Dragon Chilling Rapid Champions, Rise Like a Phoenix • lichess.org

Tournament Information

The FIDE World Team Rapid & Blitz Chess Championship is a six-player team event featuring a star-studded field of the world’s strongest players. The first even was held in 2023, with this year’s event marking the fourth iteration of the Team Championships. Team MGD1 is the defending champion in rapid, while WR Chess (Team) is the defending champion in blitz.

Team Composition

Each team is composed of six players, with the possibility of three more reserves. The only two stipulations for each team are:

• One female player
• One player who never achieved a 2000 Elo in FIDE Standard, Rapid, or Blitz or equivalent national rating up to and including the March 2026 rating lists

Time control

The time control for the rapid portion is 15 minutes + 10 seconds increment.

The time control for the blitz portion is 3 minutes + 2 seconds increment.

Format

Rapid

Swiss, 12 rounds

Blitz

Stage 1: 4 pools, 12 teams each
Stage 2: Top 16 teams play a knockout

Prize Fund

The total prize fund is 500,000 euros.

Lichess Broadcast

The Lichess broadcast coverage can be found here.

Lichess Interviews

Check out our on-site player interviews on YouTube after every round!

Lichess Blogs

Lichess will have recaps for both the rapid and blitz events.

Interviews

Our director of operations, Theo Wait, caught up with GM Xue Haowen after his victory against GM Vladislav Artemiev as well as IM Alua Nurman after her win against GM Divya Deshmukh:

Final Standings

Tie Break1: Matchpoints (2 for wins, 1 for Draws, 0 for Losses)
Tie Break2: Olympiad-Sonneborn-Berger-Tie-Break without lowest result (Chennai)
Tie Break3: points (game-points)
Tie Break4: Olympiad-Sum of Adjusted matchpoints without lowest result (Chennai)

Top Performances by Board

Board 1

Board 2

Board 3

Board 4

Board 5

Board 6

Board 7

Board 8

Board 9

Schedule

Blitz

Pool

Knockouts

Rounds 1–4: Kazchess and Dragon Chilling Lead, Mr Birdie and friends in Third

Standings After Round 4

Only two teams maintained a perfect score going into the second day of the rapid frenzy: Kazchess, headlined by GM Richárd Rapport, and Dragon Chilling, headlined by former world champion GM Ding Liren. In the first couple of rounds, Kazchess did well to win the games on the lower boards, winning on boards 3 and 4 in round 1 and boards 4, 5, and 6 in round 2. Round 3 proved to be a tough test for Kazchess as they faced off against Uzbekistan, a dangerous, underrated team that was definitely a dark horse for many analysts. Rapport survived a scare against GM Javokhir Sindarov, first turning a losing position into a draw and later putting on an endgame masterclass. GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov also defeated GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov, but disaster struck for Kazchess as they lost on boards 4 and 5. The decider was thus on the amateur board, board 6, where Kumar Tyulyupov impressively defused Akjol Rakhmatullaev’s London System, retaining an advantage as Black for almost all of the game. Round 4 ended up being easier for Kazchess as they defeated Chessgurukul 4.5-1.5, with a Sicilian Dragon win by GM Alexander Grischuk, a well-played defensive, positional game by GM Wang Hao, and yet another dominant win by Tyulyupov.

GM Richárd Rapport vs. GM Javokhir Sindarov; photo: Michal Walusza / FIDE, FIDE World Team Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships 2026

Meanwhile, Dragon Chilling had an even more dominant start. They won round 1 4.5-1.5 with 5 decisive games and victories on boards 2, 3, 4, 5, and a loss on board 6. Round 2 was even more lopsided, a 5-1 victory with wins on boards 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6, and a loss on board 4. Round 3 was not much different in terms of the score, but the games were rather topsy-turvy for almost all six boards. GM Yu Yangyi’s win against GM Casper Schoppen, GM Bai Jinshi’s toppling of GM Marc’Andria Maurizzi, GM Ju Wenjun’s victory against IM Lu Miaoyi, and Wang Zihao(SH)’s triumph against Tim Letoret offset GM Wei Yi’s loss against GM Daniel Dardha. Round 4 was within razor-thin margins, though, as Dragon Chilling won 4-2 against Theme International Trading. However, the games in that match were rather one-sided, so Dragon Chilling was never in too much danger.

