World Rapid and Blitz

Magnus Carlsen’s relationship with Fide is frayed, all the more following the spat at the 2024 World Rapid and Blitz Championships in New York, when the world no. 1 was penalised for wearing jeans. The Norwegian said it was his good relations with the Qatari organisers, and his domestic fans, for whom following the event has become a seasonal tradition, that motivated him to participate at the 2025 event, held in Doha between Christmas and New Year.

Carlsen dominated the rapid event, finishing a full point clear of the field, despite suffering an early setback on the second day of play, when he was beaten by the Russian grandmaster Vladislav Artemiev, who eventually took the silver medal.

Vladislav Artemiev-Magnus Carlsen

World Rapid Championship, Doha, 2025

1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 Nc3 c6 5 e3 Nbd7 6 Qc2 b6 7 cxd5 exd5 8 Bd3 Be7 9 O-O Bb7 10 e4 dxe4 11 Nxe4 O-O 12 Ne5 Nxe5 13 dxe5 Nxe4 14 Bxe4 h6 15 e6 Qc7 Walking into a trap. Instead, 15…fxe6 16 Bxh6 gxh6 17 Bxc6 Bxc6 18 Qg6+ leads to a draw. 16 exf7+ Rxf7 17 Bd5! Winning rook for bishop, though the game isn’t over. Rf8 18 Bxh6! Bd6 19 Bxf7+ Rxf7 20 Qg6 Bxh2+ 21 Kh1 Be5 22 Rae1 c5 23 f4 Bd6 24 Re8+ Bf8 25 Rd1 This works out well, but 25 Bg5! was stronger. Rf6 26 Rdd8 (see diagram) Clever, since 26…Rxg6 27 Rxf8+ Kh7 28 Rh8 is mate! But after the cool 26…Bc6! there is nothing better than 27 Rxf8+ Rxf8 28 Qe6+ Qf7 29 Rxf8+ Kxf8 30 Qxc6 gxh6 31 Qxh6+ with a long struggle ahead. Instead: Bxg2+? and the game is over. 27 Qxg2 Rxh6+ 28 Kg1 Rf6 29 Qd5+ Kh7 Black resigns before 30 Rxf8.

The blitz event took a more theatrical turn, owing to an unusual case of butterfingers. Down to his final seconds in a worse but perhaps tenable position against India’s Arjun Erigaisi, Carlsen moved to capture a pawn but somehow sent his own queen flying off the board and lost the game on time. Lightning struck twice when, in an even position against the Armenian grandmaster Haik Martirosyan, Carlsen fumbled a rook move and dropped it in the middle of the board, again losing on time before he could rectify the position. Despite these mishaps, he narrowly made the cut of the final four, and defeated Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov in the final (see below). This brace of tournament victories bring Carlsen’s tally of world titles to 20: five in classical chess, six in rapid and nine in blitz.

Nodirbek Abdusattorov-Magnus Carlsen

World Blitz Championship Final, Doha, 2025