The Chess.com Global Chess Championship commenced on Wednesday with the primary batch of spherical of 64 matches. Former world champion Vladimir Kramnik and GM Sam Sevian swept their matches with good 3-0 scores. GM Eric Hansen upset World Number 21 Le Quang Liem in an armageddon playoff. 

GMs Nihal Sarin and Jose Martinez additionally gained their matches in tiebreaks. World number-two Ding Liren, GMs Maxim Matlakov, and Andrey Esipenko moreover superior. 

The spherical of 64 continues on Thursday, September 15, beginning at 4 a.m. PT / 13:00 CEST.

How to look at?

Kramnik gained his match vs. GM Hrant Melkumyan with an ideal 3-0 rating. In their second sport, the 14th World Champion surrounded his opponent’s king on all sides along with his vicious but harmonious queen, knight, and bishop. 

We have picked Kramnik’s first victory in opposition to Melkumyan as our Game of the Day. 

Sevian additionally shut out his opponent with a 3-0 rating, profitable every sport tactically. Can you discover the easy but convincing tactic that sealed the match?

The largest upset of the day was Hansen’s victory over Le. Hansen led for a lot of the match, however Le managed to tie the rating with a comeback win in sport 4. In the armageddon playoff, Hansen efficiently navigated the chaos with simply seconds remaining on his clock.

Ding sealed his match victory over GM Tuan Minh Le by meticulously maneuvering his items towards his opponent’s kingside after which participating in a king hunt everywhere in the board. 

With a tied rating after the primary 4 video games, Nihal and GM Rauf Mamedov was determined in an armageddon playoff. Nihal managed to get right into a profitable rook ending with outdoors linked handed pawns. But as his time trickled all the way down to mere seconds with no increment, it seemed as if the win was slipping away. It was at this level that the prodigy’s gorgeous bullet skills kicked in.

In sport 4, Martinez had a crushing assault vs. GM Alekseenko Kirill and solely wanted a draw to clinch the match. As the gamers’ clocks ticked underneath 10 seconds, the sport flew into chaos. 

Despite this, Martinez recovered within the armaggedon tiebreak, profitable a 101-move sport. 

Matlakov defeated GM Francisco Vallejo Pons, profitable their first sport with a intelligent comeback as his opponent tried to press within the endgame. 

Esipenko went undefeated in opposition to GM Bassem Amin, closing out the match by establishing an surprising mating web. Can you discover the ultimate transfer?

Round of 64 Scoreboard