5 Things We Learned — Chess.com Classic 2024

GM Alireza Firouzja just won Division I of the Champions Chess Tour Chess.com Classic 2024 on Wednesday, while GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave took Division II and GM Dmitry Andreikin Division III.

It's not often we see GM Magnus Carlsen lose even a game of chess, let alone two matches to release his hold on Division I. Let's unpack what happened over the last eight days in the online tournament, the second event of the yearlong Champions Chess Tour.

1. Carlsen Is Human, Maybe?
2. Firouzja Silences His Critics
3. The Best Of Times And The Worst Of Times For Caruana
4. Playing OTB Doesn't Seem To Hurt
5. Ivic, Wesley So Show Their Teeth In CCT

1. Carlsen Is Human, Maybe?

Carlsen wasn't pleased with the Grand Final, of course, and even said, "I played like an a** from the beginning." The truth is that even on a bad day, Carlsen is still a tremendous force in the chess world.

Carlsen actually hadn't lost a single game in the first seven days of the tournament, as he dominated the Winners Bracket—and his first loss only came in game four of the Grand Final against Firouzja, after a blunder in a winning position. This was the beginning of the downward spiral that ultimately lost the match:

Alireza wins on demand, and Magnus is FURIOUS!!!

WE'RE GOING INTO AN ARMAGEDDON!!! TUNE IN #ChessChamps 👇👇👇 pic.twitter.com/cdvbjasmq0

— Chess.com (@chesscom) May 15, 2024

But, until this one rainy day, Carlsen was on fire for months. Actually, it was during this tournament that Carlsen won the 2024 Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland over the board and defeated every other player in the tournament in a row—again. It was seven consecutive tournament victories, and his almost-eighth in the Chess.com Classic barely eluded him. His latest tournament wins were the following:

• 2024 GCT: Superbet Rapid & Blitz Champion
• 2024 Grenke Chess Classic Champion
• 2024 Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challenge Champion
• 2024 Chessable Masters Champion
• 2023 World Blitz Champion
• 2023 World Rapid Champion
• 2023 CCT Finals Champion

You'll notice that the above tournaments (except for the Freestyle G.O.A.T. Challenge) are all rapid/blitz events. Carlsen's last classical tournament was the European Team Chess Championship 2023, which took place last November. While he's still the world number-one by rating, are his rivals catching up?

2. Firouzja Silences His Critics

After he took the chess world by storm in 2020 and 2021, many predicted Firouzja to be one of the prominent contenders for the world champion title. In fact, Carlsen himself wanted the then-teenager to win the Candidates Tournament so they could play a match, but GM Ian Nepomniachtchi dominated that tournament instead.

In the last Candidates Tournament, Firouzja finished a half-point above last-place GM Nijat Abasov, and his harshest critics already claimed he was down and out or, more colloquially, "washed up." This tournament victory was a statement, and so was his tweet right after:

pic.twitter.com/jocGGcDqDB

— Alireza Firouzja (@AlirezaFirouzja) May 15, 2024

It was a fantastic run for Firouzja, who lost in the very first round of Division I against GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda. He then clambered up through the Losers Bracket, convincingly winning every match, to make it to the Grand Final—and then he beat Carlsen twice to win the tournament.

Firouzja's Run To The Grand Final

Like the former world champion, he looks forward to a challenge. Firouzja said, "If, for instance, it was not Magnus [in the Grand Final] and I would win, it's like not a real challenge, so it makes it much more special." 

If, for instance, it was not Magnus and I would win, it's like not a real challenge...

—Alireza Firouzja

We will see him at Norway Chess 2024 at the end of May, along with other top players: Carlsen, GM Fabiano Caruana, GM Hikaru Nakamura, World Champion Ding Liren, and GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu (the latter three did not participate in this CCT event).

3. The Best Of Times And The Worst Of Times For Caruana

The first day looked like the beginning of a resurrection for Caruana. In the last CCT Play-in, he scored 3.5/8 and withdrew before the last round, not even making it to Division III. This time around, he was clear first in the Play-in after the nine rounds.

Play-in Final Standings

(You can see the full standings here.)

Unfortunately for the U.S. champion and world number two, the celebrations kind of ended there. It speaks less to his merit as a chess player as it does to the difficulty of the tournament. For example, the Losers Bracket in Division II saw two 2024 Candidates participants get knocked out, with GM Vidit Gujrathi being the other one.

