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Artemiev Beats Carlsen, Leads With Niemann; Humpy Catches Zhu In Women's
Artemiev started his terrific day with a win over Arjun Erigaisi. Photo: Anna Shtourman/FIDE.

Artemiev Beats Carlsen, Leads With Niemann; Humpy Catches Zhu In Women's

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NM AnthonyLevin
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GMs Vladislav Artemiev and Hans Niemann lead the 2025 FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship after day two with 7.5 points out of nine games. A half-point behind are four players: GM Magnus Carlsen, who bounced back from losing against Artemiev in round seven; GM Alexey Sarana, who remains undefeated; GM Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, who is only 14 years old (!); and GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov, who completed a hat trick with a win against World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju in the last round.

Reigning Women's Rapid World Champion Koneru Humpy caught GM Zhu Jiner in the lead of the 2025 FIDE Women's World Rapid Championship on 6.5 points after eight games. Zhu made three draws with one win to maintain her position, while Humpy won three games and drew one to catch up.

The last day of the rapid championships, with rounds 10-13 in the Open and nine-11 in the Women's, is on Sunday, December 28, starting at 6 a.m. ET / 12:00 CET / 4:30 p.m. IST.

Open: Artemiev, Niemann Lead Ahead Of Last Day

Artemiev and Niemann, both undefeated, climbed to the top of the standings on day two.

Open Standings After 9 Rounds | Top 20

Rank Title Name Fed Rating Points
1 GM Artemiev, Vladislav 2727 7.5
2 GM Niemann, Hans Moke 2612 7.5
3 GM Carlsen, Magnus 2824 7
4 GM Sarana, Alexey 2641 7
5 GM Erdogmus, Yagiz Kaan 2446 7
6 GM Abdusattorov, Nodirbek 2717 7
7 GM Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2730 6.5
8 GM Erigaisi, Arjun 2714 6.5
9 GM Henriquez Villagra, Cristobal 2586 6.5
10 GM Mamedov, Rauf 2610 6.5
11 GM Gukesh, D 2692 6.5
12 GM Sindarov, Javokhir 2704 6.5
13 GM Lazavik, Denis 2576 6.5
14 GM So, Wesley 2702 6.5
15 GM Shimanov, Aleksandr 2554 6.5
16 GM Sevian, Samuel 2658 6.5
17 GM Dominguez Perez, Leinier 2703 6.5
18 GM Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 2707 6.5
19 GM Maghsoodloo, Parham 2669 6.5
20 GM Robson, Ray 2652 6

See full standings here.

We start with Artemiev, who at the age of 27 is so far having the tournament of his life. The Russian grandmaster didn't participate in last year's championship, held in New York, and finished 23rd the year before that.

Being in time trouble, surprisingly, helped him win his first two games against GMs Arjun Erigaisi and Carlsen. In both cases, his alarming disadvantage on the clock somehow provoked his opponents to go wrong.

Artemiev said his strategy has been to play solid and see what his opponents want. Photo: Lennart Ootes/FIDE.

In the first game, Arjun was winning and, on move 29, had eight minutes against 20 seconds. When he missed the cleanest way of attacking, the position got out of hand and Black's connected passed pawns decided the game.

In game two, against Carlsen, 15.e6!? was the key moment. "Honestly, I wanted to force a draw," Artemiev admitted after the game, as Carlsen could essentially end it on the spot by taking the pawn. But Carlsen had 11 minutes against one and, provoked to play for the win, immediately committed a game-losing blunder with 15...Qc7??, dropping the exchange in two moves.

Asked about whether he prefers to face Carlsen in faster or slower time controls, Artemiev answered, "For Magnus, it's better [to have] less time because, of course, he's very strong in all formats, but blitz or bullet, it's an incredible level."

From there, Artemiev played solidly for a "safe landing" and made draws against GMs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Sarana to end the day still in the lead. (More on Sarana later, as he played our Game of the Day.)

Niemann, who started the day on 4/5 points, had to score three wins to catch Artemiev in the lead. He beat IM Goutham Krishna H,  who had upset both GMs Aravindh Chithambaram and Teimour Radjabov, drew GM Ray Robson, and ended with wins against GMs Liem Le and Aleksandr Shimanov.

Carlsen watches Niemann's game in the last round. Photo: Lennart Ootes/FIDE.

