Carlsen Wins World Blitz Championship, Assaubayeva Defends Women's Title

GM Magnus Carlsen earned the 2022 FIDE World Blitz Championship title on Friday with a score of 16/21, one point ahead of silver medalist GM Hikaru Nakamura and bronze medalist on tiebreak, GM Haik Martirosyan.

Carlsen's victory, which was confirmed when he poetically defeated GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov in the final round, means that he simultaneously holds all three world chess titles for the first time since his Uzbek opponent nabbed the world rapid title from him in 2021.

IM Bibisara Assaubayeva produced a historic result in the women's championship and became the third woman in history to defend the world blitz title after scoring five straight wins against the leaders of the tournament to snatch the title on home soil. 

The Kazakh superstar looked down and out after losing to a surging IM Polina Shuvalova, but the back-end streak pushed her to a winning score of 13/17, closely followed by GM Humpy Koneru on 12.5/17 and Shuvalova on 12/17.

After a dazzling start on day one Nakamura had no time to rest on his laurels with a number of the world's best players breathing down his neck. Two draws in rounds 13 and 14, both of which were "Berlin draws," allowed Carlsen to catch him. GMs Anish Giri and Daniil Dubov also closed the gap to half a point.

Carlsen very nearly lost his first game of the tournament against GM Richard Rapport in round 14 in one of the wildest encounters of the event. The game was full of twists and turns and the evaluation bar swung like a pendulum as the players navigated the imbalanced middlegame. Three promotions at different stages of the game meant that five queens graced the board during the 71-move duel which ultimately ended in a victory for the Norweigian.

Popular Youtuber Antonio Radic (best known as Agadmator) described the game as a "bar fight," while others described it on Twitter as the best craziest blitz game they had ever seen.

Carlsen vs Rapport game was a bar fight pic.twitter.com/VgDR040iMa

— agadmator (@agadmator) December 30, 2022

Results in round 15 went against the grain with both of the leaders losing their games against Russian opponents. GM Ian Nepomniachtchi was able to outplay the world champion on the white side of a Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense and found himself with a sizeable edge after 40 moves. Having spent all of his time trying to defend against the world championship challenger, Carlsen surprisingly lost on time.

Meanwhile, Nakamura was conquered by GM Vladislav Artemiev with black after declining a draw, a result which allowed three players to join the favorites in the lead.

Martirosyan announced himself as a title contender in round 16 when he knocked over the dangerous GM Vladimir Fedoseev, propelling him to 13/16. Remarkably, the Armenian GM's games until this point had all been decisive, and wins over Dubov, Keymer and numerous 2600+ players had already made this a tournament to remember.

Keeping pace with the leaders proved too difficult in round 17 primarily due to the fact that the 22-year-old had to fend off none other than Nepomniachtchi with the black pieces. A typical Berlin culminated in an opposite-colored bishop ending where Martirosyan took his first draw of the tournament. Carlsen and Nakamura both won once again, this time seeing off GMs Fabiano Caruana and Dmitry Andreikin in convincing games with the black pieces.

With four rounds to go, it was expected that the leaders would continue to play against opponents ranked well inside the top 20 in the world, but as fate would have it, Carlsen ended up facing the world number 1366, 16-year-old IM Mukhiddin Madaminov. The talented Uzbek (rated 2333 in blitz) had accrued 11.5/17 and earned himself the showdown of a lifetime on board one. Although Madaminov did eventually lose to Carlsen, he put up a huge fight and had the tournament leader sweating at several moments.

Round 18 proved to be an important one in terms of the standings as Nakamura sensationally lost to three-time Titled Tuesday winner GM Alexey Sarana. The win barely came as a surprise to viewers who had noticed that the Russian bruiser had won 9.5 out of the last 10 points on offer after starting the tournament with an underwhelming 3/8 score.

Sarana was not yet finished carving up the tournament's top players and followed up with a win against Carlsen in the 19th round. Sarana clearly did his homework on how to tackle the world number-one's Queen's Gambit Declined and used his central control to exert pressure on Carlsen. A decisive blunder on move 21 ended the game quickly in favor of the underdog who became the only player to beat both the first and second seeds in the event.

Alexey Sarana started the World Blitz Championship with a 3/8 score...

He's just defeated both Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura, and is on a 10.5/11 streak! 🔥🔥#RapidBlitz pic.twitter.com/FJtjk28oeC

— Chess.com (@chesscom) December 30, 2022

The barnstorming run from Sarana finally came to an end in the penultimate round where the overachieving Martirosyan ended his chances of medal contention. The result didn't necessarily make things any easier for Carlsen who only held a one-point buffer at the end of the round due to two of his closest chasers, Nakamura and GM Jan-Krzysztof-Duda, winning their games. 

Duda, who had a modest 8/12 start, snuck up on the leaders and timed his run to perfection. A clean win over Andreikin in round 20 brought him to within a whisker of first place with one round to go.

The final round pairings couldn't have been scripted any better with Carlsen playing Abdusattorov while Nakamura and Duda both received the white pieces against lower-rated opponents (GM Pentala Harikrishna and Sarana). 

