PRESS RELEASE:
Chess champ Carlsen crushes rivals to reach second final of his $1 million tour
Magnus Carlsen crushed China’s number 1 Ding Liren in just three games today to seal his place in the Chessable Masters final.
The World Champion and hot favourite to win the $150,000 tournament hit top form at just the right time to qualify in ominous fashion.
Carlsen won the first game, drew the second and then finished Ding off by winning the third to go through with a game – and a day – to spare.
It was “breathtaking”, French Grandmaster Romain Édouard said on Twitter.
Ding’s only win of the match was one gifted to him by Carlsen yesterday after he felt bad for winning the previous game when his opponent disconnected and ran out of time.
“It would be special to face Anish in the final!” Carlsen said, but his dream of facing his Twitter rival Anish Giri hangs in the balance after the Dutch number 1 was defeated 2.5-1.5 by Russia’s top player Ian Nepomniachtchi.
That means Giri and “Nepo” return on Thursday for a high-stakes decider before the final starts on Friday.
The event, broadcast live on chess24, is the next stage of the Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour which carries a total prize pot of $1 million, a record for the online game.
About the tournament
The Chessable Masters, which runs until July 5, is being put on in association with Chessable and the tour’s Education Partner, leading Swiss private banking group, Julius Baer.