Carlsen missed checkmate, gave up queen but still beat Firouzja

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SportsOthersChessMonday, September 30, 2024, 11:17 (GMT+7)
Carlsen missed checkmate, abandoned queen but still beat Firouzja
World number one Magnus Carlsen struggled to defeat Alireza Firouzja 2.5-1.5 in the winner's bracket final, first place in the Generation Cup of the Champions Chess Tour.

In the four-game match early in the morning of September 30, Hanoi time, Carlsen won the first game despite holding black pieces against Firouzja. The Norwegian player sacrificed his bishop to create a strong pawn structure in the center, then moved his heavy pieces to attack the white castle on the queenside. The world number seven had more pieces, but fell into a defensive position, ran out of time and made mistakes in defense, losing after 55 moves.

Carlsen always considered Firouzja the only player who came close to him in rapid and blitz chess. The Generation Cup is played in rapid chess format, with each side having 10 minutes to complete the game, but adding two seconds after each move.

The second game was even more dramatic, with both players having several winning and losing positions. Before that, both had the chance to create a draw, but both decided to continue playing with the desire to win. In the end, with only seconds left, Carlsen could have checkmated his opponent in four moves, but he did not notice.

The five-time world rapid champion paid the price for not seeing this checkmate, as he then allowed the 21-year-old talent to take the queen one move ahead. With that, Firouzja checkmated Carlsen in 84 moves, levelling the score at 1-1.

The third game was also tense, with Firouzja holding white and one more pawn in the endgame. However, Carlsen is widely regarded as one of the best endgame players of all time, and he accepted the bishop sacrifice, moving the chessboard to a rook, pawn against rook, bishop. In this way, he defended better to draw after 93 moves, according to the rule of 50 consecutive moves without capturing.

Carlsen and Firouzja have just reached the final of the Speed ​​Chess Championship 2024, with an overwhelming victory for the world number one. This rematch at the Champions Chess Tour was more even, as the two masters continued to have only seconds left in the middle game, causing them to make consecutive mistakes.

After dropping the queen without his opponent noticing, Carlsen smiled and shook his head repeatedly. The 34-year-old made no further mistakes, instead focusing on attacking the black king and winning after 43 moves. Firouzja also shook his head repeatedly, but with a disappointed look.

The 2.5-1.5 victory put Carlsen in the Generation Cup final. Firouzja still has a chance to rematch the number one player, if he wins against Levon Aronian or Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the losers' bracket final. The Champions Chess Tour has a double elimination format, meaning that the player who loses two matches is eliminated. If he loses the final, Carlsen will still have a rematch to determine the winner.