Nakamura Wins Super Swiss; Fedoseev Qualifies For Speed Chess Championship
GM Hikaru Nakamura won the $3,500 first prize in the Speed Chess Championship Super Swiss as he defeated GM Vladimir Fedoseev 7.5-5.5 in Sunday's final of the knockout phase. Because Nakamura is already seeded into the tournament, Fedoseev took the qualification spot for the Speed Chess Championship's Knockout Final.
The 16-player knockout phase of the Super Swiss took place on Sunday. Once again, Nakamura lived up to his reputation as the best speed chess player in the world—barring Magnus Carlsen, who chooses not to play on Chess.com anymore.
What is all the more incredible is that Nakamura streams all of his tournaments on his Twitch channel these days, and that doesn't seem to affect his play at all. In the round of 16 and the quarterfinals, in 13 games combined, he dropped only half a point against two not-too-shabby Russian grandmasters: 6-0 vs. Sanan Sjuirov (@Sanan_Sjugirov; 2675 standard Elo) and Dmitry Andreikin (@FairChess_on_YouTube; 2726 in standard chess).
In his semifinal with GM Vladislav Artemiev (@Sibelephant, who had eliminated Alexander @Grischuk) Nakamura kept his unbeaten status for eight more games and was up 5.5-2.5 before he lost his first bullet game. He lost another one after that before he scored the decisive point.
The final was a very close affair. GM Vladimir Fedoseev (@Bigfish1995), the winner of the Speed Chess Grand Prix just 1.5 weeks ago, had knocked out two compatriots, GMs Ian Nepomniachtchi (@lachesisQ) and Grigoriy Oparin (@OparinGrigoriy), and held Naka to 3-3 before the bullet.
Fedoseev won the first bullet game when Nakamura uncharacteristically blundered his queen:
Nakamura bounced back immediately with two wins. After a draw, he won another one to set the score to 6.5-4.5. He needed just one a draw to clinch the tournament, but Fedoseev converted his must-win game nicely:
The Russian grandmaster was also doing well in the last game when Nakamura allowed the positional a4-a3. However, bullet is bullet, and Naka is a magician in bullet.
Nakamura won the $3,500 first prize, but Fedoseev probably wasn't too disappointed as he qualified for the Speed Chess Championship Knockout Final, besides getting $2,500 for second place. Artemiev and Oparin won $1,000 while Andreikin, Grischuk, Martinez, and So earned $750. The eight losers in the round of 16 won $250.
In the first round, the players played two 5+1 games, two 3+1 games, and five 1+1 games. Both the quarterfinals and semifinals consisted of two 5+1 games, three 3+1 games, and six 1+1 games. In the final, there were two 5+1 games, four 3+1 games, and eight 1+1 games.
Four more qualification spots into the Speed Chess Knockout Final can be earned in the Speed Chess Grand Prix. Two more tournaments are planned for October 6 and 13. Fedoseev's qualification is good news, for example, for GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov, currently in sixth place but the fourth eligible player with the top two players already in.
Speed Chess Championship Grand Prix | Top 10 Standings After September 29
| # | Fed | Title | Name | Username | Swiss Points |
Bonus Points |
Overall Points |
| 1 | GM | Hikaru Nakamura | @Hikaru | 69 | 56 | 125 | |
| 2 | GM | Vladimir Fedoseev | @Bigfish1995 | 66.5 | 32 | 98.5 | |
| 3 | GM | Vladislav Artemiev | @Sibelephant | 58.5 | 38 | 96.5 | |
| 4 | GM | Parham Maghsoodloo | @Parhamov | 68 | 24 | 92 | |
| 5 | GM | Haik Martirosyan | @Micki-taryan | 59.5 | 28 | 87.5 | |
| 6 | GM | Nodirbek Abdusattorov | @ChessWarrior7197 | 67.5 | 16 | 83.5 | |
| 7 | GM | Alireza Firouzja | @Firouzja2003 | 65 | 14 | 79 | |
| 8 | GM | Maksim Chigaev | @Fandorine | 65 | 14 | 79 | |
| 9 | GM | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | @LyonBeast | 49 | 28 | 77 | |
| 10 | IM | Le Tuan Minhe | @wonderfultime | 66.5 | 10 | 76.5 |
Super Swiss Knockout | All games
The live broadcast with GMs Maurice Ashley and Robert Hess.
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