Nakamura dominated the 5+1 round, taking advantage of his own winning opportunities while upsetting Carlsen’s quest for an undefeated finish, know the Speed Chess Championship 2022 prize money
From there, the game turned into a thrilling struggle between Carlsen’s incredible fortitude and Nakamura’s quick chess skills and clever match tactics.
Nakamura has won it for the fifth time.
Speed Chess Championship 2022 Final Result, Score, Winner Prize Money
Carlsen had the advantage going into this match with both their total blitz and bullet scores. In the finals of the SCC in 2016 and 2017, he also prevailed in both of their prior encounters. The most recent champion, though, was Nakamura, who eliminated Carlsen at the Fischer Random World Championship in October. Carlsen was therefore probably seeking revenge. In addition, Nakamura had never lost to Carlsen until this match in the entire year 2022.
Hikaru Nakamura has now won five consecutive Speed Chess championships, but more importantly, he has now defeated Magnus Carlsen, the only opponent to have ever defeated him in the format. Magnus brought the battle right down to the wire but Hikaru ultimately prevailed 14.5:13.5 after a spectacular 6.5:2.5 start in the 5-minute segment.
The bigger picture
Despite the fact that Carlsen undoubtedly caught Nakamura off guard, the latter quickly increased pressure on the queenside in response to the pragmatist’s progress. In order to get through, he blended positional and tactical approaches, “eliminating any morsel of counterplay that Magnus may drum up.
Magnus changed outfit during the break 🤔 pic.twitter.com/LI2oCG9PEf
— Chess.com (@chesscom) December 18, 2022
Carlsen oddly changed into a different set of clothes during the 5+1’s halftime break, presumably in an effort to turn around his thinking and results. In game eight, Nakamura deftly set up counterplay on the kingside while Carlsen tried to widen his advantage on the queenside. The defending Speed Chess Champion quickly played a checkmating combination after the world champion made a mistake. In 2022 vs Carlsen, Nakamura finished the 5+1 round with a four-point advantage and kept up his perfect record.
Story after the break
After a brief break, Carlsen resumed with more of his typical assurance and easily won the opening game while identifying Black’s flaws and retaining a sizable time advantage. Nakamura, who had an outstanding performance in the 5-1, changed his match strategy to accommodate his advantage in the scoreboard by playing cautiously and seeking ways to prolong games and eat up match time.
In game eight, Nakamura actually entered a forced draw variant with white and sat there for almost the entire game until winning. Despite Nakamura’s efforts, Carlsen launched a comeback toward the end of the 3+1, cutting the gap between them to two points. Can you identify the strategy that sparked Carlsen’s comeback?
After dropping the first game, Carlsen battled back to triumph in the following games, closing the distance between himself and his enduring foe. Nakamura, though, constantly sought to shave off more time from the game clock in order to inch closer to victory. Carlsen tied the score with 17 minutes remaining and went on to win his third straight game by turning a chaotic game into a winning endgame.
In retaliation, Nakamura went on a winning streak, winning three of the following four games. Carlsen needed to win the first game so that there would be time for a second as the second game began down two points. With 3:26 remaining on the clock, the game started. The strange image of Nakamura celebrating his match victory while down two queens in the current game are the result of the circumstances, which lead to an astonishing final battle between play on the board and squeezing out the time.
Hikaru laughs as Magnus plays e5 😆 pic.twitter.com/Qxo2gkGmNV
— Chess.com (@chesscom) December 18, 2022
Prize money
Nakamura received $15,178.57 in addition to bragging rights until their next match, and Carlsen received $4,821.43 as the loser.