‘I don’t think it will be decided on the chessboard… I broke him in the Sinquefield Cup… as long as I can look him in the eyes and understand that there is absolutely nothing he can do to even enter my mind space then I believe that victory will be mine.’ Thus spake Hans Niemann in a recent interview with the YouTuber Levy Rozman (aka GothamChess), referencing the notorious game in which he beat Magnus Carlsen in St Louis two years ago. He was anticipating his clash against Carlsen in the semi-final of the Chess.com Speed Chess Championship, which took place in Paris last week.
Niemann’s bombast proved premature. Carlsen won with a convincing 17.5-12.5 score, and the margin was even greater at one point, though Carlsen admitted he was ‘going through the motions’ in the latter stages of the match. (Like a football game, it was played over a set number of minutes, rather than to a specific number of games.) The Norwegian later said: ‘Niemann has become a very good player, but thinking that our levels were going to be close was not realistic’.
There was a danger that their rivalry could eclipse the final itself, in which Carlsen would face 21-year-old Alireza Firouzja. But Carlsen clearly relished the chance to prove himself against the youngster. Firouzja, the current world no. 5, has been on tremendous form lately, winning the St Louis Rapid and Blitz tournament and the Sinquefield Cup last month, securing victory in the prestigious Grand Chess Tour.
Carlsen heaped praise on Firouzja’s play in the other semi-final against Hikaru Nakamura, and acknowledged that he would need to be at the top of his game. Peak Carlsen is what we got, and his dominance on the final day was extraordinary to watch. He won the match by 23.5-7.5, an even greater margin than in the semi-final.
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