World No. 6 Junior Triumphs in Knockout and Swiss
GM Hans Niemann, ranked sixth in the world for juniors in live ratings, won week 24 of the 2022 Rapid Chess Championship presented by Coinbase, accomplishing the rare feat of winning both the knockout and Swiss in the same week.
GM Jeffery Xiong made it to the finals. GMs Hikaru Nakamura and Kirill Alekseenko made it to the semifinals. GMs Sam Sevian, Vladimir Fedoseev, Le Liem, and Vugar Rasulov finished in the quarterfinals.
Participating in the event were 39 competitors—open to all GMs as well as the top-10 women, top-10 juniors, as well as 10 wildcards. The last knockout before the finals will take place on August 13-14, 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
Niemann clinched clear first with an undefeated seven points. He won the critical penultimate round by creating unexpected tactical chances in the endgame against world championship challenger, GM Ian Nepomniachtchi.
Xiong also went undefeated, scoring 6.5 and finishing second. In round five, he defeated GM Saleh Salem by pressing on Black's weakened kingside.
Alekseenko finished third with six points, defeating GM Oleksandr Bortnyk in a tricky ending in round seven.
The early rounds featured several surprising upsets, including Rasulov defeating Nakamura with a siege of tactics in round two.
Another shocking upset!
— ChesscomLive (@ChesscomLive) August 6, 2022
GM Vugar Rasulov defeats #RapidChess leader, Nakamura, with crushing tactical play! pic.twitter.com/VH068jh21y
Saturday Swiss | Final Standings (Top 20)
| Number | Rk | Fed | Title | Username | Name | Rating | Score | SB |
| 1 | 8 | GM | HansOnTwitch | Hans Niemann | 2700 | 7 | 35.5 | |
| 2 | 5 | GM | jefferyx | Jeffery Xiong | 2760 | 6.5 | 28.5 | |
| 3 | 25 | GM | BilodeauA | Kirill Alekseenko | 2609 | 6 | 30 | |
| 4 | 3 | GM | Konavets | Sam Sevian | 2756 | 6 | 28.25 | |
| 5 | 1 | GM | Hikaru | Hikaru Nakamura | 2802 | 6 | 27.75 | |
| 6 | 9 | GM | LiemLe | Liem Le | 2677 | 6 | 25.25 | |
| 7 | 4 | GM | Bigfish1995 | Vladimir Fedoseev | 2747 | 6 | 21.75 | |
| 8 | 21 | GM | vugarrasulov | Vugar Rasulov | 2619 | 5.5 | 25.25 | |
| 9 | 15 | GM | Jospem | Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara | 2639 | 5.5 | 22.25 | |
| 10 | 10 | GM | Grischuk | Alexander Grischuk | 2662 | 5.5 | 22 | |
| 10 | 7 | GM | FairChess_on_YouTube | Dmitry Andreikin | 2724 | 5.5 | 22 | |
| 12 | 27 | GM | Infernal_XaM | Pavel Ponkratov | 2583 | 5.5 | 20.25 | |
| 13 | 6 | GM | mishanick | Alexey Sarana | 2729 | 5.5 | 19 | |
| 14 | 18 | GM | Salem-AR | Salem AR Saleh | 2634 | 5 | 23 | |
| 15 | 16 | GM | ChristopherYoo | Christopher Woojin Yoo | 2634 | 5 | 16 | |
| 16 | 29 | GM | shimastream | Aleksandr Shimanov | 2543 | 4.5 | 22.75 | |
| 17 | 2 | GM | laca hesisQ | Ian Nepomniachtchi | 2721 | 4.5 | 19.75 | |
| 18 | 26 | GM | platy3 | Alan Pichot | 2572 | 4.5 | 16.5 | |
| 19 | 31 | GM | SergeiAza | Sergei Azarov | 2519 | 4.5 | 16.25 | |
| 20 | 13 | GM | Oleksandr_Bortnyk | Oleksandr Bortnyk | 2631 | 4 | 13 |
(Full final standings here.)
