14-Year-Old Woodward Rivals Robson As Prodigies Prosper

As tradition has it, Chess.com again greeted the new year with our first event, the 2024 Puzzles World Championship. Eight players remain standing after the Puzzle Rush Royale on day one and have earned a minimum of $1,000 with a shot at the $5,000 first prize in the on day two.

The eight quarterfinalists are, in order of seeding and with the points they earned: IM Andy Woodward (59), GM Ray Robson (58), FM Liam Putnam (59), GM Raunak Sadhwani (57), GM Jeffery Xiong (58), GM Pranav V (57), GM Christopher Yoo (56), GM Hans Niemann (56). The oldest player is 29-year-old Robson, and six players (!) are 20 or younger.  

The championship will conclude with the Puzzle Rush Knockout on Friday, January 12, starting at 12:00 p.m. ET / 18:00 CET / 22:30 IST. 

• Day 1: Participants And Format
• Puzzle Rush Royale: Fresh Faces Gun For Top Spot

Puzzle Rush Royale: Participants And Format

It's that time of year again, and for a full week we've been celebrating what may sometimes be the unsung hero of chess improvement: puzzles. The first three days featured Chess Played Quick, a community streamer series, while the final two days of the week are devoted to the exclusive Puzzles World Championship. 

The first portion of the two-day championship featured 99 of the world's best chess players and puzzle solvers. Robson, who has won every edition of this event since it started in 2020, has become the player to beat.

Other stars included GM Hikaru Nakamura, GM Tuan Minh Le, GM Jose Martinez, puzzle-solver extraordinaire FM Dimitrios Ladopoulos, and many, many more. All players were invited or qualified by recording themselves solving 50 or more puzzles in a 5-minute Puzzle Rush.

There were five rounds on Thursday and the format was as follows:

• Each round lasts 30 minutes.
• Players' highest three-minute Puzzle Rush score counts toward each round. 
• Every competitor below 20th place is eliminated after round one.
• In rounds two through five, the top two players advance to the Puzzle Battle Knockout while the bottom three players are eliminated, and everyone else plays another round.

The seeding for Friday was based on two factors: (1) the round players qualified (earlier round is better) and (2) their placing within the round. This is why we see some players were seeded lower even if they made a higher individual score.

Yes, the story of this event often ends, "Robson wins!"—but this year might be different. Although he earned the highest score of 60 in round one, before the knockout, he was rivaled by youngsters Woodward and Putnam, who each put up 59 points.

FOURTEEN YEARS OLD

— Chess.com (@chesscom) January 11, 2024

Another departure from regularity was that favorites Nakamura and Ladopoulos were eliminated in the day's final round. It attests to how difficult the tournament is getting as more talented youngsters join.

Puzzle Rush Royale: Fresh Faces Gun For Top Spot

67 players were eliminated off the bat in round one, and indeed the final score necessary to stay alive was the sky-high 54. For comparison, the score needed to advance just last year was 49.

Robson put up a remarkable—and unparalleled—score of 60, while even the world number-three classical player Nakamura finished outside of the top 10 despite a score of 55.

20 Players Left Standing After Round 1

In round two, the 14-year-old Woodward put up 59 points, which would remain the highest score of any round of the knockout portion (every round besides the first). "Damn, is the only way you describe that!" exclaimed IM Danny Rensch on commentary. 

Damn, is the only way you describe that!

—Danny Rensch

Meanwhile, bullet-chess virtuoso GM Andrew Tang solved the following tricky endgame in the blink of an eye—for his 50th point. How long does it take you? White to move. 

What about this one, which gained Xiong his 52nd point in round three? Black to move this time.

Xiong would go on to score 58 in round four, the third-highest score of the day. Here's the epic moment from the round just before, where he scored 56 out of the... exactly 56 needed in order to avoid being eliminated:

Peeking into the player's screens is often a fascinating experience, and two players stood out in this regard. Tang, as usual, had an uncountable number of tabs open... 

... while Ladopoulos played on the world's smallest virtual chessboard, presumably to make the act of moving the pieces a flash quicker.

Le made it to the penultimate round four but was eliminated there, even with a score of 51. Along the way, he solved the following puzzle for his 50th point. How long does it take you? White to move. 

The last round was the most dramatic as hearts were guaranteed to be broken. There were five players still left—Nakamura, Niemann, Yoo, Ladopoulos, and Tang— but just two one of them would move on.

Nakamura scored 53 early on but was unsatisfied, predicting with startlingly close accuracy: "57 is required." The final moments of the day were nerve-racking and Nakamura came close but accepted defeat graciously after again scoring "only" 53: 

Yoo and Niemann caught the last train to the Puzzle Rush Knockout with scores of 56, adding two more youngsters to an already youthful field.

It's a bit odd to say that Robson, who hasn't yet turned 30, is the oldest participant heading into Friday. There is only one question that remains: will the champion continue his hegemonic rule and score a fifth consecutive title, or has the time come for a new champion?

The 2024 Puzzles World Championship (PWC) is a competition for the best chess tacticians in the world. The event is a part of the Puzzle Week celebration and happens on January 11 and 12, starting at 12 p.m. ET/18:00 CET. The PWC features a $25,000 prize fund.

Previous coverage:

• • Puzzle Week Returns For 2024