GM Hikaru Nakamura is the last player to make it to the final of the Speed Chess Championship 2024. On Friday, he defeated GM Ian Nepomniachtchi in the quarterfinals with a score of 14.5-9.5. Nepomniachtchi took a three-point lead in the first period, but Nakamura equalized in the 3+1 and then dominated the bullet games to win the match.
The semifinals with GM Magnus Carlsen vs. GM Hans Niemann and GM Alireza Firouzja vs. Nakamura will be broadcast live in Paris on September 6, starting at 10:00 a.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. CEST / 7:30 p.m. IST.
Rapid Chess Championship 2024 – Tournament Tree
Hikaru Nakamura 14.5-9.5 Ian Nepomniachtchi
SmarterChess predicted Nakamura’s victory at 65 percent odds, suggesting scores of 4.5-2.5 in the first part, 4-3 in the second, and 5.5-2.5 in the last. Nepomniachtchi exceeded all expectations in the 5+1 section, but Nakamura performed even better than predicted in the bullet.
Blitz 5+1: Nakamura 2.5-5.5 Nepomniachtchi
The last time they played in the SCC, in the 2019 semifinals, Nakamura had a three-point lead after the 5+1 part. This time, Nepomniachtchi entered the game with a three-point lead.
Nepomniachtchi won with a brilliant attack right from the start. The creative maneuver …Ra5-h5 in the first game, where the rook was brought to the kingside, was an aesthetic way to prepare an attack.
The decisive blow came when Nakamura allowed the sacrifice in time trouble 34.Bc3? Bxh3!The attack resulted in the white queen winning and the game winning. Nakamura, who almost always has a time advantage in his games, usually had less time in this section.
Nakamura hit back with a positional win on the black side of the Berlin endgame, but Nepomniachtchi won three of the next four games. “Ian Nepomniachtchi just pounces on Hikaru Nakamura. He doesn’t let him get away,” said GM Robert Hess. “He’s just playing his great chess and Hikaru doesn’t know what to do about it.”
Ian Nepomniachtchi simply pounces on Hikaru Nakamura.
—Robert Hess
In the last two games, the American number one was close to flipping the script. After winning the penultimate game, the momentum swung completely to Nakamura, who attacked again and won. However, Nepomniachtchi defended stubbornly, and when Nakamura applied too much pressure in a position where he had to replay moves, he allowed his own king to be checkmated.
So Nepomniachtchi went into the next section with a three-point lead, pretty much the best one could wish for against the five-time SCC champion.
Blitz 3+1: Nakamura 5.5-2.5 Nepomniachtchi
Nakamura changed his shirt during the break and stormed back into the game right at the start of the 3+1. As Hess explained: “He changed his shirt, he changed his game and he changed the result.”
Nakamura won the first three games before Nepomniachtchi finally drew – and that was clearly the turning point of the game. The first game involved a rook sacrifice in the endgame, then Nepomniachtchi lost a winning knight endgame and finally Nakamura crowned the hat trick with an exchange sacrifice, an attack and then a safe hand in the endgame. GM Rafael Leitao analyses the match of the day below.
Nepomniachtchi managed to sneak a win in a rook ending with a minus pawn, but Nakamura equalized again in the following game. The two-time World Championship challenger made an interesting piece sacrifice, but after 14.f5?! Nxe5 15.Kh1??it was Nakamura who attacked.
The last two games ended in draws, with the very last one being a missed opportunity for Nepomniachtchi. Nakamura sacrificed a pawn in the opening but saved the game.
Point 1+1: Nakamura 6.5-1.5 Nepomniachtchi
Surprisingly, Nakamura took the lead for the first time in the bullet portion of the match.
In the first game, the tactic was fully effective when Nepomniachtchi grabbed a poisoned pawn and missed the beautiful Zwischenzug 26.Bg7! This resulted in an extra piece for White.
Two games later, Nepomniachtchi sacrificed a piece in one move.
Nakamura takes advantage of an entry error and takes the lead by three points!https://t.co/7mbelYMdct#FastChess pic.twitter.com/Lten7SkX4y
— chess24 (@chess24com) 9 August 2024
In the next game, Nepomniachtchi was simply at his limits. White was clearly better, but after 34…Kg7?? the game was over. Nakamura really took his time with his moves, causing Nepomniachtchi to immediately resign to save time on the match clock.
The only bullet game Nepomniachtchi won was the very last one, and Nakamura won all the others by a tie. Nakamura takes home $8,020.83 by win percentage and Nepomniachtchi takes home $1,979.17.
Nakamura got stronger as the time control got shorter, saying afterward: “My biggest enemy was time. If I had too much time to think, all my decisions were wrong.” And he thought the 3+1 part was the turning point: “I never really felt like I was in danger after I had that (three-game) winning streak in the 3+1.”
My biggest enemy was time. If I had too much time to think, all my decisions were wrong.
—Hikaru Nakamura
The semi-final match against Firouzja will undoubtedly be a challenge for the multiple champion and he is aware of this, calling the duel “exciting”.
I think it’s going to be really exciting to play against Alireza because, as I’ve probably said 10 times, he’s the only player that I think is on the same level as Magnus and I in the bullet. So it’s not a situation where I can play a bunch of relaxed and easy games… and expect to turn things around in the bullet.
As for the Carlsen-Niemann match, he predicted with almost absolute certainty that the world number one would win.
“If Magnus plays 5+1 and 3+1 well, it’s hard to imagine Hans winning this match. Honestly, the chance of Magnus winning this match is 95 percent.”#FastChess pic.twitter.com/GvmVubhlpZ
— chess24 (@chess24com) 9 August 2024
The semifinals will take place in Paris in September, but before that we will see Nakamura playing on the board in St. Louis. The Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz starts next Monday, immediately followed by the Sinquefield Cup. His form in the 5+1 against Nepomniachtchi was not a good indicator, he thought, but he concluded: “I don’t feel particularly good about it, but hopefully I can play my way into form and, yeah, you never know what’s going to happen.”
The Speed Chess Championship is Chess.com’s premier rapid chess event. Some of the biggest names in chess compete to determine the best rapid chess player in the world. The main event began with qualifiers on June 27 and 28 and will culminate in the first-ever final on September 8, live in Paris. Games will be played by 5+1, 3+1 and 1+1 rules. Prize money is $173,000.
Previous reports:
- Carlsen qualifies for the SCC final in Paris and plays against Niemann in the semifinal
- Niemann reaches the SCC final in Paris and a possible match with Carlsen and criticizes the “chess establishment”
- Firouzja scores almost twice as much as Caruana and qualifies for the semifinals in Paris
- Niemann and Caruana reach the quarterfinals after superior bullet performance
- Firouzja’s fireworks lead to victory over Grischuk and thus outlast Lazavik
- Carlsen stays stylish, Nepomniachtchi does a Houdini
- Arjun prevails in the last round, Nakamura dominates
- Lazavik qualifies for the SCC Main Event and remains undefeated on the second day
- Pranesh leads the Swiss qualification, 8 players advance to the knockout round
- Paris to host 2024 Rapid Chess Championship live final: Nakamura and Carlsen confirmed
