Russian chess grandmaster beats reigning world champion to reach final

Russian chess grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi advanced to the 2022 Fischer Random World Championships final on Saturday after beating reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen in Reykjavik.

Carlsen won against Nepomniachtchi to claim his fifth world championship late last year. This weekend, however, Nepomniachtchi exacted a form of revenge by coming out on top against the Norwegian great.

Nepomniachtchi initially fell a game behind Carlsen, prompting fears that he would again lose to the 31-year-old.

In what chess.com described as an “impressive” performance, however, Nepomniachtchi roared back to win 3-1.

He will meet Hikaru Nakamura in the competition’s final in the Icelandic capital on Sunday afternoon.

Nakamura needed just three games to dispatch 18-year-old world rapid champion Nodirbek Abdusattorov 3-0, which means either the Japanese-American or Nepomniachtchi will be crowned only the second champion of the Fischer Random World Championships in chess history.

Wesley So clinched the inaugural championship in 2019, and this year there will be prize money of $150,000 handed to the winner and $85,000 to the runner-up.
If successful, Nepomniachtchi will cap off a successful 2022 during which he also won the Candidates Tournament and sealed qualification for the next World Championship title match.

Nepomniachtchi should have been in line to face current champion Carlsen, but Carlsen has already indicated he will not defend the crown against him, meaning Nepomniachtchi will face off against the Candidates tournament runner-up Ding Liren.