Zitat von Conrad Schormann am 27. März 2025, 14:58 Uhr

Carlsen und Keymer raus, Nakamura rein: WR Chess auf den Weg zum dritten Titel?

https://twitter.com/WadimRosenstein/status/1905194068008677608

Zitat von Conrad Schormann am 10. Juni 2025, 10:15 Uhr

Chess world descends on London for the World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships

 

London is set to host the World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships from 10^th to 16^th June, bringing together top world players, chess legends and emerging talents.

Launched in 2023 by The International Chess Federation (FIDE), the event has grown quickly, attracting companies and organisations from around the world that have assembled teams made up of players of all levels, from die-hard professionals to recreational enthusiasts. In 2024, the World Blitz Teams championship was added to the event, which resulted in more teams taking part and an increased prise pool.

The third edition of the event will see 54 teams take part, with each numbering nine players, including one female player and one amateur (with a FIDE rating of under 2000 ELO).

The total prize fund is €500,000 (£421,000), €310,000 will go to the Rapid tournament, €190,000 is earmarked for the Blitz.

Who is playing?

The lineup for the event includes many of the world’s top players, with 116 Grandmasters.

The field is led by the WR Chess Team – winners of the 2023 Rapid and the 2024 Blitz Championship. Steered by the experienced German coach and GM, Jan Gustafsson, WR Chess has assembled the world’s strongest GMs. Starting with World No 2 rated Hikaru Nakamura, WR Chess also has Alireza Firouzja, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Wesley So, Jan-Krzysztof Duda as well as former women’s world champions, Alexandra Kosteniuk and Hou Yifan. For the third year in a row, team owner Wadim Rosenstein will take charge of the non-professional board. With an average rating of nearly 2700, they are the absolute favourites.

Hexamind, a new entrant, fields chess heavyweights such as Levon Aronian, Leinier Dominguez Perez, Anish Giri and Vidit Santosh Gujrathi. The team has focused on the future of chess, with the inclusion of 18-year-old Volodar Murzin (who won the 2024 World Rapid Chess Championship) and brothers Platon (9) and Mark (5) Panarin.

KazChess from Kazakhstan has Richard Rapport, Alexander Grischuk and Parham Maghsoodloo on the top three boards, while Freedom – who won second place in the 2023 Rapid – will have the former world champion Vishwanathan Anand on board one. Captained by GM Emil Sutovsky, the team also includes Le Quang Liem, Samuel Sevian, Rauf Mamedov and former women’s world Rapid and Blitz champion, Anna Muzychuk.

Team MGD1, a strong contender in the previous two editions (securing third place in 2023), has restructured to adopt a more international lineup. While Arjun Erigaisi is still on board one, with Pentala Harikrishna on board two, Spain’s David Anton is on board three while Stavroula Tsolakidou from Greece is on the women’s board. Another strong contender is the team of Uzbekistan, fielding the strongest Uzbek players – Abdusattorov, Sindarov and Kasimdzhanov.

Other world-class players participating in the event include former world champion candidate Boris Gelfand, England’s 2700-player Luke McShane as well as former world champion candidate Nigel Short and world-class players, Alexei Shirov and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.

The schedule: First the Rapid, then the Blitz

The event will start on Wednesday, 11^th June, with the World Rapid Teams Championship. The 12-round Swiss tournament will span three days, with four rounds played daily, and a time control of 15 minutes plus a 10-second increment per move.

Then, the World Blitz Teams will then take place – on 14-15^th June, featuring a two-phase structure: a round-robin group stage followed by knockouts. The teams will be divided into pools of approximately the same strength, with 16 squads qualifying for the knockout stage. The time control in the Blitz is sharp: three minutes for the whole game, with a two-second increment per move.

A step in the right direction

The London event follows successful editions in Düsseldorf (2023) and Astana (2024).

“FIDE and our partners are proud to bring the third edition of the World Rapid and Blitz Teams tournament to London, an important global hub for chess. After the Global Chess League in October 2024, this is another major international chess event we are hosting in London,” FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich said.

“With nearly 60 teams – not just from chess organisations but also private companies – taking part, this event is a step in the right direction to promote chess globally and build bridges among people”, Dvorkovich added.

