3 0 Thursday June 18, 2026: Terry Topples Carlsen; Bluebaum, Mahdavi Capture 3 0 Thursday Titles

Carlsen was a surprise entry in Thursday’s first tournament—the world number-one joined for an 11 p.m. local time start, having endured a grueling, full day of chess at the 2026 World Rapid & Blitz Team Championships. 

See you in HK https://t.co/kv00nynH8E

— Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) February 18, 2026

By the sixth round, only Carlsen and Terry maintained perfect scores. Competing for the outright lead, Carlsen opted for an 1800s throwback, the La Bourdonnais Variation, to counter Terry’s French Defense.

While Carlsen secured an early upper hand, his advantage slowly slipped away. Staring down a likely threefold repetition, Carlsen was forced to make a critical choice: settle for a safe draw, or risk it all for the win. He chose to gamble, and it ultimately cost him the game.

Riding the momentum of his victory, Terry locked down the tournament with a trio of strategic draws against GMs Christopher Yoo, Zhamsaran Tsydypov, and Parham Maghsoodloo before clinching equal first by besting GM Guha Mitrabha in the final round.

Carlsen fought back valiantly, but a costly draw with Yoo ensured that the best he could do was tie with Terry, albeit with inferior tiebreaks. Rounding out the top four were Yoo and GM Dmitrij Kollars, while IM Karina Ambartsumova was the best women’s player.

In a Facebook post after the event, Terry revealed that this was his first victory over Carlsen in blitz time controls.

Second Tournament: Bluebaum Squeezes Past Taher On Tiebreak

Polish GM Zbigniew Pakleza recorded a phenomenal 6/6 start in the second tournament, comprised of wins over IMs Stephan Becking and Aleks Sahakyan, CM Viacheslav Tikhonov, Bluebaum, Kollars, and the 18-year-old Iranian dark horse, FM Artin Ashraf.

Ashraf’s went on to score an impressive 8/11 and finish in seventh place, making him the only FM to finish in the top 20.

Despite Pakleza’s hot start, he lost four of the last five games, opening the door for pursuers to catch and leapfrog him.

Bluebaum and Taher, both of whom lost games in the first half, scored 6/7 in the second half and by the 11th round, they had accrued a half-point buffer over a pack of chasers. In the eighth round against Yoo, Bluebaum held his nerve and found the slick 26.Rf4! which proved too tricky for his opponent to handle.

When Bluebaum and Terry paired in the final round, they chose peace, leaving their fate up to tiebreaks. Thanks to Bluebaum losing in round four as opposed to Taher losing in round three, the German claimed the top spot. 

Third Tournament: Mahdavi Wins Six Straight, Eclipses Undefeated Martinez

Although 53 players joined Thursday’s third tournament, two players, Mahdavi and Martinez, stole the show. In round four, the multitime winners clashed in the Symmetrical English Opening, and all seemed to be going well until Mahdavi blundered on the 15th move. 

After consolidating his advantage and securing the full point, Martinez got a little too comfortable at the top and drew four out of his six remaining games.

Meanwhile, Mahdavi rallied and ran rampant, winning six games on the trot against WIM Kalyani Sirin, GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, GM Jeffery Xiong, Yoo, GM Jakhongir Vakhidov, and finally, FM James Chirilov. 

Once again, Yoo found himself on the receiving end of a brilliancy, though the combination was more for style points as Mahdavi already had a two-point advantage. See if you can spot the cleanest win for Mahdavi below.

In the end, Mahdavi’s streak gave him a one-point buffer over Martinez, who finished in second place and was separated by a half-point gap from Terry and Xiong. Sirin was the top women’s player.