Historic first for New York and chess: FIDE World Rapid and Blitz debut on Wall Street

In a historic moment for chess and the U.S., the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships opened on Wall Street, featuring 300 strongest players from across the globe. The first day of the Rapid belongs to the youngest players, as prodigies lead in both the Open and the Women’s competition.

Drawing millions of online viewers every last week in December, the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz is one of the most exciting, dramatic and memorable annual chess tournaments. For the first time, FIDE has brought this event to the U.S., to one of the world’s most iconic cities.

Thanks to the support of Freedom Holding Corp., a NASDAQ-traded financial services company, the 2024 edition is taking place on Wall Street, a stone’s throw from the New York Stock Exchange.

Highlighting the synergy between chess and finance, FIDE Deputy President and former World Champion Vishy Anand noted:

“New York is the financial center of the world, and this week it will transform into the chess center of the world, hosting the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships”. He added that the event will include a chess and finance conference exploring their unique connections.

CEO of Freedom Holding Corp. Timur Turlov, whose company has been supporting chess events since 2022, noted the importance of the game as “a vital part of the culture and history of humanity”.

“New York embodies the spirit of tolerance, fair competition, and achievement. Regardless of gender, age, or nationality, everyone here can find success and realize their potential. Just like on the chessboard”, Turlov said.

The President of the U.S. Chess Federation, Kevin Pryor, reminded everyone about the Christmas spirit of the season by adding a chess link to it.

“As the song goes, Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. For the global chess community, we expand that meaning with the annual World Rapid and Blitz Championship”.

Pryor highlighted the rich chess history of New York and its vibrant chess community.

The 2024 WRB opened with the Rapid tournament that will last three days. The first day of the Rapid saw five rounds in the Open and four in the Women’s tournament.

 Open Rapid

Despite all the attention, the top-favorite and defending World Rapid Champion, Magnus Carlsen is in the shadows, having scored just 2.5 points out of five.

Instead, the first day of the 2024 World Rapid in the Open competition belongs to 18-year-old Volodar Murzin (pictured below, left), who scored an impressive 4.5/5, including a notable victory against Fabiano Caruana in round two. In round five, Murzin drew as Black with seasoned heavyweight Levon Aronian, not giving him an inch of advantage throughout the game.

“I just play, and I prefer playing against strong players,” Murzin said after the rounds have finished, adding that he hopes to win the tournament.

With 4.5 points, Murzin leads the tournament alongside Shant Sargsyan, Leinier Dominguez Perez, and Daniel Naroditsky (who is also a chess commentator for the New York Times; pictured below).

Top chess streamer and blitz specialist Hikaru Nakamura finished on four points, joining a large group of contenders that includes, among others, Anish Giri, Levon Aronian, Arjun Erigaisi, and Nodirbek Abdusattorov.

Defending his fifth Rapid World Championship title, Magnus Carlsen struggled on day one. After a surprising round-one draw as White against Awonder Liang, he secured a comfortable win in round two against Montenegro’s Denis Kadric. However, subsequent games proved challenging. He narrowly escaped a loss to Hungary’s Gleb Dudin, 400 points lower-rated, and drew as White.

Reflecting on the game, Carlsen admitted to Norwegian broadcaster NRK: “A very, very poor performance… It was bad.” This turned out to sum up his day: in round four he drew with Aleksandr Shimanov despite having a sizable advantage at some point.

In the final game of the day, Carlsen misplayed as Black against Denis Lazavik, rated 300 points lower. The Norwegian had to give up his queen for a knight and a rook, hoping for a miracle, which did not come.

But Carlsen is no stranger to a slow start. As Vishy Anand noted – the Norwegian has the greatest consistency in making good moves, and he improves as the tournament progresses.

Standings after Round 5

 Women’s Rapid: 15-year-old Alice Lee stuns the competition

The leader of the Women’s World Rapid was decided in a dramatic duel for first place, in the final, fourth round of the day.

Alice Lee (15; pictured below), the youngest American woman player to attain the title of International Master and the winner of the 2024 Women’s American Cup, is in sole first place. In round four, she defeated Valentina Gunina – the 2012 and 2023 Women’s World Blitz Champion – in a dramatic game. In the fifth round, she will be facing World Champion in classical chess, Ju Wenjun, who leads a group of five players on 3.5 points.

Gunina, who had won her first three games, got off to a good start in the leaders’ clash, achieving a notable advantage against Alice Lee. However, in a tense middlegame, she allowed her opponent to retake the initiative and ultimately secure victory. After day one, she is on three points, together with former Women’s World Champions Alexandra Kosteniuk and Anna Muzychuk.

Among the other top contenders, second-ranked Lei Tingjie (pictured below, right) is on 2.5 points, together with the heavyweights Zhu Chen, Humpy Koneru and Mariya Muzychuk.

Anastasia Bodnaruk, who won the 2023 Women’s Rapid, is on 50%, having suffered a notable round two loss to former Women’s World Champion Tan Zhongyi.

Standings after Round 4

The World Rapid and Blitz continue with the action on Friday, with the games in the Open starting at 2PM ET, and at 2:15 PM in the Women’s tournament.

Written by Milan Dinic

Photos: Lennart Ootes and Michal Walusza

All the information about the event, including results, news, images and regulations are available on the official event webpage: worldrapidandblitz.fide.com

The full schedule of the event is available here: Schedule – 2024 FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships.

Follow live commentary by Grandmasters and special guests on FIDE’s official YouTube Channel, starting on the 26th: FIDE chess – YouTube.