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FTX Crypto Cup 2021 (Games and Results)

FTX Crypto Cup 2021

The FTX Crypto Cup is part of the online Champions Chess Tour and takes place 23rd to 31st May 2021. This is the last Major - that is an event where the winner qualifies directly for the tour final in late September - although there are 3 more standard events and the leading players in the tour standings will qualify for the finals too. The top 10 players in the world all compete making this the strongest event on the tour so far. 16 players in the preliminaries will play a round robin to produce 8 qualifiers for the second knockout stage. Players: Magnus Carlsen, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Liren Ding, Hikaru Nakamura, Alexander Grischuk, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Levon Aronian, Fabiano Caruana, Daniil Dubov, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Teimour Radjabov, Peter Svidler, Wesley So, Anish Giri, Alireza Firouzja and Alan Pichot.

Carlsen wins the FTX Crypto Chess Cup (Day 9)

Magnus Carlsen won the FTX Crypto Chess Cup beating Wesley So in an Armageddon tie-break. This win means that Carlsen will appear in the Meltwater tour final in September, although with his lead in the standings this seemed very likely anyway his victory in this last major means that he's already there by right.

Carlsen struggled with his form throughout the tournament, he almost didn't make it to the knockout phase. On the final day he took the lead winning the first game playing powerfully to exploit some only slightly misplaced pieces. In game two Carlsen almost certainly mixed something up in his opening preparation, and in a sharp Sicilian this proved to be enough for So to win extremely convincingly. The third game saw Carlsen play a very sharp exchange sacrifice which left So having to work hard to survive, but survive he did and Carlsen had to call off his winning attempts and agree to a draw by repetition before So developed his final piece. So decided to offer a quick draw in the final game and this was something Carlsen wanted also. In the blitz tie-break it looked like Carlsen was pressing with white but then he overlooked a tactic exploiting his back rank. Carlsen showed just how furious he was with himself on camera. Carlsen needed to win with black and he did in fact manage to do this. In the Armageddon tie-break So took the black pieces meaning Carlsen had an extra minute and had to win. Carlsen felt that the extra minute was very helpful to him and in the end So's position fell apart and a victorious Carlsen showed just how wound up he was in his celebration. He admitted he tried to calm down for this final game but he was not calm at all.

In the 3rd-4th tie-break there was much more exciting than yesterday. White dominated all four games, Nepomniachtchi won games one and three, Radjabov won game two but couldn't quite make his advantage in game four add up to a win thus Nepomniachtchi won the match.

The next Grand Prix takes place June 26th to July 4th, there are three more in total before the Tour Finals which start on September 25th.

FTX Crypto Cup 2021 (Day 9)

Final day of the FTX Crypto Cup. It was all very tense. Photo ©

Final day of the FTX Crypto Cup. It was all very tense. Photo © | https://chess24.com

FTX Crypto Cup 2021 (chess24.com INT)
Sun 23rd May 2021 - Mon 31st May 2021 - Official Site

FTX Crypto Cup Prelim (16 players 15 Rds SRR Indiv TC:15m+10spm) - Games in PGN: Games Prelim

FTX Crypto Cup KO 2021 (8 players 3 Rds Minimatch Indiv TC:15m+10spm) - Games in PGN: Games KO

FTX Crypto Cup Prelim (16 players 15 Rds SRR Indiv TC: 15m+10spm) - Games in PGN: Games Prelim

