World Rapid, Blitz Chess Championships Officially Opened; Carlsen To Start With Black
The World Rapid and Blitz Championships were officially opened on Tuesday evening in St. Petersburg, Russia. The drawing of lots resulted in Magnus Carlsen and every other player with an odd pairing number starting the rapid tournament with the black pieces tomorrow.
The World Rapid & Blitz runs from December 26 till 30. The first round of the world rapid championship starts . You can follow the games live on our website here.
The ceremony was held on Christmas day in the Manege on St. Isaac's Square in central St. Petersburg, which will also be the tournament venue the next five days. These days it mostly serves as an art exhibition hall, but the building was formerly used for the training of horses by elite cavalry. In one of the speeches, the obvious pun was made that now it's time to move horses again!
Before the ceremony, a press conference took place with world champions Magnus Carlsen and Ju Wenjun, 2016 world championship challenger Sergey Karjakin, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, Russian Chess Federation President Andrey Filatov, and Manege Director Pavel Prigara.
The press conference before the ceremony. | Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.
The first question was for Carlsen: "You won all three titles; which title is the most memorable and most important to you?"
Carlsen: "The next one!"
You can replay the press conference here.
Then he was asked: "What is required for chess players to win all titles?"
Carlsen confidently replied: "I think you need versatility in style and to be able to excel at all time controls. I feel like I have what it takes to do it. I am pretty optimistic about the chances to play a couple of good tournaments here."
The most important title for Carlsen? "The next one!" | Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.
The evening included some spectacular dance, video art, acrobatic and musical performances, and part of the ballet Swan Lake was performed as well. The ballet dancers then remained on stage, and were joined by classical world champions Carlsen and Ju, the top seeds of both sections, for the drawing of lots. Carlsen starts with the black pieces tomorrow, Ju with white.
Magnus Carlsen and Ju Wenjun at the drawing of lots. | Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.
After it was held in Riyadh last year, the tournament has been moved to St. Petersburg so that players from all federations can participate. Ukrainian GM Pavel Eljanov still decided against playing (possibly due to the current tension between Russia and Ukraine) but for instance his compatriot Anna Muzychuk, who won both titles in 2016 but declined to play in Saudi Arabia last year, is back again.
There is still a distinct Saudi flavor though. Not only does the tournament bear the name of King Salman (it is the second edition, as part of a three-year contract), but as the FIDE President remarked in his speech, players won't be finding pork or alcohol at the event! But the players seemed to enjoy the healthy food and their company, while a band was playing jazz for the last half hour or so.
You can replay the opening ceremony here.
On December 26, 27 and 28 the World Rapid Championship will be played, which is a 15-round Swiss. On each day there will be five rounds; the time control is 15 minutes plus 10 seconds increment.
On December 29 and 30 the World Blitz Championship will be played, a 21-round Swiss. On the first day 11 rounds will be played, and on the last day 10 rounds. The time control is three minutes plus two seconds increment.
For each event, the first prize is 60,000 euros in the open section and 40,000 euros in the women's section; more info can be found in our preview.
Hikaru Nakamura tried his luck against Konstantin Kosteniuk's Chess Robot during the reception after the closing ceremony.
The fields for both the open and women sections are amazingly strong. Below you'll find the top 50 for both sections; a total of 206 players are listed in the open section (including a number of players from Saudi Arabia with ratings below 1900) and 124 in the women's section.
2018 World Rapid & Blitz | Participants (Top 50)
| Fed | Title | Name | Rtg | No. | Fed | Title | Name | Rtg | |
| GM | Carlsen Magnus | 2903 | 1 | GM | Muzychuk Anna | 2595 | |||
| GM | Nakamura Hikaru | 2844 | 2 | GM | Ju Wenjun | 2584 | |||
| GM | Artemiev Vladislav | 2812 | 3 | GM | Lei Tingjie | 2545 | |||
| GM | Fedoseev Vladimir | 2810 | 4 | GM | Kosteniuk Alexandra | 2540 | |||
| GM | Aronian Levon | 2802 | 5 | GM | Lagno Kateryna | 2539 | |||
| GM | Mamedyarov Shakhriyar | 2786 | 6 | GM | Dzagnidze Nana | 2515 | |||
| GM | Wang Hao | 2782 | 7 | IM | Paehtz Elisabeth | 2506 | |||
| GM | Karjakin Sergey | 2774 | 8 | GM | Muzychuk Mariya | 2493 | |||
| GM | Nepomniachtchi Ian | 2771 | 9 | GM | Harika Dronavalli | 2484 | |||
| GM | Harikrishna Pentala | 2758 | 10 | GM | Koneru Humpy | 2479 | |||
| GM | Yu Yangyi | 2758 | 11 | GM | Goryachkina Aleksandra | 2477 | |||
