Niemann, So and Fedoseev frontrunners ahead of two-day blitz section
Hans Niemann convincingly won the rapid section of the Super Rapid & Blitz tournament in Warsaw, finishing as the only player in the field to go through all nine rapid rounds undefeated. The 22-year-old Californian scored 13/18, a plus-four result, in games played at a time control of 25 minutes plus 10-second increments.
Niemann goes into the 18 rounds of blitz, scheduled for Friday and Saturday, with a one-point advantage over Wesley So and a two-point lead over defending champion Vladimir Fedoseev. Those three players enter the final two days as the clear frontrunners, having created a gap over the rest of the field during the rapid section.
The players tied for fourth place are already two points behind Fedoseev, on 9/18. Fabiano Caruana, Gukesh Dommaraju and Jan-Krzysztof Duda share that score after the rapid portion, leaving them four points behind Niemann.
Niemann entered the final three rapid rounds tied for first place with So. While So signed three draws in the final stretch of the rapid section, Niemann added two draws and a win, preserving his unbeaten record and taking sole first place.
The key result came against Duda. Niemann defeated the Polish grandmaster out of a Petroff Defence, patiently converting a queenless position in which he had an extra pawn.
Bent Larsen (1935–2010) was the greatest chess player in Danish history, and for a time, the second-strongest player in the Western world behind Bobby Fischer. Between 1954 and 1971, he won the Danish Championship six times, and achieved numerous international tournament victories throughout his career.
Free video sample: Introduction to Bent Larsen by Peter Heine Nielsen
Free video sample: Introduction to the Opening Section
This is the position Niemann converted into a win in round eight. It was by no means a trivial task, as Duda’s resignation only came on move 63.
Hans Niemann ahead of his game against Radoslaw Wojtaszek (draw) | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Vladimir Fedoseev, who convincingly won last year’s edition, stands in sole third place | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Notable wins by Duda and Gukesh
Duda 1-0 Firouzja
The Benoni family of openings has toppled world champions, decided match games under the highest pressure, and rewarded those brave enough to play them with some of the most electrifying chess imaginable. In this Fritztrainer, Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov – continuing his successful series “Understanding Middlegame Structures” – takes you deep inside the complexities of the Colour-Reversed Benoni, the Colour-Reversed Benko Gambit, and the Colour-Reversed Blumenfeld Gambit.
Free sample video: Introduction
Free sample video: Colour Reversed Banoni – Game 1
Round eight in progress | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Gukesh 1-0 Caruana
A great-looking shot of world champion Gukesh Dommaraju | Photo: Lennart Ootes