Niemann spoke to FIDE after his first win against the IM whom some are calling "Goutham Chess." Niemann said, "He is super talented, I was really impressed," but Goutham also acknowledged, "I didn't face any 2700+ players yet, so it's certainly fortunate pairings and a nice start." He will face his first 2700+ opponent, Artemiev, on Sunday.

In both of his last games, Niemann won the exchange and converted that advantage to a full point. Against Shimanov, he declined an implicit offer to repeat moves and went on to quickly outplay his opponent—even if the computer finds a few miraculous saving attempts for White along the way.

Until that game, Shimanov was on an absolute tear, winning his first three games against the likes of GMs Dmitry Andreikin, Anish Giri, and Fabiano Caruana. He is now a point behind the leaders.

Shimanov had a great start before his game against Niemann. Photo: Lennart Ootes/FIDE.

Carlsen nevertheless bounced back from his loss by winning his next two games, against GMs Shant Sargsyan and Ray Robson. The wins came after he swatted at the camera, frustrated with his loss, in a video that's making the rounds on social media.

Sarana is another player in the chasing pack. He won an incredibly complex game against GM Sina Movahed, a 15-year-old rising star who has lately been winning Freestyle Friday week after week and who upset GM Alireza Firouzja in round seven.

Movahed upset the world number-two in rapid chess. Photo: Lennart Ootes/FIDE.

The Russian-born Serbian GM's piece sacrifice, though not totally correct, provided compensation that lasted all the way into the endgame. GM Rafael Leitao analyzes the Game of the Day below.

Sarana, who's still undefeated, made a draw with Artemiev in the last round. Photo: Lennart Ootes/FIDE.

You can also check out GM Hikaru Nakamura's video recap of the day below.

Don't be fooled by 14-year-old Erdogmus' rapid rating of 2446. The Turkish prodigy has reached an unprecedented height, for his age, of 2658 in classical chess. On Saturday he defeated GMs Lu Shanglei, Jorden van Foreest, and Nihal Sarin, with just one draw against Sargsyan to reach seven points.

Erdogmus with his coach, Mamedyarov. Photo: Lennart Ootes/FIDE.

Abdusattorov, on the other hand, won three games after making a draw in the first round against GM Daniel Dardha. He scored the hat trick against GMs Andrew Hong, Maksim Chigaev (who upset GM Ian Nepomniachtchi in round six), and finally his rival, Gukesh. That last game was a contender for our Game of the Day, but we can only choose one.

2021 Rapid World Champion Abdusattorov scored an important win. Photo: Lennart Ootes/FIDE.

14...Qe8! was a star move in the game, after which the Uzbek number-one quickly drummed up an incredible initiative. Things got hairy at the end, but he found the beautiful resource of 31...Bxe5! to regain the winning advantage.

Several upsets have already been mentioned, but you can see 10 of the most notable ones listed below. GM Levon Aronian appears two times on the list, as he lost both of his first games. GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda also lost two upsets (though just one is listed), against GM Frode Olav Olsen Urkedal (2515) and IM Konstantin Peyrer.

10 Notable Upsets On Day 2

Round White Player (Seed) Fed Rating Result Black Player (Seed) Fed Rating
6 Denis Makhnev (105) 2529 1 - 0 Levon Aronian (3) 2756
6 Ian Nepomniachtchi (2) 2762 0 - 1 Maksim Chigaev (57) 2598
6 Sedrani Ammar (220) 2237 1 - 0 Arkadij Naiditsch (75) 2574
7 Vladislav Artemiev (7) 2727 1 - 0 Magnus Carlsen (1) 2824
7 Sina Movahed (179) 2405 1 - 0 Alireza Firouzja (4) 2754
7 Savva Vetokhin (136) 2486 1 - 0 Levon Aronian (3) 2756
8 Fabiano Caruana (5) 2751 0 - 1 Aleksandr Shimanov (85) 2554
8 Jingyao Tin (117) 2510 1 - 0 Richard Rapport (14) 2702
9 Khagan Ahmad (214) 2302 1 - 0 Daniel Dardha (61) 2592
9 Konstantin Peyrer (141) 2470 1 - 0 Jan-Krzysztof Duda (10) 2711

We end with the most spectacular draw of the day, which GM Pouya Idani held against GM Artem Uskov. White had two queens, traded one of them, and to his horror realized that his queen and two pawns cannot overcome a bishop and one.