How to watch/attend

The event will be streamed live on FIDE’s YouTube channel with expert commentary by GMs Daniel King and Jovanka Houska, while tickets for the rounds can be purchased here: tickets.fide.com/.

The tournament is taking place in Novotel London West, located in Hammersmith in West London.

Official website: worldrapidblitzteams2025.fide.com/ 

Zitat von Conrad Schormann am 13. Juni 2025, 8:11 Uhr

2025-06-12   FIDE WRBTC 2025: Hexamind level with MGD1 at the top after three key wins   Day two of the FIDE World Teams Rapid Championship brought unexpected turns, as underdogs broke through and favourites faltered. With six match victories, one draw and one loss each, Hexamind and team MGD1 share first place with 13 matchpoints. Freedom and Uzbekistan follow closely behind, on 12, with Germany and Friends joining them after a standout performance. Tournament favourites WR Chess are in sixth place, with their title hopes dented by back-to-back losses. More intensity and pressure

The stakes went up, and the matches became tougher as the FIDE World Rapid moved to its second day, with four more rounds taking place. The ceremonial first move was made by Lord Dafydd Wigley, a prominent Welsh and British politician between 1980 and 2000 and Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on chess in the British parliament. Team MGD1 continued their strong performance, maintaining the lead through the day, winning two matches and drawing one. A key factor in MGD1’s success so far has been their amateur board player, Atharvaa P Tayade (rated 1952; pictured below), who has won all eight of his games.

After a draw with Freedom in round five, the Indian-led team overcame top seeds WR Chess in round six with 4:2. In round seven, following a tough match, MGD1 scored a narrow 3.5:2.5 victory over Germany and Friends (which moved up the scoreboard, stunning Freedom in round six and finishing the day with a confident 4.5:1.5 victory over Malcolm’s Mates). However, in the final-eight round of the day, MGD1 was facing Hexamind. The team led by Levon Aronian had a great run on day two, drawing with Freedom and defeating WR and Turkish Airlines with 4:2, to reach second place before the final round. Rating favourites WR had a bruising day. They started well with a victory over Malcolm’s Mates, but then had two back-to-back defeats in rounds six and seven, to MGD1 and Hexamind. A 4.5:1.5. victory in round eight against Barys from Kazakhstan helped salvage some ground. In the final match of the day, Hexamind (with Volodar Murzin on board one instead of Levon Aronian) came out as winners, delivering a crushing 4:2 blow to MGD1, tying for first place.

Here follows a closer look at the developments in rounds five to eight in the FIDE World Rapid Teams Championship: In round five, playing on the top tables, day one leaders Team MGD1 faced Freedom. Former World Champion Vishy Anand secured Freedom an early lead after dismantling world number three player, Arjun Erigaisi with black pieces. The match finished 3:3, with all other games ending in a draw, and Freedom’s non-professional player Sarbartho Mani succumbed to Atharvaa Tayade of MGD1.

The British squad Malcolm’s Mates put up a fierce fight against the tournament favourites WR Chess. WR’s top player Alireza Firouzja found himself with seconds on the clock in a very sharp position against Gawain Jones but still managed to win. Hikaru Nakamura defeated England’s Michael Adams after playing better in time trouble. WR’s team owner and player on the non-professional board, Wadim Rosenstein – lost on the last board but his team still won: 3.5:2.5, securing two matchpoints. With this victory, WR tied with MGD1 for first place. KazChess dropped a win against Rishon LeZion Chess Club. The team from Kazakhstan were in the narrow lead as the last game of the match was played between former world champion candidate Boris Gelfand and world-class player Richard Rapport. Gelfand was pushing to swing the result in his team’s favour and, eventually, under time pressure, Rapport made a slip and lost. Hexamind Chess Team drew with the squad of Uzbekistan, with Levon Aronian losing to Uzbek superstar Nodirbek Abdusattorov.

In other notable results from the round, Vincent Keymer lost to Alan Pichot despite playing with the white pieces. Nihal Sarin lost to the rising Argentinian prodigy Faustino Oro in a tense game. The 2702-rated super-GM Alexei Shirov lost as white to more than 200 points lower-rated Ameet K Ghasi. Round six started with a minute of silence for the tragedy in India which happened on Thursday morning, after a London-bound Air India plane carrying 242 people crashed shortly after take-off in Ahmedabad, Western India.

