Wesley So Prevails In Last Knockout
GM Wesley So won week 25 of the 2022 Rapid Chess Championship presented by Coinbase, defeating GM Ian Nepomniachtchi in a hard-fought final that culminated in an armageddon playoff.
GMs Hikaru Nakamura and Oleksandr Bortnyk made it to the semifinals. GMs Sam Sevian, Hans Niemann, Jose Martinez, and Benjamin Bok 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 Round of 16 of the finals begins on August 18, 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
Nepomniachtchi finished first undefeated with 6.5 points. He won a critical game against Martinez in round five by discovering the stunning 21.Bxh6+! to open up Black's kingside.
So finished second, also with 6.5. He won his first four games in a row, including a victory against GM Pavel Eljanov where he turned a structural advantage into a material one.
Bok finished third. He earned his qualification spot by defeating GM Shamsiddin Vokhidov in 31 moves in the final round by accepting his opponent's pawn sacrifices and defending actively.
One of the most impressive upsets of the event was when Niemann with the black pieces outplayed GM Fabiano Caruana with pristine middlegame play in round seven.
🔥 @HansMokeNiemann defeats Caruana with black in a brilliant game!#RapidChess pic.twitter.com/llzOF9zsYu
— ChesscomLive (@ChesscomLive) August 13, 2022
Saturday Swiss | Final Standings (Top 20)
| Number | Rk | Fed | Title | Username | Name | Rating | Score | SB |
| 1 | 8 | GM | lachesisQ | Ian Nepomniachtchi | 2748 | 6.5 | 32.5 | |
| 2 | 2 | GM | GMWSO | Wesley So | 2782 | 6.5 | 28.25 | |
| 3 | 20 | GM | GMBenjaminBok | Benjamin Bok | 2651 | 6.5 | 27.75 | |
| 4 | 15 | GM | Jospem | Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara | 2667 | 6.5 | 24 | |
| 5 | 18 | GM | Oleksandr_Bortnyk | Oleksandr Bortnyk | 2667 | 6.5 | 21 | |
| 6 | 1 | GM | Hikaru | Hikaru Nakamura | 2799 | 6 | 33 | |
| 7 | 4 | GM | Konavets | Sam Sevian | 2758 | 6 | 29.25 | |
| 8 | 9 | GM | HansOnTwitch | Hans Niemann | 2718 | 6 | 26 | |
| 9 | 11 | GM | Grischuk | Alexander Grischuk | 2677 | 6 | 24.25 | |
| 10 | 10 | GM | champ2005 | Raunak Sadhwani | 2673 | 6 | 24 | |
| 11 | 22 | GM | vladislavkovalev | Vladislav Kovalev | 2641 | 6 | 22.25 | |
| 12 | 35 | GM | shimastream | Aleksandr Shimanov | 2587 | 6 | 20.75 | |
| 13 | 37 | GM | Jumbo | Rinat Jumabayev | 2573 | 5.5 | 17.5 | |
| 14 | 27 | GM | Shield12 | Shamsiddin Vokhidov | 2604 | 5 | 24.5 | |
| 15 | 3 | GM | FabianoCaruana | Fabiano Caruana | 2734 | 5 | 22.75 | |
| 16 | 12 | GM | VincentKeymer | Vincent Keymer | 2636 | 4.5 | 21.75 | |
| 17 | 17 | GM | Salem-AR | Salem AR Saleh | 2620 | 4.5 | 16.25 | |
| 18 | 21 | GM | AlexanderL | Aleksandr Lenderman | 2602 | 4.5 | 14.5 | |
| 19 | 23 | GM | dropstoneDP | David Paravyan | 2601 | 4.5 | 14.25 | |
| 20 | 40 | GM | SergeiAza | Sergei Azarov | 2539 | 4.5 | 12.75 |
(Full final standings here.)
Knockout
The knockout kicked off with a highly dynamic game in Nepomniachtchi vs. Niemann. Nepomniachtchi, launching an attack on the kingside and center, sacrificed an exchange to open up Niemann's king. Niemann defended with incredible accuracy for most of the game, discovering the incredible 30.Rd7!
In the final seconds of the game, however, with the draw within his grasp, Niemann made a mistake, and Nepomniachtchi won material.
Martinez sacrificed a pawn in the opening to loosen Bortnyk's kingside. But Bortnyk gained an advantage by consolidating his center and gaining a second extra pawn.
So gained an extra pawn and better center control early in the game against Sevian.
In Nakamura vs. Bok, the rapid and blitz games traded down to endings early and ultimately led to draws, though Bok missed an opportunity to press when ahead a pawn in the first game. In the 1+1 tiebreaker, Nakamura's bullet prowess showed as he gained the better position and time edge. However, he blundered his passed a-pawn and had to win all over again in the time scramble, which he successfully accomplished.
In a bishop pair vs. knight pair ending, Nepomniachtchi fought for over 50 more moves to outmaneuver his opponent, gaining one extra pawn and then a second to win.
Nakamura pressed So for much of the game but ended up overpressing. So gained an extra pawn and converted it to a victory in the rook ending.
In the final, to the great surprise of the commentators, So missed a winning tactical opportunity in the rapid game.
Then the players drew in both the blitz and bullet games, leading to an armageddon playoff. In a tense duel, Nepomniachtchi sacrificed the exchange to castle queenside and activate his pieces to support his passed d-pawn. Despite his excellent compensation, Nepomniachtchi blundered tactically, and So swiftly discovered the mistake.
Throughout the knockout, So displayed incredible board awareness, make few errors, and capitalized on many of the opportunities his opponents offered him. Unfortunately for Nepomniachtchi, this loss caused him to finish just outside of the top 12 and qualification to the upcoming finals.
In the post-tournament interview, So shared about his Rapid Chess experiences throughout this season: "The first few months of my RCC have definitely been quite awful. I would qualify most of the time, but then I would lose in the quarterfinals. But in the last few weeks, my fortunes have started turning around. I'm playing a lot more online these days. Also, I won twice, and I finished in the semifinals once. Things have certainly been looking up."
Standings, Results, Prizes
The winner of the Swiss tournament is Nepomniachtchi, and the winner of the knockout tournament is So. Below are the full standings and prizes of the knockout:
Sunday Knockout | Final Standings
| # | Fed | Player | Place | Prize |
| 1 | Wesley So | Winner | $7,500 | |
| 2 | Ian Nepomniachtchi | Finalist | $3,500 | |
| 3-4 | Hikaru Nakamura | Semifinalist | $2,500 | |
| 3-4 | Oleksandr Bortnyk | Semifinalist | $2,500 | |
| 5-8 | Sam Sevian | Quarterfinalist | $1,000 | |
| 5-8 | Hans Niemann | Quarterfinalist | $1,000 | |
| 5-8 | Jose Martinez | Quarterfinalist | $1,000 | |
| 5-8 | Benjamin Bok | Quarterfinalist | $1,000 |
The Rapid Chess Championship has been a weekly tournament held by Chess.com. It has been 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
- Nepomniachtchi Wins Week 25 Swiss: Summary Report
- World No. 6 Junior Triumphs in Knockout and Swiss
- 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
