Chess Poland News Today

An imposing 7/9 performance on Thursday allowed Magnus Carlsen to clinch first place at the Superbet Rapid & Blitz tournament in Warsaw. Rapid-section winner Jan-Krzysztof Duda put up a great fight, as he went into the final-round confrontation against Carlsen with chances of catching his famed colleague in the standings. A hard-fought 124-move draw sealed Carlsen’s victory. Duda came second, while Wesley So and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave shared third place. | Photos: Lennart Ootes

Magnus Carlsen ended the first day of blitz at the Superbet Poland tournament with five consecutive wins, thus climbing to sole second place a half point behind Jan-Krzysztof Duda. Duda scored 4½ points to remain atop the standings, as he collected three wins, three draws and three losses on Wednesday. Wesley So stands in third place, merely a half point behind Carlsen. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Magnus Carlsen played his first three over-the-board (rapid) games after giving up the world champion title on Sunday. In his first outing as a ‘former world champion’, Carlsen replied to Radoslaw Wojtaszek’s 1.d4 with 1...b5, going for the questionable Polish Defence — in Warsaw! Carlsen lost that game and drew the next two to end the day with a 2/6 score. Three points ahead stand co-leaders Wesley So, Levon Aronian and Jan-Krzysztof Duda. | Photo: Lennart Ootes