After a draw with Freedom, Team MGD1 was playing WR Chess. The Indian team was pressed hard by WR as they created promising positions on most of the boards. However, as the round progressed, WR got only four draws and MGD1 scored a victory on board three, where David Anton outplayed Duda. The last game of the round to finish was between WR’s Wadim Rosenstein and Atharvaa P Tayade of MGD1. Rosenstein found himself in a difficult position, but there was also a complaint from the opposing team relating to touch and play. The game ended with Rosenstein losing, securing a 4:2 victory for MGD1.

The round’s biggest upset came as Germany and Friends stunned Freedom, 3.5:2.5. Germany’s top player Vincent Keymer led his black pieces to victory against Freedom’s Rauf Mamedov on board one. After starting the day with a loss, Malcolm’s Mates came back with a crushing 5.5:0.5 victory over Team Hungary. One of the most exciting games of the day was played in the match between Hexamind and the Turkish Airlines Sports Club. On board one, 11-year-old Argentine prodigy Faustino Oro put up stiff resistance against the experienced heavyweight Levon Aronian. In a sharp endgame, Aronian (playing as Black) emerged with an extra pawn.

Under extreme time pressure, both played very precise moves but Oro ultimately blundered. The final moves of the game saw Oro playing with a queen and a knight against two queens, with no pawns on the board. Despite the pressure, Aronian kept his nerves and scored a victory. Hexamind won the match 4:2. In round seven, MGD1 continued their strong form in round seven, defeating Germany and Friends 3.5:2.5, though it was not without its challenges. Their top board, Arjun Erigaisi, lost to Vincent Keymer after blundering in an even endgame. On board three, Rasmus Svane also scored for Germany and Friends against David Anton. However, MGD1’s Pentala Harikrishna was confident against Matthias Bluebaum on board two. Again, the lower boards proved decisive for MGD1, as Leon Luke Mendonca and Atharvaa P Tayade secured victories.

The story was completely different for WR who, after a stumble against MGD1 in round six, lost again – this time to Hexamind. WR’s Alireza Firouzja was the only player to score a victory for his team, defeating Levon Aronian. However, Vachier-Lagrave, Wesley So and Rosenstein all lost. Coupled with two more draws, the final score presented a crushing defeat. On table three, Malcolm’s Mates held Uzbekistan to a 3:3 draw, allowing the British team to remain close to the top of the standings. After losing in round six, Freedom rebounded with a dominant 4.5:1.5 victory over Hetman GKS Katowice led by David Navara (who defeated Anand on the top board).

Round eight delivered the day’s biggest twist. Hexamind defeated MGD1 4:2 to draw level at the top. Hexamind’s Anish Giri had a quick draw with David Anton and MGD1’s Atharvaa P Tayade continued their perfect performance, scoring their eighth victory. However, things then started to change for the Indian team: MGD1 lost on board two, where Leinier Dominguez Perez defeated Pentala Harikrishna. As Vidit drew with Pranav, Hexamind’s Divya Deshmukh defeated Stavroula Tsolakidou, ending her solid run of six draws. Finally, on board one Hexamind’s Volodar Murzin, with less than 10 seconds on the clock, refused a draw against Arjun Erigaisi and emerged victorious, finishing the match 4:2 in Hexamind’s favour, putting them in shared first place.

Freedom finished the day strong, with a 5:1 victory over KazChess. The only point scored for KazChess was by Rapport who defeated Rauf Mamedov on board one. WR made a comeback after two losses, defeating Barys.kz with 4.5:1.5. Still, WR’s 2718-rated Jan-Krzysztof Duda lost as White to  2324-rated IM Edgar Mamedov. One of the last games to finish was between seasoned heavyweight Alexei Shirov and Uzbekistan’s prodigy Nodirbek Abdusattorov. The two drew following a marathon 112-move game which culminated in an endgame where Abdusattorov had a knight and a queen against Shirov’s queen and two pawns.

