A Mystery Inside an Enigma, Wrapped in a New York Sized Bun

While there is little consensus about the results, it was absolutely peak enjoyment to be on site for the 2024 FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championship. This recap is a little later than I hoped, but my recovery from New Year's celebrations took longer than expected :)

As the players began to trickle into the playing hall, some made their first stop at the matchup board. As a spectator, it was an interesting place to see what was going on, and to hear a bit of the player's chatter amongst themselves. Here's the newly minted Rapid World Champion, Volodar Murzin, looking for his first round opponent, and chatting with his longtime coach.

Of course, at the start, most of the buzz of the day was about "the jeans". Here Aryan Tari looks on as Magnus Carlsen takes his seat to begin the second round. Tari was also wearing jeans, and I overheard a player say that Magnus had actually purchased them for Tari. Based on who said it, I tend to believe them.

The legend Vishwanathan Anand was viewing the games from the regular spectator area along with the rest of the fans. He was the only person I was tempted to ask for a selfie, but in the end I just let him enjoy the chess.

Blitz semi-finalist Jan-Krzysztof Duda barely saved a draw after an ill-advised piece sac against Lichess streamer Aleksander Rakhmanov in round 2.

As everyone knows by now, Ian Nepomniatchchi and Magnus Carlsen eventually agreed to share the Blitz World Championship. In round 1, the soon-to-be Blitz World Champion Nepomniatchchi faced Mads Andersen of Denmark's Delayed Alapin. Here, Ian is shown after deciding to sac an exchange for the bishop pair. Andersen soon gave the exchange back, but it was already far too late and he lost.

With only a limited time for photos (the first two rounds), I decided to make my way to the women's playing hall. One grandmaster later commented to me that they thought the women had it better. This was due to the superior lighting at 48 Wall Street and the considerably smaller pool of players. From a spectator's point of view, I thought the reduced size of the viewing area made it a bit harder to enjoy the chess, and the close quarters were somewhat warmer and stuffier in terms of air quality.

Due to the starting times being slightly offset, I managed to arrive in time to catch the start of round 2 of the Women's Blitz. In the image below you can see three of the rising stars of women's chess. In the foreground is India's Divya Deshmukh, who was a commentator for the Lichess stream of the Classical World Championship. Behind is her countrywoman Vaishali Rameshbabu, who had an incredible 9.5/11 on the day.

American Alice Lee is the third of three. I have been a fan of Alice's chess ever since she defeated Bogdan Deac in the 2023 Pro Chess League at age 13. Later in the 9th round, I was watching Alice's game against Poland's Aleksandra Maltsevskaya and as the clock ticked to 3 seconds, Alice pushed her pawn to the 8th rank to promote. Somehow it went flying across the room and Alice inexplicably hit the clock. Aleksandra immediately stopped it and called the chief arbiter, who awarded her the win on the spot.

Aleksandra Maltseskaya defeated Tan Zhongyi in round 2 after the former World Champion blundered mate in a drawn position.

Current Women's Classical World Champion and eventual Blitz Championship winner Ju Wenjun, seated here next to fellow Blitz finalist and Chinese countrywoman Lei Tingjie. Here in round 2, the World Champion was defeated by American Carissa Yip in a sharp bishop and rook endgame after a blunder allowed Yip to capitalize on her two extra pawns. Yip later advanced to the knockouts before being eliminated by Kateryna Lagno.

Quite a few curious things happened during this week in New York that kept the entire chess world riveted. From an international fashion debacle, to a mysteriously missing player, to the first split World Championship in chess history, the drama was heavy. Maybe I am a Carlsen apologist, but I have no problem with the aftermath of his actions. Chess is a game with a limited number of outcomes, and like other World Champions before him, Magnus's disruptive behavior has been a type of metagame against the system. This mini revolt has resulted in more possible outcomes for players, from the dress code to the types of titles. As minor as these outcomes may be, they are something, and we as spectators lose nothing for the players' gains. Even if we ignore the public outrage, Carlsen, on the other hand, has indeed lost a lot. Russia took home both of his World Championships.

Once again, all the photos are my own, and thank you to Lichess for everything.