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FTX Crypto Cup Prelim chess24.com INT Sun 23rd May 2021 - Mon 31st May 2021
Leading Final Round 15 Standings:
RkNameTiFEDRtg12345678910111213141516PtsTB1TB2TB3
1Caruana FabianoGMUSA2820*1½½½½½1½0½1½111100669.5
2Giri AnishGMNED27800*½½½½1½½½101½1191.5561.5
3Nakamura HikaruGMUSA2736½½*½½½½1½101½½½191.5464
4Vachier-Lagrave MaximeGMFRA2760½½½*½1½1½0½½½½1191.5463.25
5So WesleyGMUSA2770½½½½*½½½½½½½½11191.5361.75
6Carlsen MagnusGMNOR2847½½½0½*1½01½½½11½8.51460.75
7Radjabov TeimourGMAZE2765½0½½½0*1½½½11½½18.50458.75
8Nepomniachtchi IanGMRUS27920½00½½0*1½½½111181551.5
9Aronian LevonGMARM2781½½½½½1½0*010½½1180455.75
10Mamedyarov ShakhriyarGMAZE27701½01½0½½1*0½½0½17.50455.25
11Firouzja AlirezaGMFID2759½01½½½½½01*½½10071356
12Svidler PeterGMRUS2714010½½½0½1½½*½½0171349.5
13Ding LirenGMCHN2799½0½½½½00½½½½*½1171247
14Dubov DaniilGMRUS27100½½½00½0½10½½*½160240.25
15Grischuk AlexanderGMRUS277600½000½00½110½*150331
16Pichot AlanGMARG263000000½000010000*1.50111.25
Round 1 (May 23, 2021)
Caruana, Fabiano - Firouzja, Alireza ½-½ 43 A10 Dutch, QI and KID Systems
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime - Ding, Liren ½-½ 40 B12 Caro Kann Advanced
So, Wesley - Grischuk, Alexander 1-0 59 D32 Tarrasch Defence
Radjabov, Teimour - Nakamura, Hikaru ½-½ 19 D37 QGD 5.Bf4
Nepomniachtchi, Ian - Dubov, Daniil 1-0 48 A45 Trompowsky
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar - Carlsen, Magnus 0-1 53 A07 Barcza System
Svidler, Peter - Aronian, Levon 1-0 52 C53 Giuoco Piano
Pichot, Alan - Giri, Anish 0-1 32 B32 Sicilian Labourdonnais
Round 2 (May 23, 2021)
Nakamura, Hikaru - Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 1-0 46 C67 Ruy Lopez Berlin
Carlsen, Magnus - Nepomniachtchi, Ian ½-½ 47 B49 Sicilian Paulsen
Aronian, Levon - Giri, Anish ½-½ 73 C59 Two Knights Defence
Firouzja, Alireza - Radjabov, Teimour ½-½ 14 C67 Ruy Lopez Berlin
Svidler, Peter - Caruana, Fabiano 0-1 34 C50 Giuoco Piano
Ding, Liren - Pichot, Alan 1-0 49 E62 King's Indian 6...Nc6
Dubov, Daniil - So, Wesley 0-1 31 E06 Catalan
Grischuk, Alexander - Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 0-1 84 D85 Gruenfeld Defence
Round 3 (May 23, 2021)
Caruana, Fabiano - Aronian, Levon ½-½ 82 C45 Scotch Game
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime - Dubov, Daniil ½-½ 41 B30 Sicilian Rossolimo
So, Wesley - Carlsen, Magnus ½-½ 14 C67 Ruy Lopez Berlin
Giri, Anish - Ding, Liren 1-0 36 A20 English Opening
Radjabov, Teimour - Svidler, Peter 1-0 28 A34 English Symmetrical
Nepomniachtchi, Ian - Nakamura, Hikaru 0-1 69 C67 Ruy Lopez Berlin
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar - Firouzja, Alireza 0-1 42 A07 Barcza System
Pichot, Alan - Grischuk, Alexander 0-1 76 C11 French Defence
Round 4 (May 23, 2021)
Caruana, Fabiano - Radjabov, Teimour ½-½ 51 E40 Nimzo Indian Rubinstein
Nakamura, Hikaru - So, Wesley ½-½ 14 C67 Ruy Lopez Berlin
Carlsen, Magnus - Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 0-1 53 B23 Sicilian Closed
Aronian, Levon - Ding, Liren ½-½ 65 D02 Queen's Pawn Game
Firouzja, Alireza - Nepomniachtchi, Ian ½-½ 90 D85 Gruenfeld Defence
Svidler, Peter - Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar ½-½ 40 C53 Giuoco Piano
Dubov, Daniil - Pichot, Alan 1-0 84 A19 English Opening
Grischuk, Alexander - Giri, Anish 0-1 59 D85 Gruenfeld Defence
Round 5 (May 23, 2021)
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime - Nakamura, Hikaru ½-½ 14 C67 Ruy Lopez Berlin
So, Wesley - Firouzja, Alireza ½-½ 39 D37 QGD 5.Bf4
Giri, Anish - Dubov, Daniil ½-½ 53 C55 Two Knights Defence
Radjabov, Teimour - Aronian, Levon ½-½ 60 C78 Ruy Lopez Moeller Defence
Nepomniachtchi, Ian - Svidler, Peter ½-½ 48 A15 English counter King's Fianchetto
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar - Caruana, Fabiano 1-0 50 A07 Barcza System
Ding, Liren - Grischuk, Alexander 1-0 45 D32 Tarrasch Defence
Pichot, Alan - Carlsen, Magnus ½-½ 61 B10 Caro Kann
Round 6 (May 24, 2021)
Caruana, Fabiano - Nepomniachtchi, Ian 1-0 33 A48 King's Indian Defence /c2-c4
Nakamura, Hikaru - Pichot, Alan 1-0 54 B51 Sicilian Rossolimo
Carlsen, Magnus - Giri, Anish ½-½ 53 A00 Irregular Openings
Radjabov, Teimour - Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar ½-½ 14 C54 Giuoco Piano
Aronian, Levon - Grischuk, Alexander 1-0 45 D38 QGD Ragozin
Firouzja, Alireza - Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime ½-½ 33 B51 Sicilian Rossolimo
Svidler, Peter - So, Wesley ½-½ 41 A13 Reti Opening
Dubov, Daniil - Ding, Liren ½-½ 37 E10 Blumenfeld Counter Gambit
Round 7 (May 24, 2021)
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime - Svidler, Peter ½-½ 41 B11 Caro Kann Two Knights
So, Wesley - Caruana, Fabiano ½-½ 14 C67 Ruy Lopez Berlin
Giri, Anish - Nakamura, Hikaru ½-½ 32 C45 Scotch Game
Nepomniachtchi, Ian - Radjabov, Teimour 0-1 33 A45 Trompowsky
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar - Aronian, Levon 1-0 66 E39 Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Ding, Liren - Carlsen, Magnus ½-½ 55 D31 Semi-Slav Defence
