Speed Chess Championship 2020 Final Match: Nakamura vs Vachier-Lagrave Match Scorecard
Congratulations to GM Hikaru Nakamura (@Hikaru) for winning the 2020 Speed Chess Championship (SCC) 18.5 - 12.5 against his fierce competitor GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (@LyonBeast). His third SCC win in a row, Nakamura walked away with over $34,000 in wins from the SCC.
People underestimated Vachier-Lagrave until he defeated GM Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) in the semifinals. Yet, he held his own throughout the 5+1 and 3+1 blitz rounds in this Final battle with Nakamura but lost momentum after the beginning of the bullet round.
The indisputable king of bullet chess, Nakamura dominated the 1+1 bullet chess time control portion of the SCC '20 Final match to walk away with a secure 6-point lead that was hard-won.
MATCH SCORECARD
Here is the breakdown of the on-the-edge-of-your-seat, ping-pong scoring showing each game of the match.
5+1 BLITZ
90 minutes - 10 games total
| Game | White (W) vs. Black (B) | Game Score (W-B) | Game Winner | Match Score (Nakamura-MVL) |
| 1 | Nakamura vs. MVL | 1-0 | Nakamura | 1.0-0.0 |
| 2 | MVL vs. Nakamura | 0.5-0.5 | Draw | 1.5-0.5 |
| 3 | Nakamura vs. MVL | 0.5-0.5 | Draw | 2.0-1.0 |
| 4 | MVL vs. Nakamura | 1-0 | MVL | 2.0-2.0 |
| 5 | Nakamura vs. MVL | 0-1 | MVL | 2.0-3.0 |
| 6 | MVL vs. Nakamura | 0.5-0.5 | Draw | 2.5-3.5 |
| 7 | Nakamura vs. MVL | 1-0 | Nakamura | 3.5-3.5 |
| 8 | MVL vs. Nakamura | 0-1 | Nakamura | 4.5-3.5 |
| 9 | Nakamura vs. MVL | 1-0 | Nakamura | 5.5-3.5 |
| 10 | MVL vs. Nakamura | 1-0 | MVL | 5.5-4.5 |
3+1 BL5.5-4.5ITZ
60 minutes - 10 games total
| Game | White (W) vs. Black (B) | Game Score (W-B) | Game Winner | Match Score (Nakamura-MVL) |
| 1 | Nakamura vs. MVL | 0.5-0.5 | Draw | 6.0-5.0 |
| 2 | MVL vs. Nakamura | 0.5-0.5 | Draw | 6.5-5.5 |
| 3 | Nakamura vs. MVL | 1-0 | Nakamura | 7.5-5.5 |
| 4 | MVL vs. Nakamura | 1-0 | MVL | 7.5-6.5 |
| 5 | Nakamura vs. MVL | 0-1 | MVL | 7.5-7.5 |
| 6 | MVL vs. Nakamura | 0.5-0.5 | Draw | 8.0-8.0 |
| 7 | Nakamura vs. MVL | 1-0 | Nakamura | 9.0-8.0 |
| 8 | MVL vs. Nakamura | 0-1 | Nakamura | 10.0-8.0 |
| 9 | Nakamura vs. MVL | 0-1 | MVL | 10.0-9.0 |
| 10 | MVL vs. Nakamura | 0.5-0.5 | Draw | 10.5-9.5 |
1+1 BULLET
30 minutes - 11 games total
| Game | White (W) vs. Black (B) | Game Score (W-B) | Game Winner | Match Score (Nakamura-MVL) |
| 1 | Nakamura vs. MVL | 0-1 | MVL | 10.5-10.5 |
| 2 | MVL vs. Nakamura | 1-0 | MVL | 10.5-11.5 |
| 3 | Nakamura vs. MVL | 0.5-0.5 | Draw | 11.0-12.0 |
| 4 | MVL vs. Nakamura | 0-1 | Nakamura | 12.0-12.0 |
| 5 | Nakamura vs. MVL | 1-0 | Nakamura | 13.0-12.0 |
| 6 | MVL vs. Nakamura | 0-1 | Nakamura | 14.0-12.0 |
| 7 | Nakamura vs. MVL | 1-0 | Nakamura | 15.0-12.0 |
| 8 | MVL vs. Nakamura | 0-1 | Nakamura | 16.0-12.0 |
| 9 | Nakamura vs. MVL | 0.5-0.5 | Draw | 16.5-12.5 |
| 10 | MVL vs. Nakamura | 0-1 | Nakamura | 17.5-12.5 |
| 11 | Nakamura vs. MVL | 1-0 | Nakamura | 18.5-12.5 |
Hikaru Defends SCC Title
What did you think of this win? Do you feel as if MVL let it slip away? Or did Nakamura just underestimate the Frenchman with three names?