The final four rounds of the rapid take place on Friday, 13th June. The games start at 2 PM London time. Written by Milan Dinic Photos: Rafal Oleksiewicz Official website: worldrapidblitzteams2025.fide.com/

Zitat von Conrad Schormann am 14. Juni 2025, 12:53 Uhr

2025-06-13   India’s Team MGD1 win 2025 FIDE World Rapid Team Chess Championship   The rapid section of the 2025 FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Teams ended with a commanding finish by MGD1, who won all four matches on the final day to claim sole first place. The FIDE World Rapid Teams Chess Championship wrapped up in London today, with the last four of the 12 rounds played. As the competition neared its end, MGD1 and Hexamind distinguished themselves as the prime contenders for the title. In the decisive four rounds of the day, the Indian squad of Team MGD1 won every match, rightfully claiming the championship. Out of 12 matches, MGD1 won in 10, drew one and lost one, finishing with 21 matchpoints. A key factor in MGD1’s sustained success was the consistent performance of their amateur board player, Atharvaa P Tayade, who held a perfect record throughout the three-day-long tournament, only to spoil it in the last round with his only loss. In the final round, MGD1’s Pranav V defeated Ivan Šarić of Malcolm’s Mates, to secure the match – and sole first place for his team. More intensity and pressure

Second place went to Hexamind Chess Team, who sprung to the top on day two and maintained their strong performance until the end, chasing MGD1 all the way through to the final round. They started the day with a draw with Freedom, but then won all three remaining matches, securing sole second place, on 20 matchpoints, just one behind MGD1. Freedom, a team featuring the former world champion Vishy Anand, had a mixed performance on the final day, with three draws. It was only thanks to their dominant 4.5:1.5 final round victory over Knight Dance that they managed to tie for third place, alongside the teams of Uzbekistan and WR Chess, all on 17 matchpoints. Rating favouries of the event, team WR Chess, had a strong performance winning in rounds nine, ten and eleven. But in the final round – in a game full of twists – Alireza Firouzja slipped against Nodirbek Abdusattorov, handing Team Uzbekistan the match and a share of third place.

Get ready for the FIDE World Team Blitz Championship On Saturday, June 14, the action shift to the blitz format. With faster time controls, more rounds and a knockout stage on day two – the FIDE World Blitz Team Championship promises even more drama, both on the boards and for the spectators. Adding to the excitement, one of the world’s strongest players – two-time world champion candidate – Ian Nepomniachtchi, will be joining the lineup of WR Chess. The games start on Saturday, June 14, at 2PM. Here follows a closer look at the decisive four rounds of the FIDE World Rapid Team Chess Championship:

U.S. Grandmaster Kenneth Rogoff – a renowned Harvard economist and the former Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund – made the first ceremonial first move at the start of the day. Playing on the top tables, Freedom split two points with Hexamind who had surged to the top after a great run on day two. Sam Sevian defeated Volodar Murzin with the black pieces, giving Freedom the advantage. Despite the promising start for Freedom with a win and good positions, most of the remaining games ended in draws. On the women’s board, Freedom’s Anna Muzychuk was an exchange down against Divya Deshmukh, but miraculously escaped with a draw. David Muradyan, beat Sarbartho Mani on the amateur board and helped Hexamind to save the match – 3:3.

Tournament leaders MGD1 defeated KazChess 3.5:2.5 which allowed them to again take the sole lead in the tournament. Arjun Erigaisi beat Richard Rapport on the top board, but MGD1’s Pentala Harikrishna lost on the second. As on several occasions during the tournament, MGD1 were rescued by their amateur board, Atharvaa P Tayade, who maintained a perfect record since round one. Following a very long and complicated game, Vincent Keymer prevailed over Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov to secure victory for Germany and Friends 3.5:2.5. WR Chess edged past Knight Dance, led by Jorden van Foreest, keeping them close to the top. Malcolm’s Mates lost to the Ashdod Elit Chess Club 3.5:2.5, falling lower in the standings.

Then came round 10 and Team MGD1 narrowly defeated Ashdod Elit Chess Club with 3.5:2.5. Ashdod’s Andrei Volokitin got into trouble early on against Pranav and ended up losing. However, on the women’s board, MGD1’s Stavroula Tsolakidou, lost (recording her third defeat in a row), leveling the score for Ashdod. With the other top boards ending in a draw, it came down to the non-professional player, Atharvaa P Tayade who – once again – saved the day for MGD1, winning the game and securing a victory for his team. While MGD1 struggled but gritted out a victory, team Hexamind cruised through round 10, clearing Germany and Friends with 4.5:1.5. Save for Keymer and Svane who drew their games, the other top player of Germany and Friends – Bluebaum, Donchenko and Wagner all lost, while the non-professional player Bohdan Lobkin drew. WR delivered a dominating performance against Tema Hungary, defeating them 5.5:0.5. On the other hand, Freedom had another draw – splitting two points with the team of Uzbekistan, with all six games ending in draws.