Grischuk, Alexander - Dubov, Daniil ½-½ 44 B52 Sicilian Rossolimo
Pichot, Alan - Firouzja, Alireza 1-0 56 B10 Caro Kann
Round 8 (May 24, 2021)
Caruana, Fabiano - Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime ½-½ 40 B52 Sicilian Rossolimo
Nakamura, Hikaru - Ding, Liren ½-½ 49 E32 Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Carlsen, Magnus - Grischuk, Alexander 1-0 25 A01 Larsen Opening
Radjabov, Teimour - So, Wesley ½-½ 19 D37 QGD 5.Bf4
Aronian, Levon - Dubov, Daniil ½-½ 41 D78 Gruenfeld 3.g3
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar - Nepomniachtchi, Ian ½-½ 41 A48 King's Indian Defence /c2-c4
Firouzja, Alireza - Giri, Anish 0-1 40 C50 Giuoco Piano
Svidler, Peter - Pichot, Alan 1-0 38 B50 Sicilian Defence
Round 9 (May 24, 2021)
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime - Radjabov, Teimour ½-½ 48 C67 Ruy Lopez Berlin
So, Wesley - Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar ½-½ 14 C54 Giuoco Piano
Giri, Anish - Svidler, Peter 0-1 32 D85 Gruenfeld Defence
Nepomniachtchi, Ian - Aronian, Levon 1-0 45 C50 Giuoco Piano
Ding, Liren - Firouzja, Alireza ½-½ 38 A81 Dutch Leningrad
Dubov, Daniil - Carlsen, Magnus 0-1 41 D06 Queen's Pawn Gambit
Grischuk, Alexander - Nakamura, Hikaru ½-½ 35 C67 Ruy Lopez Berlin
Pichot, Alan - Caruana, Fabiano 0-1 69 B10 Caro Kann
Round 10 (May 24, 2021)
Caruana, Fabiano - Giri, Anish 1-0 45 C78 Ruy Lopez Moeller Defence
Nakamura, Hikaru - Dubov, Daniil ½-½ 42 D78 Gruenfeld 3.g3
Radjabov, Teimour - Pichot, Alan 1-0 36 A05 Various
Aronian, Levon - Carlsen, Magnus 1-0 51 D02 Queen's Pawn Game
Nepomniachtchi, Ian - So, Wesley ½-½ 41 D41 Semi-Tarrasch Defence
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar - Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 1-0 40 B22 Sicilian Alapin
Firouzja, Alireza - Grischuk, Alexander 0-1 53 B40 Sicilian Classical
Svidler, Peter - Ding, Liren ½-½ 31 A08 Barcza System
Round 11 (May 25, 2021)
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime - Nepomniachtchi, Ian 1-0 83 D37 QGD 5.Bf4
So, Wesley - Aronian, Levon ½-½ 14 C67 Ruy Lopez Berlin
Giri, Anish - Radjabov, Teimour 1-0 42 C67 Ruy Lopez Berlin
Carlsen, Magnus - Nakamura, Hikaru ½-½ 51 C53 Giuoco Piano
Ding, Liren - Caruana, Fabiano ½-½ 62 A08 Barcza System
Dubov, Daniil - Firouzja, Alireza 0-1 51 E61 King's Indian Defence
Grischuk, Alexander - Svidler, Peter 1-0 32 E60 King's Indian without Nc3
Pichot, Alan - Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 0-1 32 B40 Sicilian Classical
Round 12 (May 25, 2021)
Caruana, Fabiano - Grischuk, Alexander 1-0 34 D45 Anti-Meran Variations
So, Wesley - Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime ½-½ 32 D85 Gruenfeld Defence
Radjabov, Teimour - Ding, Liren 1-0 58 E15 Queens Indian
Aronian, Levon - Nakamura, Hikaru ½-½ 40 D02 Queen's Pawn Game
Nepomniachtchi, Ian - Pichot, Alan 1-0 61 B51 Sicilian Rossolimo
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar - Giri, Anish ½-½ 70 B22 Sicilian Alapin
Firouzja, Alireza - Carlsen, Magnus ½-½ 44 C65 Ruy Lopez Berlin
Svidler, Peter - Dubov, Daniil ½-½ 31 B30 Sicilian Rossolimo
Round 13 (May 25, 2021)
Nakamura, Hikaru - Firouzja, Alireza 0-1 51 A58 Volga Gambit
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime - Aronian, Levon ½-½ 32 C78 Ruy Lopez Moeller Defence
Giri, Anish - Nepomniachtchi, Ian ½-½ 36 D85 Gruenfeld Defence
Carlsen, Magnus - Svidler, Peter ½-½ 55 B51 Sicilian Rossolimo
Ding, Liren - Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar ½-½ 63 E01 Catalan
Dubov, Daniil - Caruana, Fabiano 0-1 35 B48 Sicilian Paulsen
Grischuk, Alexander - Radjabov, Teimour ½-½ 30 B32 Sicilian Labourdonnais
Pichot, Alan - So, Wesley 0-1 33 C19 French Winawer
Round 14 (May 25, 2021)
Caruana, Fabiano - Carlsen, Magnus ½-½ 52 C67 Ruy Lopez Berlin
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime - Pichot, Alan 1-0 47 B51 Sicilian Rossolimo
So, Wesley - Giri, Anish ½-½ 25 D85 Gruenfeld Defence
Radjabov, Teimour - Dubov, Daniil ½-½ 24 D85 Gruenfeld Defence
Aronian, Levon - Firouzja, Alireza 1-0 52 D37 QGD 5.Bf4
Nepomniachtchi, Ian - Ding, Liren 1-0 52 B19 Caro Kann
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar - Grischuk, Alexander ½-½ 42 C01 French Exchange
Svidler, Peter - Nakamura, Hikaru 0-1 60 C53 Giuoco Piano
Round 15 (May 25, 2021)
Nakamura, Hikaru - Caruana, Fabiano ½-½ 14 C67 Ruy Lopez Berlin
Giri, Anish - Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime ½-½ 25 D85 Gruenfeld Defence
Carlsen, Magnus - Radjabov, Teimour 1-0 52 B30 Sicilian Rossolimo
Firouzja, Alireza - Svidler, Peter ½-½ 76 A04 Dutch System
Ding, Liren - So, Wesley ½-½ 14 C67 Ruy Lopez Berlin
Dubov, Daniil - Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 1-0 43 D79 Gruenfeld 3.g3
Grischuk, Alexander - Nepomniachtchi, Ian 0-1 64 D85 Gruenfeld Defence
Pichot, Alan - Aronian, Levon 0-1 25 B40 Sicilian Classical

