FIDE World Fischer Random Chess Championship 2022

Rank	Player	Rapid rating October 2022	NOD		NEP		WSO		HJO		Pts	GP
1	Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB)	2676			2	2	2	0	2	2	10	10
2	Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE)	2766	0	0			1	2	2	2	7	7
3	Wesley So (USA)	2784	0	2	1	0			2	1	6	5.5
4	Hjörvar Steinn Grétarsson (ISL)	2520	0	0	0	0	0	1			1	1.5

Rank	Player	Rapid rating October 2022	CAR		NAK		FED		BLU		Pts	GP
1	Magnus Carlsen (NOR)	2834			0	1	2	2	2	2	9	8
2	Hikaru Nakamura (USA)	2789	2	1			1	1	2	2	9	7.5
3	Vladimir Fedoseev (FIDE)	2741	0	0	1	1			2	1	5	5.5
4	Matthias Blübaum (GER)	2617	0	0	0	0	0	1			1	3

Day 1A pairing	1	2	GP	Pts
	Rapid
Hjörvar Steinn Grétarsson	½	0	0.5	0
Wesley So	½	1	1.5	2
Nodirbek Abdusattorov	1	1	2	2
Ian Nepomniachtchi	0	0	0	0
Matthias Blübaum	0	½	0.5	0
Hikaru Nakamura	1	½	1.5	2
Magnus Carlsen	1	½	1.5	2
Vladimir Fedoseev	0	½	0.5	0
Starting position[24]	629	629

Day 1B pairing	1	2	GP	Pts
	Rapid
Ian Nepomniachtchi	1	1	2	2
Hjörvar Steinn Grétarsson	0	0	0	0
Wesley So	½	0	0.5	0
Nodirbek Abdusattorov	½	1	1.5	2
Vladimir Fedoseev	1	½	1.5	2
Matthias Blübaum	0	½	0.5	0
Hikaru Nakamura	½	1	1.5	2
Magnus Carlsen	½	0	0.5	0
Starting position[24]	295	295

On day 1, Abdusattorov defeated Nepomniachtchi in 22 moves in the first game after sacrificing his knight for initiative on move 12 and proceeded to win the mini match too. In the first game against So, Abdusattorov defended a rook vs knight and bishop endgame with queens and pawns for each side where he also had to deal with a passed flank pawn for 56 moves where eventually they agreed to a draw on move 82 while he won the second game with relatively clean technique and subsequently the mini match too.

Carlsen also defeated Fedoseev in 25 moves in the first game but blundered the exchange for a pawn on move 26 of the second game. However, Carlsen managed to create a fortress and secured a draw and subsequently the match victory. After drawing the first game against Nakamura where he had offered a bishop sacrifice on move 1 which was not accepted since the queen could eventually be trapped after capturing the bishop, Carlsen again inexplicably blundered a full rook on move 31 of the second game from a slightly better position and resigned 15 moves later, thereby losing the match. Abdusattorov and Nakamura finished the day as the sole leaders of their respective groups with perfect scores.^[25][26]

Day 2A pairing	1	2	GP	Pts
	Rapid
Hjörvar Steinn Grétarsson	0	0	0	0
Nodirbek Abdusattorov	1	1	2	2
Wesley So	1	0	1	1
Ian Nepomniachtchi	0	1	1	1
Matthias Blübaum	0	0	0	0
Magnus Carlsen	1	1	2	2
Hikaru Nakamura	½	½	1	1
Vladimir Fedoseev	½	½	1	1
Starting position[24]	362	362

Day 2B pairing	1	2	GP	Pts
	Rapid
Nodirbek Abdusattorov	1	1	2	2
Hjörvar Steinn Grétarsson	0	0	0	0
Ian Nepomniachtchi	1	1	2	2
Wesley So	0	0	0	0
Magnus Carlsen	½	1	1.5	2
Matthias Blübaum	½	0	0.5	0
Vladimir Fedoseev	½	½	1	1
Hikaru Nakamura	½	½	1	1
Starting position[24]	1	1

On day 2, So was again in middle of a 106 move game but unlike the Abdusattorov game where the latter was under 1 minute with increment for last 30 moves, Nepomniachtchi still had over 9 minutes left when the inaccuracies piled up from move 73. So converted the extra pawn in queen vs queen endgame with pawns for each side to a victory but Nepomniachtchi won the second game of the match and they both received 1 point. In their second match, So blundered thinking that he could castle while being under check since final and initial position of the king are the same and rook will block the check adding that "I think Magnus thought the same", but he resigned after a discussion with the arbiter.^[27] FIDE Laws of Chess state that a necessary condition for castling to be legal is that the initial square, final square and the path of the king to the castling square should not be obstructed or be under attack.^[28] He lost the next game as well by choosing not to go into a theoretically drawn rook vs rook and knight endgame and subsequently the match as well. Fischer's original "Rules of FischerRandom" also state you cannot castle out of check.^[29]

Fedoseev after drawing his first game against Nakamura, sacrificed his knight on move 18 but Nakamura gave the sacrificed knight back in a favourable way and game was eventually agreed to a draw and the match as well. In their second match, after drawing the first game, Fedoseev sacrificed a pawn and the exchange to threaten perpetual check and more from a significantly worse position but Nakamura was not willing to run his king up the board and offered a draw on the next move which was accepted and thereby the match was drawn as well. Abdusattorov being the only player in any group with a perfect score, qualified for the semi-finals whereas Nakamura and Carlsen finished the day as group leaders.^[30][31]

