Carlsen, Lagno Repeat As World Blitz Chess Champions

Just like last year, Magnus Carlsen (Norway) and Kateryna Lagno (Russia) became the winners of the world blitz championships in Moscow. As in 2014, Carlsen scored the "double," as he also won the world rapid title two days ago.

It was a decade owned by Carlsen, and he finished it in style. He holds all three titles in chess again—standard, rapid and blitz—and on the new list he will be world number one in the FIDE ratings in all three categories.

He won the tournament by winning a playoff against Hikaru Nakamura, who had also finished on the excellent score of 16.5/21. The American GM missed a chance in the first game, which ended in a draw, and then Carlsen won the second. They split prizes, and both won $55,000.

Triple crown again, hope this one will last more than a couple of days!

— Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) December 30, 2019

Carlsen won his fifth world blitz title. He has won the world rapid three times and the classical title four times. He now has 12 world titles in total.

Vladimir Kramnik won the bronze medal, like he did in 2015 in Berlin. It was all the more impressive as the 14th world champion retired from classical chess in January of this year, and has played just a handful of games at faster time controls since.

One of the most anticipated encounters in this championship was the one between Carlsen and Kramnik. If anyone could beat the Norwegian and shake up the standings it was Big Vlad, who had shown his class. However, the current world champion outperformed the former champion.

Later, while Kramnik joined Peter Leko in the commentary booth (in a historic moment for these two participants of the 2004 world championship!), Kramnik was clear about what he thinks of Carlsen these days: "What to say? He's the best. It's now more of a surprise if he doesn't win."

The game was also an example of how Carlsen won several games in this event: by simply building up an army of pieces directed to the enemy king, and creating a decisive attack:

Carlsen to #nrksjakk after beating Kramnik: "I am doing pretty well! Tough opposition, many good players. I've got max out of my positions. Nakamura is still in it. I feel well." #rapidblitz

— Tarjei J. Svensen (@TarjeiJS) December 30, 2019

What happened in the next game, in round 19, would become crucial for Carlsen's victory. He played the rising Iranian star Alireza Firouzja, who reached a winning opposite-colored-bishop endgame but not only missed a win three times, but then lost on time while putting back his king that he had inadvertently tipped over.

The game was declared a win for Carlsen even though he had only one bishop left. The reason was that theoretically, he could still deliver checkmate. Paragraph 6.9 of the FIDE Laws of Chess state:

[T]he game is drawn, if the position is such that the opponent cannot checkmate the player’s king by any possible series of legal moves.

Firouzja filed an official protest (for which he had to pay $300) where he protested about Carlsen saying something out loud in Norwegian, even though that happened much earlier in the game. Firouzja also suggested the clock was malfunctioning.

The appeal was rejected.

The dramatic moment when Alireza Firouzja lost on time with three extra pawns against Magnus Carlsen. #rapidblitz #chess #chessmoves pic.twitter.com/7h2KbeYL5N

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) December 30, 2019

Carlsen drew his last two games, and so he won four games and drew five on the last day. Nakamura perhaps impressed even more as he won six and drew three. He beat, for instance, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in round 18:

Carlsen admitted that some luck was needed, and Nakamura had his moment as well. Duda was winning against him, but got confused:

Nakamura went into the last round half a point behind Carlsen, and he saw him draw his last game with Yu Yangyi, so he knew he had to beat Rauf Mamedov. And he did:

"Nakamura had a great tournament," said Carlsen. "With some luck he could have won it outright, like for instance my game against Firouzja. If I hadn't gotten that extra half-point I wouldn't have made it to the tiebreak."

2019 World Blitz Championship | Final Standings (Top 20)

(Full final standings here.)

FIDE's improved regulations now state that a playoff is played in case of a tie for first. This consists of two games of three minutes with a two-second increment (like in the actual tournament) and in case of a tie, an armageddon game.

The first was a tense draw, in which Carlsen at one moment made a big mistake, but Nakamura also missed the knight move backwards (always tricky!) that would have won a piece:

Really proud of the performance I put together on the final day of the @worldrapidblitz, to tie for first, but missing 51.Nc2! (Magnus missed it too) really puts a damper on everything. Congrats to @MagnusCarlsen on winning and @FirouzjaAlireza for inspiring chess!

— Hikaru Nakamura (@GMHikaru) December 30, 2019

Carlsen then won convincingly in the second game, again using the London System that seems to suit him so well. In the early middlegame a position was reached that would have ended in a draw in a classical game, but here Nakamura played too passively, according to Kramnik in the commentary booth:

Another tremendous result for @MagnusCarlsen to complete a spectacular year at the board. https://t.co/iqHmZS6EU3

— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) December 30, 2019

"I feel very good about the end," said Carlsen, who won his 10th tournament in 2019. "It became a day that was very tough obviously and the tiebreak as well was a very nervous affair, but I prevailed in the end so I'm very happy. Everybody makes mistakes; the games were rough but at the end of the day the result is what counts."

FIDE's interview with Carlsen.

If holding the triple crown wasn't enough, Carlsen also surpassed Nakamura in the blitz live ratings thanks to the win in the playoff. He ends this decade as the world number-one in standard, rapid and blitz.

@MagnusCarlsen is Absolute Chess Champion! https://t.co/L95GsC6Fb1 pic.twitter.com/m9uaigRNCQ

— 2700chess (@2700chess) December 30, 2019

The bronze winner Kramnik faced Firouzja right after the incident with Carlsen, which might have affected the Iranian's nerves, but Kramnik's judgment of this (practical) exchange sacrifice in the endgame was nonetheless awesome:

Congrats to @MagnusCarlsen and @GMHikaru for their great performances.
As for me, mission to finish as high as possible without getting to face Magnus Carlsen in 21(!) rounds of blitz- accomplished.✅ #rapidblitz

— Anish Giri (@anishgiri) December 30, 2019

Like Carlsen, Lagno managed to keep her 2018 world blitz title. She finished on 13/17, half a point more than Anna Muzychuk. Tan Zhongyi, who beat Muzychuk in the final round, took bronze.

Lagno started her second day with a one-point lead, and continued strongly as she defeated Alexandra Kosteniuk with the black pieces, who lost track completely in the complications:

After two draws, including against Muzychuk, Lagno suffered her first loss, to the veteran IM Alisa Galliamova—who was in the middle of a six-game win streak. As Lagno continued with two wins and a draw, she was in a tie for first place with Muzychuk before the final round.

While Lagno drew her game with Stefanova, Muzychuk lost to Tan:

"Well, of course I am very happy. It was a tough day, and with a bit of luck," said Lagno. She was referring to the moment when she blundered a pawn in her last round. After that, she played for a draw successfully and only after the game found out that Muzychuk had lost.

2019 Women's World Blitz Championship | Final Standings (Top 20)

(Full final standings here.)

FIDE's interview with Lagno.

The world rapid and blitz championships took place in the Grand Sports Arena of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex in Moscow. They each had a total prize fund of $350,000 and a first prize of $60,000. The women's world rapid and the women's world blitz championships each have a total prize fund of $150,000 and a first prize of $40,000.

Find more information on the world rapid and blitz here.

Chess.com's final-day coverage with Yasser Seirawan and Robert Hess.

Previous reports:

• Carlsen Leads On Day 1 World Blitz Chess Championship
• Carlsen, Koneru Win World Rapid Chess Championships
• Carlsen Leads On World Rapid Chess Championship Day 2
• Carlsen, MVL Chasing Leaders After World Rapid Chess Championship Day 1