Russian chess grandmaster beats reigning world champion to reach final – Reuters

Russian chess grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi qualified for the final of the 2022 Fischer World Random Championships on Saturday after defeating reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen in Reykjavik.

Carlsen won against Nepomniachtchi to claim his fifth world championship at the end of last year. This weekend, however, Nepomniachtchi got a form of revenge by winning against the big Norwegian.

Nepomniachtchi initially lost a game behind Carlsen, raising fears he could lose again to the 31-year-old.

In what chess.com described as an « impressive » performance, however, Nepomniachtchi roared to win 3-1.

He will meet Hikaru Nakamura in the final of the competition in the Icelandic capital on Sunday afternoon.

Nakamura needed just three games to dispatch 18-year-old world rapid champion Nodirbek Abdusattorov 3-0, meaning the Japanese-American or Nepomniachtchi will be crowned only the second champion of the Fischer Random World Championships. the history of chess.

Wesley So won the inaugural championship in 2019, and this year $150,000 will be awarded to the winner and $85,000 to the runner-up.
If successful, Nepomniachtchi will cap off a successful 2022 in which he also won the Candidates Tournament and sealed qualification for the next World Championship title match.

Nepomniachtchi should have been in line to face current champion Carlsen, but Carlsen has already indicated that he will not be defending the crown against him, meaning Nepomniachtchi will face Candidates Tournament runner-up Ding Liren.

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