Knockout
Niemann vs. Rasulov started with a highly tactical game that ended in a perpetual check draw.
In the blitz playoff, the players fought until king vs. king, drawing again. The match culminated in a thrilling bullet tiebreaker. In a crazed time scramble, Niemann blundered his rook yet continued to play unfazed, winning Rasulov's rook right back in a couple of moves.
Nakamura had an extra pawn in the ending, but Sevian's bishop pair provided sufficient compensation. They drew their rapid game when they reached an equal opposite-color bishop endgame. In the blitz tiebreaker, Nakamura discovered a clever king maneuver to unsettle Sevian's pieces and soon obtain an unstoppable passed pawn.
Xiong conjured up a vicious attack out of the opening against Fedoseev.
Le defended solidly on the kingside for a while but then blundered a pawn. Alekseenko traded into a knight ending and converted cleanly.
The semifinals kicked off with a closely-fought rapid game between Nakamura vs. Niemann that eventually traded into a drawish ending. In the blitz playoff, Nakamura made an error by playing 23.Qb4, putting his queen on an undefended square. Niemann immediately capitalized tactically, defeating the seven-time Rapid Chess knockout winner in 25 moves.
Xiong built up significant queenside pressure against Alekseenko, breaking through with his queen to win his opponent's weak d6-pawn.
In the final, Niemann established a potent knight on the d4-outpost, pressing on Xiong's backward c6-pawn. Niemann broke through with his queen to win this pawn, gaining his own powerful passed pawn.
Niemann's resourcefulness and focus regardless of the circumstances on the board and clock were the keys to his immense success this week.
In the post-tournament interview, Niemann shared about his progress in Rapid Chess events throughout this season: "The last three weeks, I've made the knockout, so it seems like I've figured it out. For a long time, I would play in the RCC and do absolutely terribly. The time control was so foreign to me. It took me so long to adjust to the 10+0. I've never played anything like it. Obviously, it's nice to beat Hikaru and Jeffery, especially after Jeffery beat me last week. It's obviously nice, but it's just a normal Sunday."
Obviously, it's nice to beat Hikaru and Jeffery... but it's just a normal Sunday.
-Hans Niemann
Standings, Results, Prizes
The winner of both the Swiss and knockout tournaments is Niemann. Below are the full standings and prizes of the knockout:
Sunday Knockout | Final Standings
| # | Fed | Player | Place | Prize |
| 1 | Hans Niemann | Winner | $7,500 | |
| 2 | Jeffery Xiong | Finalist | $3,500 | |
| 3-4 | Hikaru Nakamura | Semifinalist | $2,500 | |
| 3-4 | Kirill Alekseenko | Semifinalist | $2,500 | |
| 5-8 | Sam Sevian | Quarterfinalist | $1,000 | |
| 5-8 | Vladimir Fedoseev | Quarterfinalist | $1,000 | |
| 5-8 | Le Liem | Quarterfinalist | $1,000 | |
| 5-8 | Vugar Rasulov | 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.
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Previous coverage
- Niemann Wins Week 24 Swiss: Summary Report
- Firewalk Across The Chessboard
- Xiong Wins Week 23 Swiss: Summary Report
- Nakamura's 7th Knockout Victory: 'Just Another Day At The Office'
- Caruana Wins Week 22 Swiss: Summary Report
- So Captures First Knockout Victory in Bullet Playoff
- Sevian Wins Week 21 Swiss Heading Into Knockout: Summary Report
- Nakamura Wins 6th Knockout: 'In Bullet, I Have A Better Chance Of Winning'
- Bortnyk Wins Week 20 Swiss Heading Into Knockout: Summary Report
- Dubov Clinches 1st Knockout: 'Kramnik Was The Only Reason I Played'
- 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.
You can follow them on X: Vanessa__West
