Lazavik, Carlsen On Perfect 3/3 After Surviving Rollercoaster 3rd Round

GMs Magnus Carlsen and Denis Lazavik lead the 2024 Champions Chess Tour Finals round-robin after three rounds on the opening day, with perfect scores. GM Wesley So came as close as you can get to defeating the world-number one without actually winning; he lost an endgame with an extra exchange and then the armageddon. Like Carlsen, Lazavik lost the first game of round three against GM Alireza Firouzja but then won on demand before holding in armageddon, to win his third match.

Rounds four through six take place on Wednesday, December 18, starting at 12:00 ET / 18:00 CET / 10:30 p.m. IST.

Standings After Round 3

• The CCT Finals Return To Oslo
• Round 1: Nepomniachtchi Steals Victory From The Jaws Of Defeat
• Round 2: Lazavik Wins Thrilling Armageddon, Leads 2/2 With Carlsen
• Round 3: Carlsen Does The Impossible Vs. So
• Chess Makes Historic Debut at Esports World Cup 2025
• Round 4 Pairings

The CCT Finals Return To Oslo

The yearlong tour, which brought together hundreds of grandmasters in four preceding events, wraps up in Oslo over the next five days. Eight players vie for the $200,000 prize and coveted title of 2024 Champions Chess Tour Champion. Players also earn $1,000 for every match they win in the first stage.

The Prizes

Players qualified for this event either by winning one of the four events or by accruing the most tour points throughout the year. The only player to win two events was Carlsen (surprise, surprise), who is also the only player to win the Champions Chess Tour since 2021. Carlsen, Firouzja, GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, So, and Lazavik return to the CCT Finals after playing last year as well. GMs Ian Nepomniachtchi, Vincent Keymer, and Levon Aronian play in-person for the first time in the CCT.

The unofficial question is: will Carlsen win it again?

Protecting home court tonight🇳🇴 https://t.co/Or1GPzDBeO

— Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) December 17, 2024

There are three stages, and we begin the competition with a round-robin in the first three days. The time control is 10+2 and the games are played over the board. At the end of the round-robin, the bottom two will be eliminated and six players will remain.

The venue, Screen Studios, hosts a live audience. The players could not see or hear the spectators, thanks to a one-way mirror and noise-cancelling headphones, with players listening to their selected playlists. In the video clip below, you can see the fan perspective from the bleachers.

I think we did it, team? pic.twitter.com/UhqyvqfRhB

— Daniel Rensch (@DanielRensch) December 17, 2024

Round 1: Nepomniachtchi Steals Victory From The Jaws Of Defeat

The most shocking result in the opening round was Nepomniachtchi's victory against So from a losing position in game one. Meanwhile, Carlsen, Firouzja, and Lazavik all won their white games and drew with the black pieces.

Every round featured two-game matches. No armageddon tiebreak was needed in the first round.

So looked to be winning his first game with the black pieces as GM David Howell exclaimed, "It's paralysis for White! He can barely move!" By move 43, So had one minute left to convert the decisive advantage.

He could have grabbed the pawn on a5 and left the white pieces paralyzed, but he instead saw a way to force a queen endgame up a pawn. The problem was that White had enough activity to achieve a draw by perpetual check. And, the way things turned out, Nepomniachtchi got even more than that. 

Nepomniachtchi drew the second game to take the match. Meanwhile, Firouzja scored his first match point after overcoming Aronian in a tactical brawl in game one and drawing game two—winning just seconds before Carlsen secured his own match point.

Alireza and Magnus win their games in round one within seconds of each other!#CCTFinals pic.twitter.com/PNogFabaZZ

— chess24 (@chess24com) December 17, 2024

The world rapid champion won game one against the German number-one Keymer. He exhibited 97 percent accuracy, against 92 percent, and showed class as he traded from a knight endgame into a pawn endgame, understanding that he'd win even with an equal number of pawns.

Lazavik vs. Vachier-Lagrave was the closest match of the round. After a draw in game one, Vachier-Lagrave came close to defending a two-pawns-down opposite-color bishop endgame, but the youngest grandmaster in the field triumphed—for the first time, and not the last.

Denis the Menace wins against MVL exactly on move 100, winning his first match!https://t.co/gyZuFTx8P2#CCTFinals pic.twitter.com/HHIFt58axZ

— chess24 (@chess24com) December 17, 2024

Round 2: Lazavik Wins Thrilling Armageddon, Leads 2/2 With Carlsen

The round saw two 2-0 sweeps by So and Vachier-Lagrave, while Carlsen again won his first game and held the second. After two draws in the regular portion, Lazavik won the first armageddon of the day.