FTX Crypto Cup KO 2021 (8 players 3 Rds Minimatch Indiv TC: 15m+10spm) - Games in PGN: Games KO

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FTX Crypto Cup KO 2021 chess24.com INT Sun 23rd May 2021 - Mon 31st May 2021
Leading Final Round 3 Standings:
RkNameTiFEDRtg12PtsTB1
Final
1Carlsen, MagnusGMNOR28810.50.521
2So, WesleyGMUSA27410.50.510
3rd-4th
3Nepomniachtchi, IanGMRUS27780.511.5
4Radjabov, TeimourGMAZE27580.500.5
Semifinals
1So, WesleyGMUSA2741112
2Nepomniachtchi, IanGMRUS2778000
1Carlsen, MagnusGMNOR28810.511.5
2Radjabov, TeimourGMAZE27580.500.5
Quarterfinals
1Nepomniachtchi, IanGMRUS27780.50.521
2Caruana, FabianoGMUSA27730.50.510
1So, WesleyGMUSA2741112
2Vachier-Lagrave, MaximeGMFRA2860000
1Radjabov, TeimourGMAZE275810.51.5
2Giri, AnishGMNED273100.50.5
1Carlsen, MagnusGMNOR28810.50.521
2Nakamura, HikaruGMUSA28290.50.510
8 players

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