Nakamura Takes Off In Bullet, Sets Up Semifinal Match Vs. Firouzja In Paris

GM Hikaru Nakamura is the last player to make it to the Speed Chess Championship 2024 Finals. On Friday, he defeated GM Ian Nepomniachtchi in the Quarterfinals with a 14.5-9.5 score. Nepomniachtchi got off to a three-point lead in the first segment, but Nakamura evened the score in the 3+1 and then dominated the bullet games to win the match.

The Semifinals, featuring GM Magnus Carlsen vs. GM Hans Niemann and GM Alireza Firouzja vs. Nakamura will be live in Paris on September 6, starting at 10:00 a.m. ET / 16:00 CEST / 7:30 p.m. IST. 

Speed Chess Championship 2024 Bracket 

Hikaru Nakamura 14.5-9.5 Ian Nepomniachtchi

SmarterChess predicted Nakamura's victory with 65 percent odds, suggesting scores of 4.5-2.5 in the first portion, 4-3 in the second, and 5.5-2.5 in the last. Nepomniachtchi shattered expectations in the 5+1 segment, but Nakamura performed even better than predicted in the bullet.

• 5+1: Nakamura 2.5-5.5 Nepomniachtchi
• 3+1: Nakamura 5.5-2.5 Nepomniachtchi
• 1+1: Nakamura 6.5-1.5 Nepomniachtchi

Blitz 5+1: Nakamura 2.5-5.5 Nepomniachtchi

The last time they played in the SCC, in the 2019 Semifinals, Nakamura had a three-point lead after the 5+1 portion. This time, Nepomniachtchi took off to a three-point lead in the match.

Nepomniachtchi won straight out of the gates with a blistering attack. The creative maneuver of ...Ra5-h5 in the first game, transferring the rook to the kingside, was an aesthetic way of setting up an attack.

The decisive blow came when Nakamura, in time trouble, allowed the sacrifice 34.Bc3? Bxh3!. The attack led to winning the white queen and the game. Nakamura, who almost always has a time advantage in his games, was usually down on the clock in this segment.

Nakamura struck back with a positional win on the black side of the Berlin endgame, but Nepomniachtchi won three out of the next four games.  "Ian Nepomniachtchi is just pouncing all over Hikaru Nakamura. He is not letting him escape," said GM Robert Hess. "He's just playing his great quality of chess and Hikaru doesn't know what to do about it."

Ian Nepomniachtchi is just pouncing all over Hikaru Nakamura.

—Robert Hess

The American number-one came very close to flipping the script in the last two games. After winning the penultimate game, the momentum shifted completely for Nakamura who was attacking and winning again. However, Nepomniachtchi defended resiliently, and when Nakamura over-pressed in a position where he had to repeat moves, he allowed his own king to get checkmated.

Thus, Nepomniachtchi entered the next segment with a three-point lead, just about the most you could ask for against the five-time SCC champion.

Blitz 3+1: Nakamura 5.5-2.5 Nepomniachtchi

Nakamura changed shirts during the break and stormed back into the match from the very beginning of the 3+1. As Hess explained, "He changed his shirt, he changed his game, and he changed the scoreline."

Nakamura won the first three games before Nepomniachtchi finally drew a game—and this was clearly the turning point of the match. The first one featured a rook sacrifice in the endgame, then Nepomniachtchi lost a winning knight endgame, and finally Nakamura capped off the hat-trick with an exchange sacrifice, an attack, and then a steady hand in the endgame. GM Rafael Leitao analyzes the Game of the Day below.

Nepomniachtchi managed to swindle a victory from a pawn-down rook endgame, but Nakamura again evened the score in the game that followed. It featured an interesting piece sacrifice from the two-time world championship challenger, but after 14.f5?! Nxe5 15.Kh1??, it was Nakamura who was attacking.

The last two games ended in draws, though the very last one was a missed chance for Nepomniachtchi. Nakamura blundered a pawn in the opening but went on to save the game.