Round eleven brought another win for Team MGD1: they played Team International Trading, defeating them with 4.5:1.5. Having faced all the best performing and top-rated teams in the tournament, MGD1 was paired against squads which were slightly lower on the scoreboard at the finish, making things somewhat easier. Atharvaa P Tayade won his ninth game in a row. Hexamind continued chasing MGD1, as they also won – defeating Barys.kz 3.5:2.5. Leinier Dominguez Perez was the only Hexamind player to stumble, losing to nearly 200 points lower-rated Denis Makhnev. WR Chess scored their third victory in the day – overpowering Germany and Friends 4:2, winning on all three top boards.

Freedom, on the other hand, suffered a setback against the squad of the Ashdod Elit Chess Club. Rauf Mamedov blundered a pawn and lost to Nihal Sarin. Freedom also dropped the non-professional board. While Sam Sevian struck back against Pavel Eljanov, Freedom’s women’s board Teodora Injac found herself a piece down in a difficult endgame, losing to Yuliia Osmak. Luckily, Freedom’s last board came through to level the match. Malcolm’s Mates beat the strong squad of KazChess 4:2, catching up with the top teams ahead of the final round. A notable moment from Round 11 came in the match between Knight Dance and Team Hungary. On the women’s board, Hungary’s IM Zsoka Gaal successfully claimed a draw – remarkably, the repeated position occurred on moves 72, 74 and again on move 94. Spotting this across such a long game, under extreme time pressure, requires razor-sharp memory and focus. In the 12th and final round, leaders MGD1 played the British team of Malcolm’s Mates. All eyes were on this match as, despite being the leaders through the event, MGD1 had to win to claim sole first place. On board one, MGD1’s Arjun Erigaisi defeated Luke McShane to give his team the edge. With board two, three and the women’s board all drawn – and two games still in play – everything was up in the air. The decisive blow in the match came from Pranav V on board four, who outplayed the Croatian GM Ivan Šarić to seal the match – and the championship – for MGD1.

One of the best performing players in the tournament, MGD1’s Atharvaa P Tayade – lost his final game, spoiling the perfect score of 11 straight wins. Hexamind scored a dominating 4.5:1.5 victory over Ashdod, with Aronian, Santosh, Giri and Muradyan all winning their games. Team Freedom scored a comfortable 4.5:1.5 victory over the squad of Knight Dance. In one of the toughest matchups of the round, WR Chess faced Uzbekistan. With WR’s Rosenstein losing on the non-professional board, Uzbekistan took the lead. Wesley So then equalised for WR, beating Shamsiddin Vokhidov. With all other games ending in a draw, the outcome of the match hinged on the game on board one, between Alireza Firouzja and Nodirbek Abdusattorov.

Playing as Black, Abdusattorov emerged with two rooks for a queen. In a sharp endgame, under severe time pressure for both, the Uzbek star blundered and was completely lost. Just a few moves later, Firouzja returned the favour with a disastrous mistake of his own from which there was no coming back. The match ended 3.5:2.5 in favour of Uzbekistan. Written by Milan Dinic Photos: Rafal Oleksiewicz

Zitat von Conrad Schormann am 16. Juni 2025, 10:28 Uhr

WR Chess clinch their second FIDE World Team Blitz Championship title In the final stage of the knockouts at the FIDE World Blitz Team Championship, WR Chess defeated KazChess in both matches with 4:2, securing their second Blitz crown since the competition began in 2023. The FIDE World Blitz Championship concluded today in London after a day of tense final-stage matches. Out of 53 teams playing on the first day, only 16 advanced to the knockout stage that included the round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals and the final. In each knockout pairing, teams played at least two matches, alternating colours. If the score was level after two matches, additional games were played until a winner emerged.