Day 3A pairing	1	2	GP	Pts
	Rapid
Wesley So	0	1	1	1
Hjörvar Steinn Grétarsson	1	0	1	1
Ian Nepomniachtchi	0	0	0	0
Nodirbek Abdusattorov	1	1	2	2
Hikaru Nakamura	1	½	1.5	2
Matthias Blübaum	0	½	0.5	0
Vladimir Fedoseev	½	0	0.5	0
Magnus Carlsen	½	1	1.5	2
Starting position[24]	378	378

Day 3B pairing	1	2	GP	Pts
	Rapid
Hjörvar Steinn Grétarsson	0	0	0	0
Ian Nepomniachtchi	1	1	2	2
Nodirbek Abdusattorov	0	½	0.5	0
Wesley So	1	½	1.5	2
Matthias Blübaum	0	1	1	1
Vladimir Fedoseev	1	0	1	1
Magnus Carlsen	½	½	1	1
Hikaru Nakamura	½	½	1	1
Starting position[24]	385	385

On day 3, Abdusattorov again defeated Nepomniachtchi in 31 moves in their first game while he took 29 moves to win in their second game where the latter had all his pieces except the queen within the 4*2 a7-d8 rectangle by move 23. In his first game against Gretarsson, So blundered forced mate in three moves in a drawn two pawns vs knight endgame with queens for each side and won the second game to receive one point and subsequently Gretarsson also received his first point of the tournament. Carlsen failed to find forced mate in 6 on move 42 of his first game against Fedoseev in a rook and queen vs rook and queen endgame with pawns for each side, and Fedoseev proceeded to sacrifice all his major pieces to set up stalemate and draw the game but Carlsen won the second game and subsequently the match to qualify for the semi-finals. Nepomniachtchi and Nakamura won their matches against Gretarsson and Blübaum respectively to qualify for the semi-finals as well. After losing the first game against Fedoseev, Blübaum received his first point in second game of the match where Fedoseev blundered and flagged in a rook and knight vs rook, knight and pawn endgame on move 82.^[32]

It was revealed that while Carlsen brought Peter Heine Nielsen, Nepomniachtchi brought Nikita Vitiugov, Fedoseev brought Alexander Donchenko and Gretarsson brought Helgi Ólafsson as the registered seconds for consultation of 15 mins after the reveal of position, Abdusattorov, Blübaum, Nakamura and So did not register seconds and the latter two worked as a team while the first two sat alone at the board for preparation.^[33]

Player	1	2	3	4	TB	Total
	Rapid				Armageddon
Hikaru Nakamura	1	1	1	Not required		3
Nodirbek Abdusattorov	0	0	0			0
Ian Nepomniachtchi	0	1	1	1	Not required	3
Magnus Carlsen	1	0	0	0		1
Starting position[24]	187	187	317	317

The semifinal matches produced a notable upset as Ian Nepomniachtchi defeated reigning classical world champion Magnus Carlsen. In their first game Nepomniachtchi was in trouble early as Carlsen missed a win just before the 25-minute time control. The game proceeded to time trouble for both players but Carlsen prevailed in a tense and dramatic ending. After this tough loss Nepomniachtchi rebounded with three straight wins. Carlsen blundered early in the second game and then defended well, but Nepomniachtchi eventually prevailed. The opening position for the third and fourth games featured all the knights in corners of the board, producing problems for the players in the first phase of the game. Carlsen went pawn-grabbing in the third game but this allowed a deadly attack against his king by Nepomniachtchi. Facing a must-win situation in the fourth game Carlsen blundered again as he tried to create risky complications. Nepomniachtchi capitalized to win the match 3-1. In the other match Hikaru Nakamura had a much easier time against Nodirbek Abdusattorov. The first game did get off to a rocky start for the American grandmaster but he defended tenaciously and won when Abdusattorov became too optimistic about his chances. The second game was a much smoother win for Nakamura, and though he tried dubious opening play in the third game, he punished some inaccuracies from Abdusattorov to secure a 3-0 match win.^[34]

Place	Player	1	2	3	4	TB	Total
		Rapid				Armageddon
First	Ian Nepomniachtchi	0	½	1	½	Loss	2
	Hikaru Nakamura	1	½	0	½	Win[35]	2
Third	Nodirbek Abdusattorov	1	0	0	0	Not required	1
	Magnus Carlsen	0	1	1	1		3
Fifth	Vladimir Fedoseev	½	½	1	1	Not required	3
	Wesley So	½	½	0	0		1
Seventh	Hjörvar Steinn Grétarsson	0	½	½	0	Not required	1
	Matthias Blübaum	1	½	½	1		3
Starting position[24]		582	582	347	347	915

The final match between Hikaru Nakamura and Ian Nepomniachtchi for the championship was a memorable affair that went down to an Armageddon game. In the first game of the match Nepomniachtchi fell into time trouble and got tangled in difficult complications, which Nakamura exploited for a convincing win. The second game ended in a draw by repetition, though Nakamura could have pressed his advantageous position. Nepomniachtchi came back with a brilliant sacrificial win in the third game to even the match after Nakamura neglected king safety for too long. The players agreed to a quick draw in the fourth game and went to an Armageddon tiebreak to determine the championship. Nepomniachtchi bid 13 minutes and thus gained draw odds with the black pieces. The Russian grandmaster held the advantage early on and missed a winning chance. Nakamura rebounded with sharp play to create activity for his pieces and then won material on the way to the decisive win and the world championship title. The third, fifth and seventh place matches all ended in 3-1 scorelines. Magnus Carlsen took third place by winning three straight games against Nodirbek Abdusattorov after dropping the first game of the match. Vladimir Fedoseev beat Wesley So for fifth place and Matthias Blübaum defeated local favorite Hjorvar Steinn Gretarsson for seventh place.^[5]