Perfect 4-0 Day For Nakamura, Dismantles Bongcloud In CGC Finals
Coming off of his Fischer Random World Championship victory, GM Hikaru Nakamura continues his unstoppable winning streak, sweeping GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda 4-0 on Wednesday at the Chess.com Global Championship Finals. This leaves the world number 18 in a must-win position for all four remaining games of their quarterfinals match.
In the matchup between the youngest contenders, GM Sam Sevian leads a close match vs. GM Nihal Sarin. Their games today offered us a preview of the exciting duel ahead between Sevian's beyond-his-years understanding vs. Sarin's resourcefulness.
GM Wesley So's tenacious defensive and powerful attacking abilities gained him a 3-1 lead vs. GM Dmitry Andreikin. Lastly, GM Anish Giri leads his match vs. GM Teimour Radjabov, scoring the only victory so far.
The quarterfinals continue on Thursday, November 3, starting at 9 a.m. PT / 17:00 CET.
How to watch?
You can watch the 2022 Chess.com Global Championship on Chess.com/TV. You can also enjoy the show on our Twitch channel and catch all our live broadcasts on YouTube.com/ChesscomLive. Games from the event can be viewed on our events page.
Live broadcast of Wednesday's matches, hosted by GMs Robert Hess, Aman Hambleton, Daniel Naroditsky, and IM Levy Rozman
Nakamura started his match vs. Duda with a shocking 4-0 winning streak. After winning the first game, Nakamura shut down Duda's attempt to strike back with an incredible comeback and endgame mating net in game two.
Just when game three looked to be winding down to a draw, Nakamura revealed his imaginative idea to score the full point in the opposite-color bishop ending. This is our Game of the Day.
Nakamura is in exuberant form. After winning the Fischer World Championship last Sunday, and then winning Titled Tuesday yesterday, today he applied a resounding rout to a chess player of Duda's caliber, a candidate for the world title. Nakamura showed excellent opening preparation, playing a novelty in a variation that had been played by his opponent not long ago.
Duda finished the day by shocking his opponent with an extreme measure to try to turn around his losing streak, playing the notorious Bongcloud Attack.
The moment @GMHikaru encountered the Bongcloud pic.twitter.com/723Wj7GIbu
— Eric Rosen (@IM_Rosen) November 2, 2022
Nakamura dismantled his opponent's bold yet dubious opening choice without any trouble with a positional squeeze. The reigning Fischer Random World Champion shares his insightful game analysis from the match on his YouTube channel.
So vs. Andreikin began with an unbelievable clash. Andreikin sacrificed to create a ferocious kingside attack and checkmate seemed to be just moves away.
After an inaccuracy by Andreikin, So uncovered a critical defensive resource to save the game. Try to find it yourself in the puzzle below!
In game two, it was So's turn for a powerful kingside attack.
Sevian took the lead in his match vs. Sarin in game two, gaining a substantial advantage in material and time.
Commentator Naroditsky offered an insightful analysis of Sevian's strengths: “He plays with the positional acumen and confidence of a seasoned 50-year-old Soviet grandmaster, but he has that tactical prowess and the opening preparation of a 21-year-old.”
In game four, Sevian was ahead a knight for a pawn on the verge of extending his lead when Sarin's stunning speed and resourcefulness saved the game.
Giri took the lead in his match vs. Radjabov with practical play in game three.
All games day 1
Quarterfinals Scoreboard
The 2022 Chess.com Global Championship (CGC) is the first Chess.com global championship cycle open to all Chess.com verified players. Players compete in official Chess.com verified events for their share of the $1,100,000 prize fund and the Chess.com Global Champion title.
Chess legends, such as GMs Viswanathan Anand, Vasyl Ivanchuk, Vladimir Kramnik, and Veselin Topalov, compete against today's best (online) players, including GMs Hikaru Nakamura, Ding Liren, Levon Aronian, and Jan-Krzysztof Duda, and more.
Previous Coverage
- How To Watch The Chess.com Global Championship Finals
- Underdogs Eliminate World Championship Challengers From CGC In Day Of Upsets
- Giri, Duda Shut Down Dark Horses, Earn Seats In Toronto Finals
- Nakamura Neutralizes Dominguez, Andreikin Upsets Caruana
- So Edges Out Xiong, Aronian Knocks Out Sevian
- Experience Bests Youth: Radjabov Knocks Out Erigaisi
- Sarana 'Immortal' Upsets Mamedyarov; Duda, Xiong Cruise Through
- Favorites Advance; Abdusattorov, Kramnik Eliminated
- So Sweeps Ivanchuk, Dominguez Defeats Hansen
- Sevian Scores Spectacular Upset; Caruana, Andreikin Advance
- American Favorites Clean House
- Sweet Revenge, Stunning Upsets
- Svidler Sweeps Shirov, Favorites Triumph
- Legends Fall, Prodigies Prevail
- Kramnik and Sevian Sweep Inaugural Matches
- Anand, Ivanchuk, Kramnik, Topalov Among Global Chess Championship Participants
- Announcing The $100,000 CGC Bracket Contest
- Chess.com Global Championship 2022: All The Information
Vanessa West is a National Master, a chess teacher, and a writer for Chess.com. In 2017, they won the Chess Journalist of the Year award.
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