At the end of the day, rating favourites Team WR Chess came out on top, outplaying the squad of KazChess in a tight final duel. WR won both matches (4:2 each), with Alireza Firouzja, Hikaru Nakamura and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave scoring crucial wins in the final match to secure the crown for WR Chess.

This is the second consecutive Blitz title for WR Chess, following their in 2024 in Kazakhstan. In his first reaction to the victory, WR Chess Team owner and one of the initiators of the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Teams, Wadim Rosenstein, said he was very pleased with the victory, adding that the event was a great success “not just for the winners but for chess in general”. Asked how it feels to win first place, Rosenstein – who also played on the non-professional board for WR – briefly responded: “Like always, when you win – it feels great”. In addition to receiving a trophy shaped like a fusion of Big Ben and a chess piece, the winning team was awarded a €75,000 prize. Third place went to the Hexamind Chess Club, who defeated the squad of Uzbekistan in both matches with 3.5:2.5. Meanwhile, the winners of this year’s rapid tournament, MGD1, defeated Freedom in the duel for fifth place.

In his address at the closing ceremony, former World Champion and Deputy President of International Chess Federation (FIDE) Viswanathan Anand reflected on the excitement and the intensity of the tournament. He congratulated all 53 teams for participating, particularly the winners. Anand also expressed deep gratitude to Isai Scheinberg for supporting this event. He closed by emphasizing FIDE’s ongoing commitment to growing the game.

“A core part of our strategy has always been to forge a strong partnership between chess and the broader community – from the world of sports, business, or culture. Tournaments such as the World Rapid and Blitz Teams, alongside events such as the World Corporate Championship, are a shining example of this vision in action and FIDE will continue to work hard on having more of them”, Anand said. Here is a closer look at how the knockouts unfolded, until the finals: Round of 16 In this stage all of the first-placed teams from the pools won their matches. While WR Chess Team, Freedom and MGD1 Team won both matches, Uzbekistan had one victory and one draw (with Barys.kz).

Ashdod moved to the quarter-finals after defeating Theme International Trading in the playoffs with 5:1. KazChess also reached the quarter-finals after the playoffs, defeating Rookies with 5.5:0.5. Quarter-finals The quarter-final stage brought the first big surprises, with some of the favourites being eliminated from the tournament. In the first match, Germany and Friends set up the stage for a huge upset by defeating WR Chess 4:2. All WR’s top boards – Nepomniachtchi, Nakamura and Firouzja lost their games. However, WR appealed the match on the grounds that they were not informed of the exact time when the round was starting, making them late two minutes.

While it would have made sense for them to immediately make an appeal before playing the match, WR complained afterwards. As WR Chess Team captain Jan Gustafsson explained in the live broadcast, the teams were given different information about the start of the round compared to when it started. In the end, it was decided that the match will be replayed. Germany and Friends reluctantly accepted. This time, WR Chess won 4.5:1.5 and the return match finishing with a 4:2 victory for WR Chess, sending them to the semi-finals. All other first-matches ended in draws. In the return matches – Hexamind eliminated the Rapid winners MGD1 with 4:2. The duel was decided by Hexamind’s Anish Giri who defeated Pentala Harikrishna in a tense endgame.

KazChess outclassed Freedom by winning the second match 3.5:2.5. The team from Kazakhstan defeated all the top three boards of Freedom, to secure a spot in the semi-finals. Uzbekistan won over the team of Ashdod 5:1, securing a place in the semis. The semi-finals WR Chess faced the team of Hexamind. In the first match, WR completely dominated, scoring a crushing victory 5.5:0.5. On Hexamind’s side only Leinier Dominguez drew, splitting a point with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. In the other semi-final encounter, Uzbekistan and KazChess played a tightly contested match, with Grischuk defeating Abdusattorov on the top board, in a tense endgame where both were in a time scramble.

In the return-match, Hexamind pushed hard against WR to get a playoff. Aronian beat Nepomniachtchi on board one, but boards two and three drew. The match was decided on the lower boards, where WR won two games: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave beat Leinier Dominguez, and Wadim Rosenstein defeated David Muradyan. Despite Divya Desmukh prevailing over Hou Yifan on the women’s board, the final result was 3:3, which meant Hexamind were knocked out.