The two leaders will face each other in the first round on Sunday, while the four trailers will battle it out on the other two boards. Abdusattorov, who's only 21, seems to be the seasoned veteran; he was already a grandmaster when his opponent was six years old.

Open Round 10 Pairings | Top 10 Boards

Board Seed Title White Rating Points Result Points Title Black Rating Seed
1 1 GM Carlsen, Magnus *) 2824 7 7 GM Sarana, Alexey 2641 36
2 48 GM Niemann, Hans Moke 2612 7½ 7½ GM Artemiev, Vladislav 2727 7
3 8 GM Abdusattorov, Nodirbek 2717 7 7 GM Erdogmus, Yagiz Kaan 2446 156
4 6 GM Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2730 6½ 6½ GM Gukesh, D 2692 16
5 9 GM Erigaisi, Arjun 2714 6½ 6½ GM Sevian, Samuel 2658 27
6 22 GM Maghsoodloo, Parham 2669 6½ 6½ GM Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 2707 11
7 85 GM Shimanov, Aleksandr 2554 6½ 6½ GM Sindarov, Javokhir 2704 12
8 13 GM Dominguez Perez, Leinier 2703 6½ 6½ GM Mamedov, Rauf 2610 52
9 65 GM Henriquez Villagra, Cristobal 2586 6½ 6½ GM So, Wesley 2702 15
10 2 GM Nepomniachtchi, Ian 2762 6 6½ GM Lazavik, Denis 2576 74

Women's: Humpy Joins The Lead

Humpy, after a slower start on the first day, has caught the leader on day two. No fewer than 10 players are in the chasing pack.

Women's Standings After 8 Rounds | Top 24

Rank Title Name Fed Rating Points
1 GM Zhu, Jiner 2435 6.5
2 GM Koneru, Humpy 2448 6.5
3 GM Goryachkina, Aleksandra 2505 6
4 GM Batsiashvili, Nino 2346 6
5 GM Lei, Tingjie 2496 6
6 GM Dronavalli, Harika 2435 6
7 FM Chen, Yining 2143 6
8 GM Muzychuk, Mariya 2421 6
9 WIM Mungunzul, Bat-Erdene 2288 6
10 GM Lagno, Kateryna 2452 6
11 IM Arabidze, Meri 2333 6
12 WGM Khamdamova, Afruza 2365 6
13 GM Divya, Deshmukh 2419 5.5
14 GM Tan, Zhongyi 2507 5.5
15 GM Stefanova, Antoaneta 2379 5.5
16 IM Khademalsharieh, Sarasadat 2356 5.5
17 GM Kosteniuk, Alexandra 2450 5.5
18 IM Tokhirjonova, Gulrukhbegim 2286 5.5
19 GM Dzagnidze, Nana 2425 5.5
20 IM Savitha, Shri B 2238 5.5
21 IM Mammadzada, Gunay 2315 5.5
22 GM Muzychuk, Anna 2398 5.5
23 WGM Rudzinska, Michalina 2210 5.5
24 IM Atalik, Ekaterina 2328 5.5

See full standings here. 

Zhu made three draws, against GMs Aleksandra Goryachkina, Nino Batsiashvili, and Mariya Muzychuk, before winning her last game against GM Divya Deshmukh. One unfortunate blunder by the Indian grandmaster allowed Zhu to show off some mating patterns using the combination of a rook on the second rank and two minor pieces.

Zhu won an important last game to stay in the lead. Photo: Lennart Ootes/FIDE.

Humpy, who started with 3/4 on day one, scored 3.5/4 points on the second day. She defeated WIM Bat-Erdene Mungunzul (who upset World Champion Ju Wenjun in the last round), WGM Yana Zhapova (who upset GM Anna Muzychuk in round five), and IM Sara Khadem before finally slowing down with a draw against Goryachkina—the Russian pulled a great escape from a lost position.

Humpy was winning, but Goryachkina saved it. Photo: Lennart Ootes.

The second game was absolutely critical, as Humpy bounced back from a lost position, down a pawn against Zhapova, and won it. 

The player who stands out the most in the chasing pack of 10 players is certainly 16-year-old FM Yining Chen, who so far has a performance rating of 2553 and upset GM Alexandra Kosteniuk in round seven. Her rapid rating of 2143 isn't fooling anyone!

