Dubov Clinches 1st Knockout: 'Kramnik Was The Only Reason I Played'
GM Daniil Dubov won week 19 of the 2022 Rapid Chess Championship presented by Coinbase, defeating GM Christopher Yoo with clever tactical play in the final.
GMs Dmitry Andreikin and Shamsiddin Vokhidov made it to the semifinals. GM Sam Sevian won the Swiss tournament and finished in the quarterfinals along with GMs Vladimir Fedoseev, Alexey Sarana, and Vincent Keymer.
Participating in the event were 45 competitors—now open to all GMs as well as the top-10 women, top-10 juniors, as well as 10 wildcards. The event continues on July 9-10, starting at 9 a.m. PT / 18:00 CEST.
You can watch the 2022 Rapid Chess Championship presented by Coinbase on Chess.com/TV. You can also enjoy the show on the Twitch channel and catch all our live broadcasts on YouTube.com/ChesscomLive.
Swiss
Sevian won clear first with 7.5 points―a full point ahead of the field―kicking off the tournament with a 4-0 winning streak. He capped off his streak with a victory over Andreikin, creating an unstoppable checkmate threat.
Sevian also achieved a key win over Aronian by intentionally allowing a knight fork to later trap his opponent's rook.
The 14th world champion, Vladimir Kramnik, made his first appearance in the event and defeated Sevian in round five.
Kramnik narrowly missed qualifying when he flagged in a winning position against Keymer in the last round.
Fedoseev finished second, tying with Andreikin, Keymer, and Yoo with 6.5 points. In round six, Fedoseev managed to convert an equal bishop ending into a win against GM Maxim Matlakov.
Andreikin scored a key victory against GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov in round three, capping off a three-game winning streak.
Keymer defeated GM Alexander Grischuk in the penultimate round, using tactical play to convert his kingside pressure into a material advantage. Can you figure out how?
Yoo won a critical game against GM Levon Aronian in round seven by exerting positional and tactical pressure in the center in a queenless middlegame.
Saturday Swiss | Final Standings (Top 20)
| Number | Rk | Fed | Title | Username | Name | Rating | Score | SB |
| 1 | 12 | GM | Konavets | Sam Sevian | 2752 | 7.5 | 36.75 | |
| 2 | 5 | GM | Bigfish1995 | Vladimir Fedoseev | 2753 | 6.5 | 33 | |
| 3 | 3 | GM | FairChess_on_YouTube | Dmitry Andreikin | 2803 | 6.5 | 29.75 | |
| 4 | 21 | GM | VincentKeymer | Vincent Keymer | 2672 | 6.5 | 29 | |
| 5 | 20 | GM | ChristopherYoo | Christopher Woojin Yoo | 2693 | 6.5 | 24.5 | |
| 6 | 8 | GM | mishanick | Alexey Sarana | 2719 | 6 | 32.75 | |
| 7 | 19 | GM | Duhless | Daniil Dubov | 2661 | 6 | 24.75 | |
| 8 | 26 | GM | Shield12 | Shamsiddin Vokhidov | 2632 | 6 | 22.5 | |
| 9 | 1 | GM | daro94 | Dariusz Swiercz | 2612 | 6 | 18 | |
| 10 | 18 | GM | BillieKimbah | Maxim Matlakov | 2641 | 5.5 | 21.25 | |
| 11 | 13 | GM | Grischuk | Alexander Grischuk | 2680 | 5.5 | 18.5 | |
| 12 | 2 | GM | VladimirKramnik | Vladimir Kramnik | 2702 | 5 | 26.25 | |
| 13 | 4 | GM | GMWSO | Wesley So | 2727 | 5 | 25.75 | |
| 14 | 10 | GM | Parhamov | Parham Maghsoodloo | 2686 | 5 | 21.25 | |
| 15 | 11 | GM | champ2005 | Raunak Sadhwani | 2675 | 5 | 20 | |
| 15 | 14 | GM | LiemLe | Liem Le | 2668 | 5 | 20 | |
| 17 | 16 | GM | ChessWarrior7197 | Nodirbek Abdusattorov | 2664 | 5 | 19 | |
| 18 | 6 | GM | viditchess | Vidit Gujrathi | 2702 | 5 | 17 | |
| 19 | 31 | GM | TigrVShlyape | Gata Kamsky | 2549 | 4.5 | 16 | |
| 19 | 17 | GM | Jospem | Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara | 2642 | 4.5 | 16 | |
| 19 | 15 | GM | dropstoneDP | David Paravyan | 2643 | 4.5 | 16 | |
| 22 | 29 | GM | GeorgMeier | Georg Meier | 2551 | 4.5 | 13.25 |
(Full final standings here.)
Knockout
Vokhidov knocked out the Swiss winner, Sevian, in the first match of the quarterfinals, outplaying him in a time scramble in a complex position. Sevian missed a key winning opportunity on move 44. Can you find it?
