2022 Chess Highlights and Merry Christmas!
So, we have come to the end of this year. 2023 is right on the horizon! I thought that today I could recap some of what I thought were some interesting moments in the chess world, but first, a brief message for all of you!
Christmas Message
Merry Christmas to all of you! I hope this finds you all happy and well! Christmas is a season of enjoying the things that make life beautiful! May the memories you have from past Christmases and this Christmas forever touch your heart! I wish you all the best during this happy season and all the way through this New Year and the next!
Chess Highlights from 2022
There were tons of tournaments in 2022 and a bunch of other stuff lol. I have selected some chess highlights which made the news, and some highlights that were much closer to home here on chess.com!
The Candidates Tournament
The Candidates Tournament ran June 16th-July 7th. The tournament was held in Madrid, Spain. 8 grandmasters from around the globe came to play for a chance to clench the world chess champion title away from Magnus Carlsen. Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia won the tournament with 9.5 points, undefeated, and with the highest score in any of the Candidates Tournaments.
Ding Liren of China was the runner-up and finished with 8 points. Ding Liren pulled off an astounding last minute victory vs Hikaru Nakamura who only needed a draw to snatch the second-place position!
This was the one game in the final round that had big significance, since it would decide the second-place finisher. Ding Liren had to win to finish second. Every other result would propel Hikaru into second place. Hikaru played the Semi-Tarrasch Defense, and at the beginning, things seemed to go Hikaru's way.
But after 15. Qxd1 16. Rxd1 Rfd8 17. Ba2 Kf7 18. h4, his next moves led to his demise
Everyone in the chess world thought that Nepo would once again face Magnus Carlsen in the world chess championship, but then our next highlight happened..
Magnus forfeits his title
On July 20th, Magnus Carlsen announced he would not defend his world chess championship title.
Magnus said on off his sponsor podcasts, "I simply am not motivated to play another match. I simply feel that I don't have a lot to gain, I don't particularly like it, and although I am sure a match would be interesting for historical reasons and all of that, I will simply not play the match."
Ding Liren now steps up to the plate to play Nepomniachtchi in 2023. A tournament that will be covered very closely.
While I am sure it will be nice for either Ding Liren or Nepo to win the title, it is not quite the same as beating the man who is widely considered the G.O.A.T.
Magnus Carlsen did not feel motivated to play, because he was winning too easily! In the 2021 championship he beat Ian three times. It wasn't competitive enough for Carlsen, so he forfeited the title. Magnus Carlsen did say that he would have played if Alireza Firouzja had won the Candidates Tournament. Unfortunately, Firouzja didn't win and here we are.
Summer was over, but the international spotlight wasn't done with Magnus just yet.
The Hans Niemann Scandal
The scandal began in September when Magnus Carlsen was beaten by Hans Niemann at the Sinquefield Cup. The defeat came as a shock to many. Hans Niemann, a German teen GM not known by many, had just beaten the world champion. Magnus quit the tournament abruptly without an immediate explanation. People were already speculating the worst about Hans Niemann
A few weeks later, Magnus released a very long statement which in conclusion said Hans had cheated. Without evidence, many rushed to Magnus's aid. Hikaru Nakamura pointed out inconsistencies with Hans's playing, including an interview where Hans admitted to cheating online when he was 12 and 16. Soon after, the pair met again in an online tournament. In protest, Magnus resigned after making one move.
On October 20th, Hans and his lawyers announced they would be filing a 100-million-dollar defamation suit against Magnus Carlsen, The Play Magnus Group, and chess.com, who had permanently banned Hans Niemann from the site.
In a LONG statement, Hans lawyers said Magnus had an "inability to cope with defeat" and that he "viciously and maliciously retaliated against Hans Niemann by falsely accusing Hans Niemann without any evidence."
On December 3rd, chess.com filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. Hans's complaints were "plainly without merit" said chess.com.
This fiery legal battle is still ensuing, and it most likely will not let up through the spring or even summer.
Now, on to some highlights here on chess.com!
A Thank You and Some Notable Highlights
So, a big highlight for me on chess.com this year, was of course my very first blog! In October I decided to start writing blogs, because it's something that I love doing!
Thanks to everyone who gave me feedback, gave reviews, or opinions! You have all helped me improve a great deal! Thank you to the people listed below
@Lightning
@CDRED141
@alphaous
@anikolay
@colorfulcake
@ChessPawn921
@Rodgy
@YEAT
We also welcomed some new top bloggers this past year! Most notably @anikolay and @YEAT. Congrats to them!
My favorite blogs of this year were the following: Who are the Most Tactical Chess Players? - Chess.com, Questioning Bloggers — Part One - Chess.com, and K-12 Nationals - My Experience - Chess.com
My Interview with Lightning
Christmas would not be Christmas without some traditions, right? It seemed every existing or new blogger decided to crawl out and conduct an interview with Lightning this past year. Since there is absolutely no motivation for me to make a WHOLE blog dedicated to an interview with Lightning, I will do a brief interview with Lighty here just for the fun of it 
Hornet: Welcome to this Christmas interview! I am just gonna call you Lightning if that is ok with you lol.
Lightning: "Hm well what if that isn't ok with me? I'd prefer it if you called me great and amazing Lightning "
Hornet: Ok lol!
First Question
Hornet: What is your favorite Christmas tradition?
Lightning: "Santa has been slacking at giving kids the coal they deserve, often giving them presents they haven't earned. So, I like to help the big guy out by giving my siblings coal for Christmas. It's so much fun!"
Hornet: That made me laugh out loud! LOL!
Question Two
Hornet: What was in your opinion, the best blog of the year?
Lightning: "I think the best blog that was posted this year is the blog of the year."
Hornet: Deep XD
Question Three
Hornet: What was your favorite chess and/or blogging moment of 2022?
Lightning: "For me personally, my favorite chess moment of 2022 was when I earned a trip to the 2022 Denker Tournament or Highschool Champions - it was easily the biggest event I played in this year, with fierce competition, and off the board I had a friend there who I got to hang out with (it had been a long time since I had a friend at a chess tournament). So, the moment I earned that trip was the best singular moment of the year for me.
My personal favorite blogging moment has to be when I got a message in May saying I posted chess.com's blog of the month in May. That was cool XD"
Hornet: Wow, that's great to hear!!
Question Four
Hornet: What is something you look forward to in 2023?
Lightning: "The end of 2022"
Hornet: I think that has to be essentially everybody in the U.S.A lol
The End
Hornet: Thanks for doing this with me Lighty!
Lightning: "Sure lol"
Outro
Thanks for reading this! This is the last blog I am posting for 2022. Will be back with some more blogs in 2023, and I hope to see all of you there!
Once again, I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year!!
Thanks again,
- @FA-18_SuperHornet2007
