The $1.8 million FIDE World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan, has led to a 1-1 tie between Norway’s world No. 1, Magnus Carlsen, and Germany’s Vincent Keymer, 18, resulting in a scheduled speed tiebreak at noon on Friday. This situation follows two lengthy endgames in their match.
The knockout format of FIDE World Cup is ruthless and unyielding, allowing lower-ranked grandmasters to seize opportunities to outshine the elite who typically dominate the highly lucrative invitation tournaments.
At the beginning of the round of 32 on Wednesday, the tournament had already eliminated half of the top 20 seeds. Lesser-known players from Hungary, Serbia, Italy, and Spain experienced moments in the spotlight. England’s top-ranked player, David Howell, lost 1.5-2.5 to China’s Wang Hao in a closely contested match, decided by an erroneous queen exchange in a drawn position.
Carlsen, who has yet to secure a World Cup victory, easily navigated through his initial two mini-matches. However, the emerging German talent proved to be a tougher challenge. Despite Carlsen’s initial control and readiness for Keymer’s opening, a sudden blunder led to a pivotal pawn loss, dramatically shifting the game in Keymer’s favor.
Their subsequent match on Thursday required Carlsen to win, but his Ruy Lopez as White offered little advantage. Keymer missed a hidden tactical opportunity, and Carlsen capitalized, employing tactics from his new Chessable playbook co-authored with Howell. He meticulously built up a minute endgame advantage, securing a win in 62 moves.
Carlsen’s post-game interview
Carlsen’s post-game interview revealed his candid thoughts: “Progressing in the World Cup is one thing… but honestly, since day one I was wondering what am I doing here, why am I spending all this time playing classical chess which I just find stressful and boring. But it’s also not a good state of mind. First of all, you should try to do well. But these were my thoughts. If I lose, that’s gonna be another humiliation in the World Cup.”
With their mini-match standing at 1-1, Carlsen and Keymer will engage in a speed tiebreak under accelerating time limits: two games at 25 minutes plus a 10-second per move increment, followed by two games at 10+5 if still level, then two games at 5+3, and finally single games at 3+2 until a winner emerges.
Ten of the 16 fourth-round matches will proceed to Friday tiebreaks. Notable matchups include Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa vs. Hikaru Nakamura, 18-year-old Indian talent against world No. 3, and Ian Nepomniachtchi vs. Nihal Sarin, world No. 6 against 19-year-old Indian player.
Fabiano Caruana
Fabiano Caruana, ranked as the world No. 2, has already progressed to the last 16, whereas Alexey Sarana, the European champion, eliminated Wesley So, ranked as the world No. 10.
In the £700,000 Women’s World Cup, the No. 2 seed, Aleksandra Goryachkina, secured a spot in the quarter-finals. However, world champion Ju Wenjun is headed to tiebreaks against Germany’s Elizabeth Pähtz.
The world’s oldest grandmaster, Aleksandar Matanovic, passed away in Belgrade on August 9 at the age of 93. Matanovic was Yugoslavia’s No. 2 player after Svetozar Gligoric and earned one gold and seven silver Olympiad medals during a time when the former USSR dominated chess. He served as the longtime editor of Chess Informant, established in 1966 as a primary information source for international players before databases became prevalent. Matanovic also edited the five-volume Encyclopedia of Chess Openings. This game marked Mikhail Tal’s sole defeat during his victory at the 1958 interzonal in Portoroz.