Although the chasing pack was favored on paper to win their last games, commentator Trent reminded viewers that "when his destiny is in his own hands, Carlsen seems to pull through," and the final round saw Carlsen quash any chance of being caught by demolishing Abdusattorov's Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense in just 38 moves and confirmed the championship.

GM Rafel Leitao has unpacked our game of the day which was undoubtedly one of the most important encounters of the tournament.

The pressure clearly got to the players who had a chance to usurp Carlsen before the 21st round and Duda's loss meant that he fell off the podium entirely. Nakamura was fortunate to draw his encounter with Harikrishna and was left rueing in yet another world blitz championship that he had come agonizingly close to winning. Martirosyan seemed instead to embrace the tournament situation and scored another upset win over Caruana which catapulted him into equal second.

Carlsen picked up another $60,000 for his second title of the week while Nakamura and Martirosyan bagged $45,000 each for their efforts. The remainder of the $350,000 prize fund was shared between fourth to 35th place.

MAGNUS DOES IT AGAIN! 🏆🏆

Congratulations to @MagnusCarlsen for winning his SIXTH World Blitz Championship, and completing the #RapidBlitz double! 👏🔥 pic.twitter.com/wugr79B7d9

— Chess.com (@chesscom) December 30, 2022

2022 World Blitz Chess Championship | Final Standings (Top 20)

All World Blitz Chess Championship Games

After finishing the first day with a respectable 6.5/8, Shuvalova decided to up the ante on day two and ran riot, scoring 4.5/5 against some of the tournament's biggest contenders including GMs Aleksandra Goryachkina, Harika Dronavalli, defending champion Assaubayeva, and IM Sarasadat Khademalsharieh. The game against the Khadelmalsharieh was exquisite and showcased the boa-constrictor-like style of Shuvalova.

GM Valentina Gunina also started the day well, dispatching GM Alexandra Kosteniuk in round 10 but suffered from a complete lapse of form in the middle of the day, losing four rounds in a row and dashing any chance of winning her second world blitz title.

GM Tan Zhongyi was her usual consistent self on day two and while she suffered a few setbacks at the hands of Dronavalli, Assaubayeva, and Koneru, her results were positive enough to keep her in medal contention for the entire event.

A question mark over Assaubayeva's title chances appeared after she butchered a winning position and lost to GM Elisabeth Paehtz in the first round of the day. However, a return of the tenacity seen in her championship-winning run last year reared its head once more.

Extraordinarily, only a single loss to Shuvalova would befall Assaubayeva in the final eight rounds of the event, and the defending champion, spurred on by an internally raucous home crowd at the Baluan Sholak Palace of Culture and Sports, went on to win all of the remaining games.

The Kazakh IM's astounding run was marked by blinding speed and calmness under pressure that the reigning champion became famous for in 2021. Although eighth-seed GM Nana Dzagnidze's Queen's Gambit Declined seemed to be fine, she soon became the victim of one of Assaubayeva's most cutting attacks, eventually succumbing to the strategic brilliance of the 18-year-old.

By the time the 17th and final round came around it was clear that no one had brought the same amount of attacking energy as Assaubayeva to the final day, but an experienced Tan did find herself on the same score (12/16) with one game to go. Both players drew difficult Indian pairings, Koneru-Tan, and Dronavalli-Assaubayeva, and the pressure was on both players to win to secure the title.

Fortunately for Assaubayeva, she saved her best blitz until last and put pressure on Dronavalli's clock, maintaining a 20-second advantage throughout the game. The position looked to be heading for a draw around move 30, but the Indian challenger misjudged a perpetual check and ended up giving up a bishop for free! Dronavalli played on for a while, perhaps trying to keep her countrywoman Koneru inspired as she cruised to victory in her game against Tan.

Unable to survive after the blunder, Dronavalli resigned and it dawned on Assaubayeva that she had completed one of the most difficult title defenses in world chess.

Congratulations to Bibisara Assaubayeva on winning back-to-back Women's World Blitz Championships! 👏🏆

She ended on a five-game winning streak to take the world title in her home country! 🎉 pic.twitter.com/FYywX8obzc

— Chess.com (@chesscom) December 30, 2022

For her first-place finish, Assaubayeva will receive $40,000, Koneru will receive $30,000, and Shuvalova and Tan will each receive $17,500.

2022 Women's World Blitz Chess Championship | Final Standings (Top 20) 

All Women's World Blitz Chess Championship Games

The 2022 FIDE World Blitz Championship is an elite over-the-board event featuring the best speed chess players in the world. Masters and national champions from around the globe gather to compete in a Swiss tournament for their share of the $350,000 prize fund.

Classical world champion Carlsen, followed by speed chess legends Nakamura, Duda, and Vachier-Lagrave head the field and will be challenged by numerous other 2700+ players. 

Previous coverage

• Commanding Lead For Nakamura At World Blitz Chess Championship
• Carlsen Wins 4th Rapid World Championship, Tan Takes Women's Title
• Carlsen Captures Sole Lead In Penultimate Day Of Rapid Chess
• Carlsen Beats World Rapid Chess Champion, Leads With Fedoseev, Van Foreest, Erigaisi
• Carlsen, Nakamura Among Participants At World Rapid & Blitz