Firouzja Outshines Carlsen: ‘I Saw Myself As The Favorite’
With swift and tricky play, GM Alireza Firouzja defeated GM Magnus Carlsen in the semifinals of the Bullet Chess Championship 2023 on Wednesday. GM Hikaru Nakamura bested GM Daniel Naroditsky in match loaded with dazzling tactics. Firouzja and Nakamura are now the last two standing in the Winners Bracket and will face off in the upcoming final.
In the Losers Bracket, GM Andrew Tang scored the highest winning margin of the day vs. GM Eric Hansen. In the only match that went into overtime, GM David Paravyan upset GM Tuan Minh Le.
GM Jose Martinez defeated GM Denis Lazavik, who experienced internet connectivity issues. GM Oleksandr Bortnyk advances because a travel conflict caused IM Emin Ohanyan to forfeit.
The action continues on Thursday, July 20, at 12:00 p.m. ET / 18:00 CEST / 8:30 p.m. IST.
Winners - Semifinals:
Losers - Round 2:
Firouzja vs. Carlsen 14.5-11.5
The tone of the match was present from the first game where Carlsen played faster, gaining a time edge, yet Firouzja played fast enough to convert his advantage in material and activity.
Game eight further showcased Firouzja’s exceptional bullet strengths. In a losing endgame, as Carlsen was penetrating with his king in what seemed like the final touch, Firouzja set up a clever tactical response to flip the script. Then, ahead in material but down on the clock, Firouzja switched gears to win the time scramble, even giving up his rook to flag the world number-one.
Canty observed the 20-year-old grandmaster’s bullet double-punch combo: “Firouzja is not only speeding up, but he’s super tricky.”
Of course, Carlsen never goes down without a fight. He pulled off some stunning victories of his own against the 2021 champion, such as his endgame save in game nine.
Hess pointed out the differing strengths in terms of speed between Carlsen and Firouzja: “Magnus is the faster player out of the gates, but Firouzja gets into that next gear at some point.”
There were also technical issues for both sides that added to the intensity of the match. Firouzja got up after one game because one of his cameras fell over, and the distraction caused him to blunder a rook.
Carlsen had some difficulties due to being away from home in Barcelona, unable to use his main home setup that's ideal for these speeds. He also could be seen shaking out his right hand after many of the games, trying to wake up his arm, which kept falling asleep.
Carlsen has stormed back to level the scores against Firouzja, but you can see he's in pain, as he's shaking his hands after every game, and even during games! #BulletChess pic.twitter.com/HLdcaxbII4
— chess24.com (@chess24com) July 19, 2023
With 15 minutes left on the match clock, Carlsen started to cut down on Firouzja’s lead, bringing it to a one-point difference with an endgame victory on the board while ahead 15 seconds.
Yet, Firouzja expanded his margin back to two points with an unbelievable attacking victory, culminating in what the commentators considered the move of the day. Can you find it?
White to move and win.
With five minutes left to the match, Carlsen found himself with his back against the wall in a must-win position, needing two victories to reach overtime.
Two games in a row, Carlsen came very close to getting the full point when Firouzja slipped out due to his unbelievable blend of speed and quality of play under pressure. Carlsen went for a shameless flag attempt in a king and rook vs. king and rook ending, but Firouzja held him off despite originally being down nine seconds.
In the end, Firouzja shut down Carlsen's chance at overtime in style with an elegant attacking victory, capping off the match and knocking the world number-one into the Losers Bracket. As the match finished, we saw a rare sight: Carlsen as the one applauding his opponent’s performance.
In terms of preparation for Wednesday’s match, Firouzja revealed that he basically “just opened his laptop and played.” He admitted that he approached the match quite confidently:
“I saw myself as the favorite from how Magnus played yesterday. I was confident. The way he played yesterday with Minh was very not high quality. I said: 'If he doesn’t level up, I’m probably the favorite.'”
Carlsen was surprisingly optimistic after the match: “Honestly, quite encouraged. I thought I was going to just be blown out of the water after the first couple of games. This was just about the worst condition that I could be in and still, I had a chance.… I’m hoping to get another shot.”
Nakamura vs. Naroditsky 20-12
This explosive match started with a bang. Nakamura snuck a mate in one with his queen dashing across the board―a jolt for Naroditsky.
Position after Nakamura's 19.Qxg7#
In the next game, Naroditsky recovered with high-level speed and defensive skill, holding off Nakamura’s advantage in a losing ending.
