Carlsen is the 4th World Fast Chess Champion
Carlsen entered the final day of the test on December 28 with a leading position, at least half a point ahead of his competitors. He beat championship competitor Vincent Keymer, then lost his first game of the tournament to Vladislav Artemiev. That result helped Artemiev equalize the lead with Carlsen before the last two games.
However, the Norwegian player showed the world's number one bravery when he defeated Parham Maghsoodloo in the last game, with a pilot attack to attack the citadel. Meanwhile, Artemiev lost to Fabiano Caruana and fell out of the medal group.
After 13 games, Carlsen won eight, drew four and lost one, taking 10 points and monopolizing the top spot. He received $ 60,000 in prize money, as well as the fourth fastest chess title in the world over 10 times the tournament was held. Keymer finished second with 9.5 points, while Caruana was third with 9.5 points, but the sub-factor was lower than the German player.
After deciding to refuse to defend the Chess King title in July 2022, Carlsen was in danger of ending the year without a world title in hand. But the world fast chess championship came at the right time for the 32-year-old player. "This title means a lot to me," Carlsen said. "Last year, I left the tournament empty-handed and I don't want that to happen again."
The only representative of Vietnam at the tournament was successful, when Grandmaster Le Tuan Minh won 8.5 points, standing in the ninth group. The 26-year-old's original Elo was only 124th in the tournament, but he won five, drew seven and also lost only one game. This position earned him nearly 4,800 USD.
Almaty will continue to organize the world blitz tournament on December 29 and December 30, with 177 players participating. Carlsen is aiming for a fifth title in this event, but number one seed Hikaru Nakamura promises to be a barrier for the Norwegian player. Blitz chess is also Tuan Minh's forte, although he was only ranked 103rd according to the original Elo.
Fast chess play time is 15 minutes for each side, add 10 seconds after each move (15 + 10), while blitz chess is 3+2. The players will play 21 games of the Swiss system, of which the first day will play 12 games.
