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Carlsen Advances To Grand Final After Beating Lazavik, Duda
Carlsen advances, once again, to the Grand Final. Photo: Lennart Ootes/FIDE.

Carlsen Advances To Grand Final After Beating Lazavik, Duda

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NM AnthonyLevin
| 29 | Chess Event Coverage

GM Magnus Carlsen defeated GMs Denis Lazavik and Jan-Krzysztof Duda, with a 3-2 score in both matches, to advance to the 2026 Chess.com Open Playoffs Grand Final. Just by reaching the Winners Final, however, Duda has earned one of the three qualifying spots to the 2026 Esports World Cup.

The following six players were eliminated in the Losers Bracket on Friday: GMs Pranesh M, Yu Yangyi, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Vincent Keymer, Daniil Dubov, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Besides Carlsen, five players remain.

Day three of the Chess.com Playoffs is on Saturday, April 25, starting at 11:15 a.m. ET / 17:15 CEST / 8:45 p.m. IST.

Winners Semifinals & Final: Carlsen Starts With Losses, Wins Both Matches

In case there was any doubt, Carlsen—playing on a tablet—has reminded us once again why he is the world champion of rapid and blitz chess. His ascent in the Winners Bracket wasn't without hiccups, however, as he started both matches with losses in game one. 

Carlsen 3-2 Lazavik

All five games in the Carlsen vs. Lazavik semifinal were decisive, with the world number-one only winning in armageddon. The match started with an early blunder from the Norwegian GM, when a miscalculation cost him an entire piece.

From there, however, Carlsen won two games in a row. The first was an instructive endgame, where keeping rooks on the board was the way for the Belarusian GM to draw. Lazavik's decision to trade rooks led straight to a dead-lost king-and-pawn endgame.

In a must-draw game four, Carlsen achieved a fortress, but when he started to play actively it backfired. Lazavik won on demand.

Finally, in armageddon, Carlsen absolutely neutralized White's opening in a Sicilian Defense and went on to win himself, with Black.

Duda 3-0 Nihal

The other semifinal match was much more convincing; Duda just won all three games, without needing a fourth.

The first game he won on time in a "flag-or-be-flagged" queen endgame, and the second featured a dynamic fight with both sides attacking. Both queens were active, but after Duda's 27...Raf8!, White's was stuck in its tracks. From there, the Polish number-one unraveled his pieces and White was without meaningful counterplay.

Just by advancing to the Winners Final, Duda guaranteed qualification to the 2026 Esports World Cup as he'll finish in the top-three. Carlsen and Lazavik have already qualified through other events.

Carlsen 3-2 Duda

Duda started with a win, drew two games, and needed just one more draw to secure the match. But Carlsen won game four on demand and then won the armageddon game, with Black, to seal it.

Like Lazavik, Duda started with a win in the first game, but this one was much more convincing. After sacrificing the exchange for a pawn, he expertly used the combination of queen and knight (plus a pawn later!) to overwhelm the white defense.

Duda was, in fact, winning again in game two, but with little time he had to acquiesce to a draw—or he'd lose on time. In game three, it was Duda who defended a very difficult endgame, but survived.

It felt like Carlsen simply shifted into another gear from there, as he deftly outplayed Duda two times, and with the black pieces. Game four was a King's Indian Defense, though a relatively quiet one, but Carlsen applied the pressure in the endgame with the knight against bishop. GM Rafael Leitao analyzes the Game of the Day below. 


In the armageddon game, Carlsen was rock-solid in a Queen's Gambit Declined, and went on to win the game when Duda, in a must-win position, threw caution to the wind.

Despite losing, Duda can't be too upset. Even if he loses his next match, he will still leave with $25,000 and a qualification spot for the EWC.

Losers Rounds 2 & 3: Five Players Remain

GMs Sina Movahed and Nodirbek Abdusattorov were the two players to win both matches in the Losers Bracket. In the Losers Quarterfinals, they will be joined by Lazavik and Nihal, who dropped down from the Winners Semifinals.

Abdusattorov won two close matches, against Nepomniachtchi and Vachier-Lagrave, to keep his hopes alive. After starting with a draw against Nepomniachtchi, the Uzbek number-one won with the black pieces in a sharp Sicilian. 34...h6 was a quiet killer, softly pointing out that the white queen had no good square.

In the second match, Abdusattorov won the first game and, critically, saved a losing exchange-down position against Vachier-Lagrave to advance.

Movahed, on the other hand, defeated Yu and Dubov to stay afloat. He won the first match in armageddon and, in the second one, swept Dubov 2-0. The second game of that match featured a crazy opening that both players blitzed out. Dubov's first new move of the game, 14.c4?, was a mistake that allowed Movahed to instantly make the draw he needed, and Dubov self-destructed given his must-win situation.

Carlsen will get a rest day on Saturday as the Losers Bracket generates one winner. Duda will play the winner of the Losers Semifinals, and whoever wins that match will face Carlsen in the Grand Final, where the Norwegian will still have two lives under his belt.

How To Watch
You can watch the tournament on the Chess.com YouTube or Twitch channels. You can also check out the games on our dedicated events page.
GMs Aman Hambleton and Eric Hansen hosted the broadcast.

The Chess.com Open, taking place online from March 14 to April 26, is the world's biggest open chess event. The tournament features open qualifiers, titled qualifiers, and Play-Ins that funnel into a 16-player double-elimination knockout. Up to $250,000 in prizes are available, on top of three direct qualification spots to the 2026 Esports World Cup. 

Previous coverage:

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