Other notable results were WR Chess, the pre-tournament favorites, losing the match against ChessNut Nova in round 2, the defending champions, Team MGD1, also dropping a match against Theme International Trading in round 3, and GM Hans Moke Niemann starting off the tournament with 4/4.

Rounds 5–8

Standings After Round 8

Dragon Chilling topped the standings after 8 rounds, but it was not all sunshine and roses for the cool fire-breathers. In round 5, Dragon Chilling edged out Kazchess even though GM Ding Liren lost a 177-move nerve-racking game against his former second, GM Richárd Rapport. Luck struck on board 3 as GM Yu Yangyi profited from a catastrophic blunder by GM Alexander Grischuk, while Wang Zihao(SH) once again gave his team an important win on board 6. It was again Wang Zihao(SH) who helped his team avoid a loss as they drew Endgame.AI following wins by GM Alexey Sarana against GM Yu Yangyi and GM Denis Lazavik against GM Bai Jinsh on the one hand and a win by GM Ju Wenjun against GM Zhu Jiner on the other hand. Dragon Chilling played another draw in round 7, equalizing against Team MGD1 after three boards played rather quiet, equal games, two boards, boards 3 and 4, traded decisive blows, and Wang Zihao(SH) missed a complicated endgame win against Aryan Abhijeet Shah. Dragon Chilling righted the ship in round 8, however, emerging victorious against Chessgurukul with wins on boards 5 and 6 by GM Lei Tingjie and Wang Zihao(SH), respectively. Dragon Chilling could have won even one more game point, in fact, had GM Ding Liren found a crushing rook sacrifice against GM R Praggnanandhaa, but he did not, and the game was drawn shortly thereafter.

Kazchess fell down in the standings after losing to Dragon Chilling and Team MGD1 and drawing Endgame.AI. Team MGD1 recovered from their loss in round 3 with three wins and a draw against Dragon Chilling. One win for Team MGD1 was particularly impressive as they defeated the favorites, WR Chess, with a 3.5-2.5 score; GM Arjun Erigaisi helped push through the victory with a win against world number one GM Magnus Carlsen after a spectacular queen sacrifice.

Our director of operations, Theo Wait, caught up with Arjun after his win:

Ninth seed Barys punched above their weight, ending up in third after 8 rounds following wins against Theme International Trading, Shenzhen Qiyu Chess Club, and WR Chess, with one tough loss against Kazchess.

The first seed, WR Chess, continued to struggle, effectively getting knocked out of contention as they finished the eighth round on 10/16, with Carlsen losing all four of his games of the day.

Theo Wait caught up with another grandmaster who defeated Carlsen, GM Shant Sargsyan:

We also asked GM Samuel Sevian about his win against GM Leinier Domínguez Pérez and his team name’s origin:

Round 9

Round 9 games

Round 9 saw a crushing 5-1 victory for Dragon Chilling against Barys, with Hexamind Chess Team and Kazchess keeping themselves afloat after defeating Team MGD1 and Red Pseudodragon, respectively.

GM Bai Jinshi of Dragon Chilling played a model game on the dark squares against Barys’ GM Ramazan Zhalmakhanov:

https://lichess.org/study/ydDf6D1z/yJEGB61s#0

Hexamind Chess Team’s GM Levon Aronian put on a double rook endgame masterclass against Team MGD1’s Nihal Sarin:

https://lichess.org/study/ydDf6D1z/YmUeQNeH#0

In one of the most impressive individual performances of the day, GM Alireza Firouzja finished the second bout on 3.5/4. Here is a dominant, technical victory against GM Aydin Suleymanli, who went on to deliver Carlsen’s fourth consecutive loss:

https://lichess.org/study/4h08Y7Hs/OLfujfuf#0

One of the most tragic blunders of the event occurred on board 3 in the Barys vs. Dragon Chilling match, when GM Denis Makhnev miscalculated and blundered a full rook against GM Yu Yangyi in what ended up being an inconsequential game for match victory.

