few monthsin fact, in the official March rankings, all three of them were rated exactly 2747but as we enter the Candidates, it is Praggnanandhaa who finds himself at the top of the numbers hierarchy.

Howell and Kosteniuk were very high on Praggnanandhaa as well, while Hess and Leitao have all three Indian players about the samea reflection of their bunched-together ratings.

Pragg has great nerves, a very flexible opening repertoire, and is so universal. All key ingredients for a successful Candidates campaign.

GM David Howell

Gukesh is only 17 years old, the youngest player in the tournament. Of the three Indian players, he is the only one who has cracked a 2750 rating so far, becoming the first Indian player in 37 years to surpass GM Viswanathan Anand, but he has lost a few points since then. And that seems to be reflected in his stats.

Not surprising for the youngest player, all four grandmasters were a bit worried about Gukesh's chances, but not for talent reasons.

It's always hard to predict results from youngsters, so I'm just looking forward to seeing him performing in his first Candidates.

GM Alexandra Kosteniuk

Vidit stumbled in March with a 3/9 finish at the Prague Masters, giving him the second-lowest rating in the field as the tournament begins. While bad performances before the Candidates historically don't mean very much, Vidit's statistical odds are not as high as they would have been with a higher rating.

Definitely the most underrated player... he's not behind his two compatriots, with the advantage of being a more mature player.

GM Rafael Leitao

Yes, out of 10,000 simulations, Abasov won the tournament a grand total of seven times. His rating is more than 110 points lower than anyone else in the field, giving him a major uphill battle.

You might expect the GM panel to agree with Abasov's low odds... and they do.

Abasov truthfully has zero chance of winning this event, but will determine who in fact challenges for the world championship.

GM Robert Hess

If you want even more expert opinions, GM Daniel Naroditsky posted his thoughts on Reddit, and even Carlsen himself was interviewed by Howell below:

It is pretty clear that the expectations on Caruana are stratospheric, but he has met such expectations before. If it doesn't happen for him, the numbers may like Nakamura next, but other grandmasters see Nepomniachtchi as bigger threat. Firouzja may be the least predictable player in the field. The Indian players total 18.5% in their chances, but it's almost impossible to say which one of them specifically might surprise.

Who do you think will win the Candidates and why? Let us know in the comments!

Read the original:

Who Will Win The Candidates Tournament - Chess.com

State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington D.C. West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Puerto Rico US Virgin Islands Armed Forces Americas Armed Forces Pacific Armed Forces Europe Northern Mariana Islands Marshall Islands American Samoa Federated States of Micronesia Guam Palau Alberta, Canada British Columbia, Canada Manitoba, Canada New Brunswick, Canada Newfoundland, Canada Nova Scotia, Canada Northwest Territories, Canada Nunavut, Canada Ontario, Canada Prince Edward Island, Canada Quebec, Canada Saskatchewan, Canada Yukon Territory, Canada

Zip Code

Country United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe

Go here to see the original:

World Chess Hall of Fame to Open New Exhibition: Clash for the Crown: Celebrating Chess Champions - The Bakersfield Californian