The Winners Semifinals of the 2022 Rapid Chess Championship offered by Coinbase transpired on Friday in two colossal clashes that noticed GMs Hikaru Nakamura and Ian Nepomniachtchi progress to the Winners Final.

GMs Wesley So and Vladimir Fedoseev each fought valiantly of their respective matches and may have second possibilities to return to the Winners Bracket ought to they show triumphant within the Losers Bracket. Joining them there will likely be GMs Parham Maghsoodloo, Ding Liren, Dmitry Andreikin, and Fabiano Caruana, who all received their respective matches to maintain their event possibilities alive.

The Winners Final, in addition to the Losers Round Three and Quarterfinals. will happen on August 20, beginning at 9 a.m. PT/18:00 CEST.

How to observe?

Winners Semifinals

Hoping to get well from final week’s knockout loss in opposition to So, Nakamura was additional cautious together with his opening decisions in Friday’s semifinal match, choosing a swap to 1.d4 within the opening sport. Having performed 1.Nf3 for almost all of his RCC video games this season, the calculated resolution to swap clearly paid off as Nakamura obtained a +2 place after simply 20 strikes. So, who was hunched over a chair that he was utilizing as a desk for his laptop computer, created sufficient counterplay to stabilize the place, finally securing a attract 58 strikes. 

With every thing on the road within the second sport, So selected the Italian Game as his poison of selection however couldn’t discover a means via the stiff protection thrown up by Nakamura. In the tip, Nakamura’s knight pair ended up doing the injury, profitable certainly one of So’s pawns and permitting the American streamer to shortly convert.

In the second semifinal match, Fedoseev was not within the temper to combat with the white items after Nepomniachtchi performed a Semi-Tarrasch Defense within the first sport. Fedoseev selected the bizarre 5.Be3 which had been reached on the grasp stage simply 3 times previous to the sport. Nothing got here of the novelty and a 21-move draw ensued, placing immense stress on Fedoseev with the black items within the second, however this sport was additionally drawn.

Nepomniachtchi moved up a number of gears within the remaining sport and determined to go for a extra aggressive Catalan than his game-two try. Fedoseev started to fall again and arrange a fortress-like protection, however Nepomniachtchi was knife-sharp, discovering a superb knight sacrifice that left the world championship challenger in a dominant place.

Nepomniachtchi’s win earned him a match within the Winners Final in opposition to Nakamura and it’s anybody’s guess who will win the blockbuster showdown on Saturday. 

Losers Round One

Inspiring play within the Losers Bracket on Friday confirmed that a number of gamers are nonetheless worthy contenders to problem the eventual winner of the highest bracket. GM Alexander Grischuk was fully profitable in his first sport in opposition to Maghsoodloo, though consecutive blunders after a superb transfer left him hopelessly misplaced.

Unable to search out his ft after, Grischuk was eradicated by the Iranian GM after a snug maintain within the second sport.

Ding was something however shy on the board in his video games on Friday and dispatched GM Jose Martinez, scoring 1.5/2. During the second sport, Ding flashed his tactical prowess with the incisive 37.Rxd4 that left each of his rooks hanging after a earlier rook sacrifice by his opponent had gone awry! Sadly, neither rook may very well be taken by the Peruvian quantity two and he laid down his sword simply six strikes later.

Andreikin’s match in opposition to GM David Paravyan was one of many extra simple of the day after the previous European blitz champion received a pawn with the white items within the first sport. In the second, Paravyan couldn’t crack Andreikin’s strong Berlin Defense, and a 1.5-0.5 match end result was shortly confirmed.

After a disappointing Round of 16 loss yesterday, Caruana hurdled over GM Maxim Matlakov with two wins, returning to the shape that noticed him win a number of Swiss and knockout occasions within the RCC’s inaugural season. 

Losers Round Two

GMs Daniil Dubov and Maghsoodloo, each identified for his or her dynamic taking part in types, confronted off within the second spherical in a Queen’s Indian Defense. Neither participant was capable of finding methods to interrupt via till Dubov capitulated on transfer 35, permitting Maghsoodloo to trick his opponent with a handed pawn and win the sport in a single fell swoop.

With the white items, it was the Iranian GM who once more leaped to an advantageous place in opposition to Dubov’s Semi-Slav, however this time a draw was agreed upon as a way to safe the match.

Ding capped off a near-perfect day with a 2-0 drubbing of the speedy world champion GM Nordibek Abdusattorov. The Uzbek GM’s dream run got here crashing down after he was punished within the first sport for loosening the pawns round his king, permitting an impressed Ding to lacerate his kingside. 

Andreikin appeared barely sharper than GM Jeffery Xiong of their encounter after profitable the primary sport in simply 16 strikes! Xiong clapped again within the second although, and an armageddon tiebreak was wanted to separate the 2. Andreikin was capable of construct a small benefit out of the Symmetrical English Opening earlier than bringing down the hammer with a properly positioned seventh-rank rook, securing his spot within the subsequent spherical.

GM Alexey Sarana has been one of many shining stars of the RCC season and fought with gusto in his finals matches, however his event was dropped at an abrupt halt on Friday by Caruana. The match was not with out hiccups for the American GM, who wanted to bounce again from a 0-1 deficit, although within the armageddon tiebreak he displayed world-class preparation to rout his opponent with the Nimzo-Indian Defense.

Day 2 Standings

All Games | Winners Semifinals

The Rapid Chess Championship Finals is Chess.com’s greatest and most elite speedy event. It is a 16-player knockout occasion with a ten+2 time management. If gamers draw, a single armageddon sport with a bidding system determines the winner. The complete prize fund of the RCC is $650,000, with a $150,000 prize for the finals alone.

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