Yining Chen is the major dark horse in the Women's tournament. Photo: Lennart Ootes/FIDE.

You can see her round-by-round results, which speak for themselves:

IM Meri Arabidze also deserves a shoutout, as she lost her first game against 2123-rated FM Hong Nhung Nguyen but then recovered with great effect. She won four games in a row, including starting the day with a win over World Champion Ju—who ended the day with two losses and on 4.5/8, two points behind the leaders.

2014 Women's Rapid World Champion Kateryna Lagno had a slow start with just 2.5/4 on the first day but is also now on six points. It was her 36th birthday, in fact, and she said, "Today I cannot complain because I scored 3.5/4. Of course, I am satisfied with my result. I think for a chess player, it is the best present you can offer to yourself."

Her birthday comes up during this event every year, and she added, "I really hope that maybe they will change the dates because since 2016 I cannot celebrate it with my family, my birthday."

Below, you can see eight notable upsets from day two. Two-time Women's Blitz World Champion GM Bibisara Assaubayeva is on the same score as Ju after suffering two losses as well. 

8 Notable Upsets From Day 2

Round White Player (Seed) Fed Rating Result Black Player (Seed ) Fed _1 Rating _1
5 Meri Arabidze (31) 2333 1 - 0 Ju Wenjun (1) 2530
6 Sara Khadem (27) 2356 1 - 0 Bibisara Assaubayeva (5) 2461
6 Nana Dzagnidze (11) 2425 0 - 1 Olga Badelka (52) 2284
7 Yining Chen (96) 2143 1 - 0 Alexandra Kosteniuk (7) 2450
7 Bibisara Assaubayeva (5) 2461 0 - 1 Gunay Mammadzada (35) 2315
7 Inna Gaponenko (68) 2235 1 - 0 Meruert Kamalidenova (15) 2398
8 Ju Wenjun (1) 2530 0 - 1 Bat-Erdene Mungunzul (50) 2288
8 Yana Zhapova (69) 2227 1 - 0 Anna Muzychuk (14) 2398

Just like in the Open, the two leaders in the Women's will face off in the first round on Sunday. The next five boards feature players who are all just a half-point behind.

Women's Round 9 Pairings | Top 10 Boards

Board Seed Title White Rating Points Result Points Title Black Rating Seed
1 10 GM Zhu, Jiner 2435 6½ 6½ GM Koneru, Humpy 2448 8
2 22 WGM Khamdamova, Afruza 2365 6 6 GM Goryachkina, Aleksandra 2505 3
3 4 GM Lei, Tingjie 2496 6 6 GM Batsiashvili, Nino 2346 29
4 96 FM Chen, Yining 2143 6 6 GM Lagno, Kateryna 2452 6
5 50 WIM Mungunzul, Bat-Erdene 2288 6 6 GM Dronavalli, Harika 2435 9
6 31 IM Arabidze, Meri 2333 6 6 GM Muzychuk, Mariya 2421 12
7 27 IM Khademalsharieh, Sarasadat 2356 5½ 5½ GM Tan, Zhongyi 2507 2
8 33 IM Atalik, Ekaterina 2328 5½ 5½ GM Kosteniuk, Alexandra 2450 7
9 67 IM Savitha, Shri B 2238 5½ 5½ GM Dzagnidze, Nana 2425 11
10 35 IM Mammadzada, Gunay 2315 5½ 5½ GM Divya, Deshmukh 2419 13
How To Watch
You can watch the tournaments on Chess24 YouTube or Twitch channels. You can follow the action with GM Hikaru Nakamura's recaps on YouTube and also watch his stream on Kick. You can also check out the games on our dedicated events page.
GMs Aman Hambleton and Benjamin Bok hosted the broadcast.

The 2025 FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championships decide the world champions of rapid and blitz chess in Open and Women's sections. For the rapid championships, the Open is a 13-round Swiss; the Women's is an 11-round Swiss. The time control for both tournaments is 15 minutes plus a 10-second increment. The blitz championships feature 19 rounds in the Open and 15 rounds in the Women's, followed by a Knockout played by the top-four finishers, with a time control of 3+2 for all games. The total prize fund is over €1,000,000.

Previous coverage:

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