The lineup of the Division II Losers Bracket would make for a ridiculously strong tournament of its own, with half the field comprising of world top-20 players.

Round 1 of Division II Losers

Caruana was knocked out of the Winners Bracket by GM Aram Hakobyan and then eliminated in round two of the Losers by GM 
Andrey Esipenko. Caruana hasn't made it to Division I this year yet and isn't on the top 20 of the tour standings leaderboard. He has two events left to fight for a spot in the end-of-year Finals.

4. Playing OTB Doesn't Seem To Hurt

We often see grandmasters juggling over-the-board tournaments with online ones, but we don't often see so many of the world's top 10 doing it. The first event of the Grand Chess Tour kicked off on the same day as the CCT, and Carlsen won it right before he got back to his hotel room to beat GM Vincent Keymer, whom he'd just beaten in person, 2.5-1.5 in the Winners Final.

Polish number one Duda was the other player in Division I who sandwiched the CCT between a handful of rapid and blitz games in person. While it would have been reasonable to think that such a packed schedule would tire the players out, all three of them actually did quite well. 

Carlsen finished in second, so he'll be in Division I of the next event, but the other two placed in Division I Placement thanks to their performance. Keymer finished third (after losing to only Carlsen and Firouzja), and Duda finished fourth (losing to Keymer and then Firouzja).

5. Ivic, Wesley So Show Their Teeth In CCT

We can call Firouzja's victory against Carlsen an underdog story, especially considering he had to win two matches. But the most successful underdog of the event was GM Velimir Ivic. In Division I Placement, on the second day, he was arm's length from elimination when Vachier-Lagrave mouse-slipped an entire rook and resigned.

After a lucky save, the Serbian number four started to play like an absolute boss. He struck back in the next game and sent the French number-two to Division II (where he'd ultimately win the tournament). 

Our Best Game of the #ChessChamps https://t.co/fh3ftfXKHd Classic was Ivic vs. Vachier-Lagrave game three (armageddon) in Division I Placement!

The Serbian number-four knocked MVL and Fabiano Caruana out of Division I on the second day, with the performance of a lifetime. pic.twitter.com/hjcEoIB2cm

— chess24 (@chess24com) May 16, 2024

His next victim was Caruana, who kissed Division I goodbye after suffering two losses with the white pieces—a shocking result for one of the world's best-prepared players.

The Cinderella story lasted only so long, as Ivic then played Carlsen on the first day of Division I, who knocked him down to the Losers with 2.5-1.5. Nepomniachtchi finished him off with a 2-0 sweep in the Losers. Still, the $7,500 that comes with finishing in last place is still more than a player can earn for winning most open tournaments over the board—and the run was an incredible achievement for Ivic.

The double-elimination format seems to bring out the best in some players, especially those who can make the most of their two lives. While not an underdog, GM Wesley So defied the odds like Firouzja. After losing his first match, he crawled back to the Grand Final by winning every match in the Losers Bracket. He even beat Vachier-Lagrave in the first Grand Final match, but then he was swept 2-0 in the second.

So took home $10,000 and is still number seven on the leaderboard, which is a remarkable finish after losing on the first day of Division Play.

What was your biggest takeaway from the Chess.com Classic? Let us know in the comments below!

The 2024 Chess.com Classic is the second of the Champions Chess Tour's four events and determines one of the players who'll make it to the in-person CCT Finals. The event starts on May 8 at 12:30 p.m. ET/18:30 CEST/10 p.m. IST and features a $300,000 prize fund.

Previous coverage:

• • Day 8: Firouzja Beats Carlsen Twice In Grand Final, Wins 2024 Chess.com Classic
  • Day 7: Vachier-Lagrave Wins Division II, Andreikin Takes Division III
  • Day 6: Firouzja Sets Up Grand Final Vs. Carlsen After Eliminating Duda, Keymer
  • Day 5: Carlsen Beats Keymer, Wins 16th CCT Winners Final In Division I
  • Day 4: Carlsen Evokes Magnus Magic, Keymer Gets Revenge
  • Day 3: Carlsen, Keymer, Duda Win After Doubling Up Tournaments In Poland
  • Day 2: Vachier-Lagrave, Caruana, Wesley So Kicked Out Of Division I By Ivic, Sarana
  • Day 1: Caruana Wins In Final Round To Take Sole 1st In Chess.com Classic Play-in
  • Champions Chess Tour Returns With 2024 Chess.com Classic