Our director of operations, Theo Wait, caught up with GM Awonder Liang, one of the best performing board 4’s of the tournament, after his win against 11-year-old IM Roman Shogdzhiev:

Standings After Round 9

Round 10

Round 10 games

Dragon Chilling lost their first match of the event to the surging Hexamind Chess Team, with GM Levon Aronian and GM Volodar Murzin providing key, powerful wins for their team:

https://lichess.org/study/0Gc3SI6O/1SyDhXdj#0

https://lichess.org/study/0Gc3SI6O/Vdn7NeMU#0

With this crucial victory, Hexamind Chess Team were now one point behind Dragon Chilling. Also joining the chasing pack were Team MGD1 and Mr Birdie and friends, winning against Chessgurukul and Kazchess, respectively.

Despite GM Arjun Erigaisi’s one-sided loss against GM R Praggnanandhaa, as well as GM V Pranav’s defeat at the hands of GM Aravindh Chithambaram VR., Team MGD1 still found their way after powerful endgame displays by both GM Nihal Sarin

https://lichess.org/study/0Gc3SI6O/IBa7r3XF#0

and GM Leon Luke Mendonca:

https://lichess.org/study/0Gc3SI6O/5Cl36RyD#0

On board 6, a strong defensive display by clinched victory for Team MGD1:

https://lichess.org/study/0Gc3SI6O/U8m2gzd8#0

The match between Kazchess and Mr Birdie and friends also followed a similar trajectory, with boards 1, 2, 3, and 4 trading blows and the match being decided on board 6:

https://lichess.org/study/0Gc3SI6O/Rf1QdGEH#0

Standings After Round 10

Round 11

Round 11 games

In an exhilarating match that turned the tables, Mr Birdie and friends bested Dragon Chilling, pushing the latter team down into second place for the first time in ten rounds. The top three boards saw rather staid draws, but the bottom three boards showed a lot of flare. On board 5, IM Carissa Yip lost the thread against GM Ju Wenjun, who was lost at one point against the former.

https://lichess.org/study/grvUn9pX/i5xMPJmq#0

Star board 6 Ning Yunlong and team captain GM Awonder Liang steered the ship back toward victory, however, with tenacious wins against Wang Zihao(SH)

https://lichess.org/study/grvUn9pX/yyjE7bNU#0

and GM Bai Jinshi

https://lichess.org/study/grvUn9pX/zDwiF8K9#0

Meanwhile, Hexamind Chess Team and Team MGD1 stalled a bit as they drew Barys and Endgame.AI, respectively. In the first match, GM Alireza Firouzja dominated GM Dmitry Andreikin:

https://lichess.org/study/grvUn9pX/m1o3bDPV#0

In the latter match, in what was previously a drawn position, GM Arjun Erigaisi uncorked a stunning resource after GM Hans Moke Niemann’s blunder:

https://lichess.org/study/grvUn9pX/Lfh7OeX9#0

Standings After Round 11

Round 12

Round 12 games

Owing to their bad tiebreaks, Mr Birdie and friends had to win their match to ensure tournament victory. Unfortunately for them, a tragic blunder by GM Samuel Sevian and GM Le Quang Liem failing to convert a winning position against GM Anish Giri meant that they fell short of a podium finish.

https://lichess.org/study/v48kaTi4/grZoVAd9#0

https://lichess.org/study/v48kaTi4/zb6I7ocy#0

It was the Dragon Chilling team that would emerge like a phoenix, however, as their tiebreaks remained stellar. Their 5-1 victory against Interstellar Club could not have arrived at a more opportune time, especially with the morale boost of an electrifying and swift victory by former world champion GM Ding Liren.

https://lichess.org/study/v48kaTi4/VZkOOyWG#0

Team MGD1 also finished off with a crushing victory, defeating Barys with a 5-1 margin. GM Arjun Erigaisi ended his tournament in style.

https://lichess.org/study/v48kaTi4/u1QWf1rt#0