An early clash between world champion Magnus Carlsen and Fischer Random titlist Wesley So highlights the Opera Euro Rapid inaugural on Saturday, February 6 (Sunday, February 7, Manila time).
Carlsen is raring to rebound from a sixth-place effort in last week’s Tata Steel Chess Masters, the first over-the-board classical event among elite players, while So is aiming for another strong showing in the online event serving as the third leg of the $1.5-million Champions Chess Tour (CCT).
The Filipino-born So, now the reigning United States champion, beat Carlsen in the finals of the Skilling Open, the first leg of the CCT last November, and the Norwegian, who bagged 10 titles last year, has yet to win since then.
Carlsen, however, remains the top favorite to snare the $30,000 champion’s purse, with So, speed chess king Hikaru Nakamura, and world number 3 Ding Liren also given good chances of emerging on top of the 16-man field.
Airthings Masters champion Teimour Radjabov is also entered with Russia’s No. 1 Ian Nepomniachtchi, France’s No. 1 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Alexander Grischuk, Anish Giri, Armenia’s No. 1 Levon Aronian, Daniil Dubov, Vidit Gujrathi, and CCT first-timers Sam Shankland, Leinier Dominguez, and Germany’s No. 1 Matthias Bluebaum.
Owing to his victory in the Airthings Masters, Radjabov grabbed the lead from So in the CCT overall points race as well as the money chase.
Like Carlsen, Vachier-Lagrave also played poorly in the Tata Masters, losing 26.3 points and dropping to world No. 15 from 5th place.
Competition should be tight as Grischuk is a three-time world blitz champion, while Dominguez is also a former world blitz champion. Gujrathi is the team captain of India, which emerged as co-champion with Russia in last year’s FIDE Chess Online Olympiad. Shankland, on the other hand, is the 2018 US champion.
After Carlsen, So will tackle Vachier-Lagrave, Dubov, Aronian, and Bluebaum in the first day of the three-day preliminary stage. The top 8 will advance to the knockout quarterfinals. – Rappler.com
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