So bounced back from disaster at once, winning both games against Firouzja for a 2-0 sweep. Both games featured tactical surprises. In the first one, So attacked a pawn and there was simply no good way to defend it. In the second, Firouzja found his bishop trapped in the middle of the board after 21.Bg2. So was ruthless in converting the advantage.

Carlsen won a complicated first game against Nepomniachtchi in the Nimzowitsch Attack variation of the Petroff Defense. Nepomniachtchi first missed 34.Rd8!, but fought resiliently to crawl back into the game. Only to get ground down one last time.

In the other 2-0 sweep of the round, Vachier-Lagrave scored his first match point against Aronian, who found himself fatally down on the clock in both games. The Frenchman won an endgame first and then picked up an exchange in game two to dominate the match—though this would be his only match win on Tuesday.

Lazavik vs. Keymer was the only match to go to bidding armageddon this round. Keymer had just six minutes and 59 seconds against 10 minutes, but a draw would mean he'd get the point. It came down to the final seconds, with both playing on the one-second increment given after move 60, and Lazavik pulled out a win from a theoretically-drawn rook endgame.

Lazavik squeezes out a drawn rook endgame in 102 moves as both players play on the one-second increment, scoring 2/2 match wins!https://t.co/JqqxFbR2Gc#CCTFinals pic.twitter.com/YqfH9yX9KA

— chess24 (@chess24com) December 17, 2024

This meant that the two players on a perfect 2/2 score were Carlsen and Lazavik, going into round three.

In an interview with FM Mike Klein, Carlsen said that he was happy to play on home soil. He also pointed out how important it is to finish in the top two of the round-robin, saying that first is ideal but even second is acceptable. "You never want to be in a position where you want to win a couple of matches in order to make it."

Magnus on how important it is to score in the top two of the round-robin:

"You never want to be in a position where you want to win a couple of matches in order to make it."

Only the top two players bypass the Survival Stage.#CCTFinals pic.twitter.com/4gQrpzsfq8

— chess24 (@chess24com) December 17, 2024

Round 3: Carlsen Does The Impossible Vs. So

The final round consisted of three armageddon games, with just Keymer winning his first match against an injured Aronian in the regular two games. Both leaders lost their first games in this round before, incredibly, winning on demand twice.

The day, which was already full of tragedy for Aronian, ended as it began. Down two pawns in a queen endgame, he suddenly got one back and was within the drawing margin, but the position proved too difficult to defend with five seconds. He went on to lose his third match of the day, while Keymer won his first. 

Carlsen vs. So was the most riveting match. Game one ended suddenly when the world number-one blundered a fork. So later said that he saw it immediately, of course, and added, "That's what knights are for!"

Carlsen then needed to win on demand with the black pieces. It looked, by this point, like he was going to lose straight out of the opening, and his facial expressions showed that he was completely demoralized. After 12...dxc4 13.Ne6 Qc8, it seemed Carlsen's entire kingside would collapse.

...but he went on to sacrifice the exchange, complicate matters, and win the game. GM Rafael Leitao reviews the Game of the Day, by far the best and most impossible-looking swindle of the day. 

Carlsen went on to trap a rook and win the armageddon game with the black pieces, completely turning the match around.

Lazavik also lost his first game but then won on demand to reach tiebreaks. The Belarusian GM won a trapped knight in game two to rebound. After 35.Be4!, the knight suddenly had no way back, and Firouzja went down in flames.

Lazavik then held the draw in a topsy-turvy armageddon to win the match.

Meanwhile, after two draws, Nepomniachtchi and Vachier-Lagrave settled it in the armageddon. The two-time world championship challenger found a decisive tactic and reached a pawn-up knight endgame, which he saw through to his second match victory.

Chess Makes Historic Debut at Esports World Cup 2025

The end of the broadcast featured a surprise announcement, which you can read more about in our separate article here. Chess.com and Carlsen have announced a major partnership with the Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF), which means that competitive chess will be featured for the first time in the 2025 Esports World Cup (EWC). The 2025 Champions Chess Tour will be connected with this event.

Round 4 Pairings

The two leaders will face two potentially demoralized opponents on Wednesday. Carlsen will face Vachier-Lagrave, who won his second match but lost the other two, while Lazavik will take on Aronian, who lost all three matches.

The 2024 Champions Chess Tour Finals take place in Oslo, Norway from December 17-21. The tour's eight finalists compete in various formats to decide the 2024 tour champion. They play a round-robin, followed by a survival stage, followed by semifinals and the final. The prize fund is $500,000 with $200,000 going to the winner.