Bullet 1+1: Nakamura 6.5-1.5 Nepomniachtchi

Surprisingly, Nakamura took the lead for the first time in the match only in the bullet portion. 

Tactics were on full display in game one as Nepomniachtchi grabbed a poisoned pawn, missing the nice in-between move 26.Bg7! that led to an extra piece for White.

Two games later, Nepomniachtchi blundered a piece in one move. 

Nakamura pounces on a one-move blunder and takes a three-point lead!https://t.co/7mbelYMdct#SpeedChess pic.twitter.com/Lten7SkX4y

— chess24 (@chess24com) August 9, 2024

By the next game, Nepomniachtchi was just tilted. White was clearly better, but after 34...Kg7?? the game was over. Nakamura really took his time with making his moves, causing Nepomniachtchi to resign immediately in order to save time on the match clock.

The only bullet game Nepomniachtchi won was the very last one, and Nakamura won all the others with one draw. Nakamura takes home $8,020.83 and Nepomniachtchi $1,979.17 by win percentage. You can listen to his thoughts about the day in the video recap below. 

Nakamura got stronger as the time control quickened, saying afterward, "My biggest enemy was time. When I had too much time to think, all my decisions were wrong." And he thought the 3+1 portion was the turning point: "I never really felt I was in danger after I got on that [three-game] winning streak in the 3+1."

My biggest enemy was time. When I had too much time to think, all my decisions were wrong.

—Hikaru Nakamura

The Semifinal match against Firouzja will no doubt be challenging for the many-time champion, and he acknowledged it, calling the matchup "exciting."

I think it'll be really exciting to play Alireza because, as I've probably said 10 times already, he is the one player who I think is at the same level as Magnus and myself in bullet. So it's not a situation where I can play a bunch of chill and relaxed games... and expect to turn things around in the bullet.

As for the Carlsen vs. Niemann match, he predicted with almost certainty that the world number-one would win. 

"If Magnus plays well in the 5+1 and 3+1 it's very hard to see a world where Hans will be able to win that match. Just being honest, it's probably 95 percent chance that Magnus wins that match."#SpeedChess pic.twitter.com/GvmVubhlpZ

— chess24 (@chess24com) August 9, 2024

The Semifinals will be in Paris in September, but we will see Nakamura play over-the-board before that in St. Louis. The Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz starts this upcoming Monday, directly followed by the Sinquefield Cup. His form in the 5+1 against Nepomniachtchi wasn't a good indicator, he thought, but he concluded: "I don't feel great about it, but hopefully I'll be able to play myself into form and, yeah, you never know what will happen."

The Speed Chess Championship is Chess.com's most important speed chess event. Some of the biggest names in chess compete to determine the best speed chess player in the world. The main event started with qualifiers on June 27 and 28 and concludes with the first-ever Final on September 8, live in Paris. The games are played with time controls of 5+1, 3+1, and 1+1. The prize fund is $173,000.

Previous reports:

• Carlsen Qualifies For SCC Finals In Paris, Will Play Niemann In Semifinals
• Niemann Advances To SCC Finals In Paris & Potential Match With Carlsen, Blasts 'Chess Establishment'
• Firouzja Scores Nearly Double Caruana, Qualifies For Paris Semifinals
• Niemann, Caruana Advance To Quarterfinals After Superior Bullet Performances
• Firouzja Fireworks Lead To Win Over Grischuk, So Outlasts Lazavik
• Carlsen Keeps It Classy, Nepomniachtchi Does A Houdini
• Arjun Prevails At The Final Turn, Nakamura Dominates
• Lazavik Qualifies For SCC Main Event, Goes Undefeated On Day 2
• Pranesh Tops Swiss Qualifier, 8 Players Move On To Knockout Stage
• Paris To Host Live Final Of 2024 Speed Chess Championship: Nakamura, Carlsen Confirmed