Hess observed the insanity of these two players’ speeds: “They are moving so fast; the eval bar doesn’t have time to react.”
They are moving so fast; the eval bar doesn’t have time to react.
-Robert Hess
Despite Naroditsky’s abilities, Nakamura had already increased his lead to four points by game five with a crushing attack where you see White’s pieces hop all over Black’s position.
Naroditsky retaliated with his first victory of the match with some Pac-Man chess, eating every piece he could get his hands on. Further showing his keen tactical awareness, he found a cheeky underpromotion to turn the tables and win a second game in a row. Both players couldn’t help but laugh at this rare find in such time controls.
At the midway point, Nakamura built up a five-point lead, which he maintained as the match clock ticked down.
Though Naroditsky was the first competitor to reach a double-digit score vs. the three-time champion, Nakamura eventually grew his lead by seven points and became uncatchable.
After the match, Nakamura shared his perspective on what went wrong for his opponent:
"His openings did not really work out. It seemed like he was consistently down 10 seconds out of the opening. I think that was a large part of the problems that he had throughout the day. It’s just a matter of trying to find the openings where there’s some rhythm and flow.”
It’s just a matter of trying to find the openings where there’s some rhythm and flow.
-Hikaru Nakamura
Tang vs. Hansen 14-3
Tang showed incredible form against Hansen, excelling in tactical awareness, intuitive attacking ideas, and astute clock handling. After Hansen tied up the score at 2-2, Tang launched into an 11-game winning streak.
In game nine, Tang stretched his lead to five points with a beautiful attacking game.
Tang scores five more points in the time it takes to make a coffee ☕, finishing the last one with a brilliant tactic 🔥. #BulletChess pic.twitter.com/2mUVVBlS8N
— chess24.com (@chess24com) July 19, 2023
Examples of Tang’s speed were abundant. As Hess exclaimed after many time scrambles that went in Tang’s favor: “He’s too fast! He’s too fast for Eric Hansen!"
Paravyan vs. Le 9-7
Paravyan seized an early comfortable lead of three points. Showing the same determined fighting spirit as on Tuesday, Le fought back midmatch, winning three games in a row. In game nine, he showed that speed is more important than material, giving away pawns as he aimed for a shameless flag in the rook ending.
With a tied match, Paravyan reclaimed the lead with a victory in a double-edged endgame.
Black queens with check, but it's White who wins!#BulletChess pic.twitter.com/NxErl5MVIZ
— chess24.com (@chess24com) July 19, 2023
As Le tied the match again, it became clear that the players were destined to head into overtime. Paravyan finished the regular match games with a crafty stalemate trick, escaping alive after being down a bishop.
Position after Paravyan's 47...Rh1+!
It only took the lightning-speed Paravyan one game of overtime to knock out his opponent.
Martinez vs. Lazavik 9-7
Tied after the first five games, Lazavik experienced unfortunate internet connectivity problems, flagging in one game and then losing 20 seconds off his clock in the next, ultimately blundering in the time scramble. These two lost points set the character of the rest of the match. Martinez spotted a decisive tactic in game eight, adding to his lead, which he maintained for the duration of the match.
Position after Martinez's 34...Qxf2+!
In the Winners Final, we will see the much-awaited Nakamura vs. Firouzja matchup. Meanwhile, Carlsen and Naroditsky will join the fight to emerge out of the Losers Bracket into the Grand Final.
Winners Bracket - Semifinals
Losers Bracket - Round 2
The Bullet Chess Championship 2023 (BCC) is Chess.com's most elite bullet chess event and part of the Speed Chess Championship series. The event's qualifiers happened on July 6 and 7, with the main event occurring on July 17 through 21. The fastest players in the world compete for their share of the $100,000 prize fund and a spot in the Speed Chess Championship's main event.
Previous coverage
- Naroditsky Defeats Ultrabullet Virtuoso, Matches Nakamura For Top Winning Margin
- Matching Mocktails: Carlsen Defeats Chessbrah In Bullet Debut
- Paravyan, Lazavik, Andreikin, Arjun Qualify For BCC Main Event
- Martinez, Ohanyan Qualify For Bullet Chess Championship Main Event
- Carlsen, Nakamura, Firouzja Line Up For Strongest Bullet Chess Championship Ever
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.
You can follow them on X: Vanessa__West