Yoo defeated Keymer using tactical play to support his passer's journey down the board in the rook-and-knight ending.
Dubov defeated Fedoseev by finding an opportunity to run a passed b-pawn down the board, even at the cost of a knight.
By sinking his pieces into Sarana's kingside, Andreikin won the last quarterfinals match.
The semifinals kicked off with Yoo winning against Vokhidov by gradually outplaying him in a knight vs. bishop ending.
Andreikin and Dubov drew in a closely-fought rapid game, finishing in an opposite-color bishop ending. In their blitz playoff, Andreikin sacrificed an exchange for two pawns, but in the resulting ending, his knights struggled against Dubov's rook.
In the final, Dubov discovered a tactical combination to capitalize on his active pieces and advanced passer against Yoo and clinched his first Rapid Chess Championship victory.
Dubov played clean chess throughout all of his matches and proved difficult to defeat. His performance was especially impressive considering that he started with the black pieces in each match of the knockout.
In his winner's interview, Dubov shared what inspired him to play this weekend: “I should also thank Vladimir Kramnik who was the only reason I played this week, to be honest. Yesterday I was originally going to skip… I just didn’t feel like playing. It’s summer after all. Then, two hours before the tournament, he starts texting me: ‘How should I register for the tournament?’ and so on. Twenty minutes later, I thought… maybe I should play myself.”
I should also thank Vladimir Kramnik who was the only reason I played this week...
-Daniil Dubov
Standings, Results, Prizes
The winner of the Swiss tournament is Sevian, and the winner of the knockout tournament is Dubov. Below are the full standings and prizes of the knockout:
Sunday Knockout | Final Standings
| # | Fed | Player | Place | Prize |
| 1 | Daniil Dubov | Winner | $7,500 | |
| 2 | Christopher Yoo | Finalist | $3,500 | |
| 3-4 | Dmitry Andreikin | Semifinalist | $2,500 | |
| 3-4 | Shamsiddin Vokhidov | Semifinalist | $2,500 | |
| 5-8 | Sam Sevian | Quarterfinalist | $1,000 | |
| 5-8 | Vladimir Fedoseev | Quarterfinalist | $1,000 | |
| 5-8 | Alexey Sarana | Quarterfinalist | $1,000 | |
| 5-8 | Vincent Keymer | Quarterfinalist | $1,000 |
The Rapid Chess Championship is a weekly tournament held by Chess.com. It is a nine-round Swiss event with a 10+0 time control held every Saturday, followed by a knockout event on Sunday between the top-eight finishers and a 10+2 time control. If players draw, they play a 3+2 game; if drawn, they play a 1+1 game; and if that is drawn, a single armageddon game is played.
The Rapid Chess Championship is brought to you by Coinbase. Whether you’re looking to make your first crypto purchase or you’re an experienced trader, Coinbase has you covered. Earn crypto by learning about crypto with Coinbase Earn, explore DeFi and web3 with Coinbase Wallet, get exclusive rewards when you spend with Coinbase Card, and much more. Learn more at coinbase.com/chess and get $10 in bitcoin when you sign up and verify your account.
Previous coverage
- Sevian Wins Week 19 Swiss Heading into Knockout: Summary Report
- Fighting Spirit Prevails: Andreikin Wins Third Knockout
- Nakamura Wins Week 18 Swiss Heading into Knockout: Summary Report
- Battle Of Escape Artists: Andreikin Wins 2nd Knockout
- Fedoseev Wins Week 17 Swiss Heading into Knockout: Summary Report
- Grischuk Wins Knockout: Rapid Chess Championship Week 16
- Nakamura Wins 5th Knockout: Rapid Chess Championship Week 15
- Nakamura Wins 4th Knockout: Rapid Chess Championship Week 14
- Nakamura Wins Third Knockout: Rapid Chess Championship Week 13
- Nepomniachtchi Wins Knockout: Rapid Chess Championship Week 12
- Sarana's First Knockout Victory: Rapid Chess Championship Week 11
- Aronian Clinches Knockout: Rapid Chess Championship Week 10
- Nakamura Wins Knockout: Rapid Chess Championship Week 9
- Rapid Chess Championship Week 8: Maghsoodloo Wins Swiss and Knockout
- Rapid Chess Championship Week 7: Andreikin Wins Knockout
- Rapid Chess Championship Week 6: Matlakov Wins Knockout
- Rapid Chess Championship Week 5: Nakamura Bests Aronian
- Rapid Chess Championship Week 4: Aronian Wins Knockout
- Rapid Chess Championship Week 3: Caruana Wins Second Consecutive Week
- Rapid Chess Championship Week 2: Caruana Wins
- Rapid Chess Championship Week 1: Nepo Strikes Back And Wins
- 2022 Rapid Chess Championship: All The Information
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.
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