| GM | Kamsky Gata | 2757 | 12 | GM | Ushenina Anna | 2471 | |||
| GM | Svidler Peter | 2753 | 13 | GM | Danielian Elina | 2470 | |||
| GM | Le Quang Liem | 2752 | 14 | GM | Stefanova Antoaneta | 2466 | |||
| GM | Korobov Anton | 2740 | 15 | IM | Abdumalik Zhansaya | 2444 | |||
| GM | Giri Anish | 2739 | 16 | GM | Tan Zhongyi | 2442 | |||
| GM | Mamedov Rauf | 2739 | 17 | IM | Bodnaruk Anastasia | 2442 | |||
| GM | Tomashevsky Evgeny | 2737 | 18 | IM | Arabidze Meri | 2431 | |||
| GM | Grischuk Alexander | 2732 | 19 | IM | Atalik Ekaterina | 2429 | |||
| GM | Guseinov Gadir | 2732 | 20 | GM | Khotenashvili Bela | 2428 | |||
| GM | Jakovenko Dmitry | 2731 | 21 | GM | Zhao Xue | 2425 | |||
| GM | Andreikin Dmitry | 2725 | 22 | WGM | Girya Olga | 2425 | |||
| GM | Zhigalko Sergei | 2724 | 23 | GM | Cramling Pia | 2420 | |||
| GM | Anand Viswanathan | 2723 | 24 | WIM | Shuvalova Polina | 2411 | |||
| GM | Dubov Daniil | 2723 | 25 | IM | Khademalsharieh Sarasadat | 2402 | |||
| GM | Sjugirov Sanan | 2722 | 26 | GM | Gunina Valentina | 2396 | |||
| GM | Jobava Baadur | 2718 | 27 | IM | Javakhishvili Lela | 2388 | |||
| GM | Gelfand Boris | 2715 | 28 | GM | Batsiashvili Nino | 2382 | |||
| GM | Anton Guijarro David | 2708 | 29 | IM | Mammadova Gulnar | 2382 | |||
| GM | Akopian Vladimir | 2707 | 30 | IM | Saduakassova Dinara | 2381 | |||
| GM | Oparin Grigoriy | 2701 | 31 | IM | Mkrtchian Lilit | 2378 | |||
| GM | Cheparinov Ivan | 2697 | 32 | WGM | Ambartsumova Karina | 2369 | |||
| GM | Motylev Alexander | 2697 | 33 | FM | Voit Daria | 2367 | |||
| GM | Morozevich Alexander | 2696 | 34 | IM | Galliamova Alisa | 2363 | |||
| GM | Matlakov Maxim | 2690 | 35 | WGM | Mamedjarova Turkan | 2357 | |||
| GM | Amonatov Farrukh | 2688 | 36 | IM | Guseva Marina | 2348 | |||
| GM | Bocharov Dmitry | 2683 | 37 | IM | Skripchenko Almira | 2347 | |||
| GM | Duda Jan-Krzysztof | 2683 | 38 | WGM | Berend Elvira | 2342 | |||
| GM | Salem A.R. Saleh | 2682 | 39 | WGM | Mamedjarova Zeinab | 2330 | |||
| GM | Zubov Alexander | 2681 | 40 | IM | Gaponenko Inna | 2320 | |||
| GM | Fridman Daniel | 2677 | 41 | WGM | Michna Marta | 2320 | |||
| GM | Riazantsev Alexander | 2677 | 42 | IM | Charochkina Daria | 2319 | |||
| GM | Petrosian Tigran L. | 2676 | 43 | WGM | Guichard Pauline | 2319 | |||
| GM | Sargissian Gabriel | 2674 | 44 | WGM | Kovanova Baira | 2317 | |||
| GM | Shirov Alexei | 2674 | 45 | WGM | Tokhirjonova Gulrukhbegim | 2317 | |||
| GM | Melkumyan Hrant | 2672 | 46 | WGM | Bivol Alina | 2314 | |||
| GM | Dreev Aleksey | 2671 | 47 | GM | Zhukova Natalia | 2306 | |||
| GM | Grachev Boris | 2669 | 48 | IM | Buksa Nataliya | 2304 | |||
| GM | Timofeev Artyom | 2668 | 49 | WFM | Gritsayeva Oksana | 2303 | |||
| GM | Kovalenko Igor | 2665 | 50 | WIM | Dordzhieva Dinara | 2298 |
Only two days left until World Rapid & Blitz Ch: I made this table with results from previous WC's. Carlsen tops with 8 medals since 2012, while Grischuk has 5 and Nepomniachtchi & Karjakin has 4. Who is your favourite? https://t.co/be4fpMAUUq pic.twitter.com/ibAARo39wd
— Tarjei J. Svensen (@TarjeiJS) December 24, 2018
Impressive media attention for the press conference. | Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.
World champion Carlsen with FIDE President Dvorkovich. | Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.
Reigning women's world champion Ju Wenjun. | Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.
Konstantin Kosteniuk's Chess Robot was in action as well... | Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.
...and Nihal Sarin, who traveled straight from Sitges, was one to try it out. | Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.
Representatives from Saudi Arabia chatting with FIDE's Bachar Kouatly and Arkady Dvorkovich. | Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.
Carlsen meeting with some officials. | Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.
A video art performance opened the ceremony... | Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.
...followed by a ballet performance from Swan Lake. | Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.
Later, a spectacular acrobatic act followed the ceremony. | Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.
Yury Solomatin contributed to this report.
Earlier report:
Peter Doggers joined a chess club a month before turning 15 and still plays for it. He used to be an active tournament player and holds two IM norms. Peter has a Master of Arts degree in Dutch Language & Literature. He briefly worked at New in Chess, then as a Dutch teacher and then in a project for improving safety and security in Amsterdam schools. Between 2007 and 2013 Peter was running ChessVibes, a major source for chess news and videos acquired by Chess.com in October 2013. As our Director News & Events, Peter writes many of our news reports. In the summer of 2022, The Guardian’s Leonard Barden described him as “widely regarded as the world’s best chess journalist.”
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