The prelim stage of the Airthings Masters came to a close with Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi crowning a dominant performance and the relief of Alexandra Kosteniuk’s first win.
With a total of 29 points, including an impressive 8 wins, Nepo – as he is known – easily booked his place in the knockout round, which begins tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Kosteniuk, the only woman in the field, ended a 13-game losing streak when she defeated in-form Canadian streamer Eric Hansen in her Meltwater Champions Chess Tour debut. Over the course of four days of play, the round-robin preliminary round was full of surprises.
Hansen, ranked 237 in the world and a rank outsider, defied all odds to advance – and in the process, he defeated both Nepo and Magnus Carlsen, last year’s World Championship competitors.
Despite defeating Carlsen in Round 8, India’s teen sensation Praggnanandhaa finished 11th, failing to make the cut. Big names were also eliminated, including Levon Aronian, the winner of last season’s Goldmoney Asian Rapid, and Anish Giri, the winner of the Magnus Carlsen Invitational.
Carlsen clinched his spot with two wins and two draws, despite revealing that he is suffering from the side effects of Covid-19. He was, however, dissatisfied with his appearance. Only three people were guaranteed a spot in the last eight by the final round, with 11 people vying for the remaining five spots.
Ding Liren of China, who was the leader on day one and has been playing through the night in his timezone, finished sixth, while Liem Quang Le of Vietnam finished seventh. Vincent Keymer, a German teen prodigy who has largely gone unnoticed in this event but is an intriguing prospect for the knockout, took the final spot. The top eight will advance to the quarterfinals, which will begin at 18:00 CET tomorrow.
Chess24.com/tour/, as well as the chess24 YouTube and Twitch channels, will provide live coverage with commentary.