In the second return-duel, KazChess defeated Uzbekistan 4:2, thanks to crucial wins on the bottom boards. The match for the fifth place Two of the best performing teams that were eliminated in the semi-finals faced off in a match for fifth place. In the end, MGD1 emerged victorious, after defeating Freedom in both matches with 3.5:2.5. The teams of Ashdod and Germany and Friends tied for 7-8th place. Written by Milan Dinic Photos: Rafal Oleksiewicz Official website: worldrapidblitzteams2025.fide.com/

Zitat von Conrad Schormann am 16. Juni 2025, 13:47 Uhr

WR Chess bleibt Blitz-Weltmeister – nach umstrittenem Einspruch

WR Chess hat den Titel bei der FIDE World Blitz Team Championship 2025 erfolgreich verteidigt – und das nach einem kuriosen Protest. Das Team um Hikaru Nakamura, Alireza Firouzja, Ian Nepomniachtchi und Maxime Vachier-Lagrave gewann das Turnier in London zum zweiten Mal in Folge – am Ende souverän, aber nicht ohne Drama.

Bericht bei chess.com

Die Kontroverse ereignete sich im Viertelfinale gegen das Team Germany and Friends, angeführt von Vincent Keymer. Die Außenseiter gewannen überraschend mit 4:2, doch WR Chess legte Protest ein: Mehrere Spieler waren zu spät zu ihren Partien erschienen. Ursache, so Teamkapitän Jan Gustafsson: Die Organisatoren hätten keine klare Startzeit kommuniziert. Die letzte Nachricht im Admin-Chat sei um 15:15 Uhr verschickt worden, 15:17 seien die Aufstellungen fällig gewesen – doch wann die Partien beginnen sollten, sei offen geblieben. Die Folge: Team WR kam zu spät, aber protestierte nicht, sondern spielte. Einsproch erhob das Team erst nach der Niederlage.

https://twitter.com/ElliPaehtz/status/1934308495442038830

Die Turnierleitung akzeptierte den Einspruch – nach über einer Stunde Beratung. WR Chess durfte das Match neu spielen und gewann diesmal klar (4,5:1,5 und 4:2). Nepomniachtchi gab später zu: „Das Ganze war ein Chaos. Ich war nicht sicher, ob der Protest durchgeht. Es gab keine gute Lösung.“ Bohdan Lobkin, Spieler von Germany and Friends, kritisierte: Wäre der Einspruch von seinem Team gekommen, hätte die Entscheidung womöglich anders ausgesehen.

Im weiteren Verlauf zeigte WR Chess dann seine Klasse. Das Halbfinale gegen Hexamind – mit Levon Aronian, Anish Giri und Hou Yifan – war die härteste Probe. Nach einem 5,5:0,5 folgte ein 3:3, gerettet durch ein verrücktes Comeback von Vachier-Lagrave gegen Leinier Dominguez.

Im Finale besiegte WR Chess das kasachische Team KazChess zweimal mit 4:2. Matchwinner waren diesmal unter anderem Wadim Rosenstein, der Teamgründer mit einer Serie von vier Siegen, sowie Nakamura und Firouzja. Letzterer glänzte in mehreren Partien, unter anderem mit einem Remis gegen Alexander Grischuk, das als besonders spektakulär galt.

https://twitter.com/WadimRosenstein/status/1934420351485608251

WR Chess stellte sechs der elf besten Spieler der Welt – darunter Wesley So, der am Finaltag pausierte. Kapitän Gustafsson lobte: „Wir haben sechs Weltklassespieler. Da draußen zu sitzen ist vielleicht der härteste Job.“

Hexamind holte nach Silber im Schnellschach auch Bronze im Blitz. Silber ging an KazChess. WR Chess bleibt das Maß der Dinge im Blitz – trotz heftigem Gegenwind auf dem Weg zur Titelverteidigung.

Quelle: chess.com (Colin McGourty, 16. Juni 2025)

 

 

 

 

Zitat von Conrad Schormann am 18. Juni 2025, 9:06 Uhr

ChessBase India hat den Gang der Ereignisse zusammengeschnitten:

https://youtu.be/XNFKB352EE8

In diesem Zusammenhang eine Spitze von Anish Giri in Richtung Nepo:

https://twitter.com/anishgiri/status/1934690576856662028