Nakamura, So Cruise Through To Quarterfinals

Known for his staying power in big moments, Abdusattorov didn’t let the lead last long and won consecutive games in the fourth and fifth, including a surprising king walk out of the Ruy Lopez that commentator Rozman correctly predicted.

Rozman also humorously reignited banter with round of 16 casualty GM Anish Giri, citing a Twitter thread about the Netherlands’ win over the U.S.A in their FIFA World Cup round of 16 match. With the Mogul Chessboxing Championship fast approaching it begs the question as to whether or not a clash in the ring between the two chess personalities may be on the horizon.

The contrasting styles of the players became apparent as the match drew on, with the Uzbek GM’s wins being more “Karpovian” (former world champion GM Anatoly Karpov was renowned for his ability to grind out small positional advantages) in style, as opposed to So’s preference for sharp positions.

Two clean wins from So in the sixth and seventh games confirmed that he would head into the first break with a lead. However, the margin was still in question. A messy final game of the segment fell in favor of Abdusattorov, but the former prodigy appeared to be disgusted by his own play, clearly feeling that he should have been able to make things simpler en route to a 3.5-4.5 scoreline.

Blitz 3|1: So-Abdusattorov 4.5-3.5

Despite managing to win the second game of the segment, the 2021 finalist’s lead quickly evaporated following dual victories from his opponent. This time invoking the spirit of GM Boris Spassky, Abdusattorov trapped So’s bishop on the edge of the board after the a7-pawn was pinched and equalized the scores at 6.5-6.5.

In a positive sign for Abdusattorov, he emerged the victor in the wild first game of the 1+1 portion though the joy was shortlived as he blundered his queen in the very next game! 

Nakamura flew out of the blocks and made a statement on the way, opting to play 1.a3 (the Anderssen Opening) in the first game and completely diverting any preparation Paravyan had concocted. The Russian wasn’t flustered by the opening but soon fell victim to a tumultuous middlegame.

A draw in game two did little to calm the match underdogs’ nerves and this was unmistakably clear when he chose not to capture a free rook in the second game. Paravyan failed to recover from the miss and drew the game.

Then the floodgates opened. Starting with yet another bamboozling move, 1.h3 (the Clemenz Opening), Nakamura put on a clinical performance to move to 2.5-0.5. Feeling the heat, Paravyan attempted a Najdorf-inspired knight sacrifice on e6 against his opponent’s Sicilian Defense: Kan Variation, but it was quickly refuted. A blistering attack that featured two brilliant moves extended Nakamura’s lead to four points in yet another victory for the dubious Clemenz opening in the fifth game.

A fourth straight win was the cherry on top for the Fischer Random world champion, and with a five-point buffer, he was content with a longwinded draw in the seventh game of the match. The Russian qualifier found some luck in the eighth game where he finally punished his opponent for his creative opening escapades and dealt Nakamura his quickest defeat in recent history. The 16-move miniature saw Paravyan masterfully operate the bishop pair to trap a knight on e7.

The final game of the 5+1 segment saw the return of the Clemenz Opening once more and the American titan kept his unbeaten streak with it running, boosting his score to 7-2.

Blitz 3|1: Nakamura-Paravyan 7.5-1.5

After the 5+1 blowout, Paravyan looked for redemption in the 3+1 games but was met by a rampaging Nakamura who was no longer looking simply for victory but to create art.

Interestingly, the sole game that Nakamura lost in the 3+1 portion was game 11, where he chose to play his usually trusty Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack. Obviously prepared for this setup, his opponent garnered an early edge with black and jostled his way to the point after a wild time scramble.

Given no time to relish in his win, the 24-year-old found himself on struggle street in the very next game when Nakamura found an astounding checkmate threat that left commentators Xiong and Canty baffled.

Our unique game of the day has been analyzed by GM Rafael Leitao below.

This dominant streak from the defending champion left him with an 11-point advantage heading into his favorite time control.

The final segment was the most successful for Paravyan and Nakamura was caught out going against advice outlined in his own book, Bullet Chess: One Minute to Mate (co-written with Bruce Harper), where he states in chapter six that you should “play what you know” in bullet.

Despite the qualifier’s consistent genius with seconds on the clock, the bullet maestro still managed to outscore him due to a number of unbelievable swindles.

With a final score of 19.5-7.5, Nakamura showed that he is ready to defend his Speed Chess Championship title, even with his menagerie of unorthodox openings.

For their round of 16 match wins, victors So and Nakamura received $2,120 and $2,777 while Abdusattorov and Paravyan received $1,880 and $1,223 respectively.

All Games – Round of 16

Speed Chess Championship 2022 Bracket

The 2022 Speed Chess Championships Main Event started on November 23 and will conclude on December 16. Top speed-chess players are competing at three different time controls in a 16-player knockout as they vie for a share of the $100,000 prize fund along with the most prestigious title in online chess.

The likes of GMs Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Ding Liren, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, and many more battle it out to determine the 2022 speed chess champion.

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