FIDE World Rapid and Blitz December 25-30, 2021

[Paul Cooksey]

Enjoyable event to watch so far. Magnus leading by half a point going into the final day. He won a tough game against Duda in the last round today.

Possibly also a breakthrough event for Nodirbek Abdusattorov, half a point behind having faced an elite field.

[Chris Rice]

Enjoyable event to watch so far. Magnus leading by half a point going into the final day. He won a tough game against Duda in the last round today.

Possibly also a breakthrough event for Nodirbek Abdusattorov, half a point behind having faced an elite field.

Abdusattorov beats Magnus in Round 10 and shares the lead with Nepo on 8/10.

[Kevin Thurlow]

"Abdusattorov beats Magnus in Round 10 and shares the lead with Nepo on 8/10."

Interesting ending - I got the impression earlier that Magnus was optimistically trying to win it. He's entitled to be optimistic of course.

[LawrenceCooper]

"Abdusattorov beats Magnus in Round 10 and shares the lead with Nepo on 8/10."

Interesting ending - I got the impression earlier that Magnus was optimistically trying to win it. He's entitled to be optimistic of course.

Agreed. I expected him to bail out with Qxh5 (around move 51) but he must have felt it was worth gambling.

[JustinHorton]

Abdusattorov has stumbled (EDIT: that might be a very big save indeed)

[JustinHorton]

Quick penultimate round draw for Nepo and Naka, which does at least guarantee Nepo shared first place for the final round

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Wow. As someone said on Chessbomb:

"If Abdu wins whole thing will send shockwaves through chess world".

We have become so used to Carlsen winning these events.

EDIT: Oh, Carlsen still in the mix, as his pending result against Aronian may be a win.

Surprised Nakamura didn't try and win against Nepo?

[JustinHorton]

Another miracle save for Abdusattorov, but another miracle endgame win for Carlsen

[Christopher Kreuzer]

4-way tie for the lead (are there tie-breaks to consider?). Where are the pairings announced for the final round (round 13) and does it start at 18:45 UK time? And where is the best place to watch it? Is it best to follow one game, or several, or follow the livestream? Any recommendations?

[Chris Rice]

4. 3. 2. 2. If there is a tie for the 1st place, the top two players in the rankings as per Article 4.3.2.1 shall play a play-off match to
determine the World Rapid / World Blitz Champion.
a) Two games shall be played with a time control of 3 minutes + 2 seconds increment per move, starting from move 1. There shall be
a drawing of lots to decide which player starts with white pieces. The winner of this match shall be declared the Champion.
b) If the score is still even after the match described in Article 4.3.2.2.a, one game with a time control of 3 minutes + 2 seconds
increment per move, starting from move 1 shall be played to determine the winner. The top player in the rankings as per Article
4.3.2.1 shall have white pieces.
c) If the game described in Article 4.3.2.2.b is drawn, another game shall be played with a time control of 3 minutes + 2 seconds
increment per move, starting from move 1 with the colours reversed from the previous game.
d) If the game described in Article 4.3.2.2.c is drawn, the procedure described in Article 4.3.2.2.c. shall be repeated until the first
game won by one of the players.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

We need article 4.3.2.1 to find out who gets into the top two if more than two are tied for the lead!

4. 3. 2. 1. If two or more players score the same points, the tie is broken by the following criteria, in order of priority:
a) Buchholz Cut 1;
b) Buchholz;
c) Average rating of Opponents (rapid rating – in rapid, blitz rating – in blitz tournament*) Cut 1 (AROC 1)**;
d) Direct encounter between the players in tie;
e) Drawing of lots.
* A player's standard rating shall be used for the starting list, pairings (see Article 4.6) and tie-break calculation:
a) in the Rapid tournament, if the player has no rapid rating;
b) in the Blitz tournament, if the player has no blitz rating.
** All forfeits and byes are cut from the calculation of AROC 1. If a player has one or more forfeits or byes, then no additional results
are cut from the calculation of AROC 1.
All tie-breaks are calculated as described in Article C.02.13 of the FIDE Handbook.

[JustinHorton]

It's Bucholz Cut 1, which somebody else can work out

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Confused now. Do the top two have to tie under *all* the criteria of 4. 3. 2. 1. before the application of 4. 3. 2. 2. or is 4. 3. 2. 1. used to reduce the tied players to two for the playoff?

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Round 13:

Abdusattorov (9) - Duda (8.5)
Caruana (9) - Nepomniachtchi (9)
Nakamura (8.5) - Carlsen (9)

That is the top six, with Duda and Nakamura half a point behind. If there is a winner in Caruana-Nepo, then Duda and Nakamura are out of contention.

[JustinHorton]

or is 4. 3. 2. 1. used to reduce the tied players to two for the playoff?

I think so