‘I don’t think it will be decided on the chessboard… I broke him in the Sinquefield Cup… as long as I can look him in the eyes and understand that there is absolutely nothing he can do to even enter my mind space then I believe that victory will be mine.’ Thus spake Hans Niemann in a recent interview with the YouTuber Levy Rozman (aka GothamChess), referencing the notorious game in which he beat Magnus Carlsen in St Louis two years ago. He was anticipating his clash against Carlsen in the semi-final of the Chess.com Speed Chess Championship, which took place in Paris last week.
Niemann’s bombast proved premature. Carlsen won with a convincing 17.5-12.5 score, and the margin was even greater at one point, though Carlsen admitted he was ‘going through the motions’ in the latter stages of the match. (Like a football game, it was played over a set number of minutes, rather than to a specific number of games.) The Norwegian later said: ‘Niemann has become a very good player, but thinking that our levels were going to be close was not realistic’.
There was a danger that their rivalry could eclipse the final itself, in which Carlsen would face 21-year-old Alireza Firouzja. But Carlsen clearly relished the chance to prove himself against the youngster. Firouzja, the current world no. 5, has been on tremendous form lately, winning the St Louis Rapid and Blitz tournament and the Sinquefield Cup last month, securing victory in the prestigious Grand Chess Tour.
Carlsen heaped praise on Firouzja’s play in the other semi-final against Hikaru Nakamura, and acknowledged that he would need to be at the top of his game. Peak Carlsen is what we got, and his dominance on the final day was extraordinary to watch. He won the match by 23.5-7.5, an even greater margin than in the semi-final.
Alireza Firouzja-Magnus Carlsen
Chess.com Speed Chess Championship, Paris 2024
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 a3 Bxc3+ 5 bxc3 Nc6 6 f3 b6 7 e4 Ba6 8 Bg5 h6 9 Bh4 g5 10 Bf2 Nh5 11 h4 Qf6 12 e5 Qg7 13 g3 O-O-O 14 Bd3 f6 15 f4 Qf7 16 hxg5 hxg5 17 fxg5 fxg5 18 Qf3 Qxf3 19 Nxf3
Nf4! A powerful tactical shot to activate the knight 20 Rxh8 The witty 20 Bh7! was a better try. Nxd3+ 21 Ke2 Rxh8 22 Kxd3 Rf8 23 Ke3 Na5 24 Nd2 g4 White resigns After 25 Be1 Nxc4 26 Nxc4 Rf3+ 27 Kd2 Bxc4 the endgame is hopeless. Carlsen’s motif (19…Nf4) reminded me of this classic below.
Robert Fischer-Artur Bisguier
US Championship, New York 1963
24 Nf5! Rxh1 25 Nd6+ Kf8 26 Rxh1 b5 27 f4 Kg8 28 f5 Nf8 29 e6 f6 30 Nf7 Be7 31 Bf4 g5 32 Bd6 Re8 33 Bxe7 Rxe7 34 Nd8 Re8 35 Nxc6 Nxe6 36 fxe6 Rxe6 37 Nxa7 Black resigns
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