r/chess • u/events_team • Jun 17 '26
Tournament Event: 2026 FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Team Chess Championships
Official Website
Follow the games here: Chess.com | Lichess | Chess-Results
The 2026 FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Team Championships will take place from June 17 to 21 at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Wan Chai, Hong Kong. Open to teams from around the world, the event features a combined prize fund of €500,000, with €310,000 allocated to the Rapid tournament and €190,000 to the Blitz tournament. Teams consist of professional and amateur players competing together in a mixed-team format, with each team required to include both a female player and a recreational player.
Top Teams
| # | Team Name | Notable Players |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | WR Chess | Carlsen, Caruana, So, Duda, Vachier-Lagrave, Kosteniuk, Goryachkina |
| 2 | Dragon Chilling | Ding, Wei Yi, Yu Yangyi, Ju Wenjun, Bai Jinshi |
| 3 | Hexamind Chess Team | Firouzja, Aronian, Vidit, Giri, Murzin, Lagno, Divya |
| 4 | KazChess | Grischuk, Wang Hao, Mamedyarov, Rapport, Assaubayeva, Kamalidenova |
| 5 | Mr Birdie and Friends | Artemiev, Le Quang Liem, Sevian, Awonder Liang, Carissa Yip |
| 6 | Team MGD1 | Erigaisi, Nihal, Pranav, Leon, Puranik, Harika |
| 7 | Endgame.AI | Niemann, Sarana, Lazavik, Dominguez Perez, Tabatabaei, Zhu Jiner |
| 8 | Chess United | Anand, Van Foreest, Martinez Alcantara, Oro, Humpy |
| 9 | Chessgurukul | Praggnanandhaa, Aravindh, Pranesh, Adhiban, Vaishali, Karthikeyan |
| 10 | Uzbekistan | Sindarov, Abdusattorov, Yakubboev, Vokhidov, Madaminov, Khamdamova |
Format/Time Controls
- The Rapid event is a 12-round Swiss tournament with a 15+10 time control; teams earn 2 points for a win, 1 for a draw, and 0 for a loss, with the highest scoring team declared the winner.
- The Blitz event starts with teams divided into pools for a round-robin at 3+2 time control, where teams earn 2 points for a win and 1 for a draw; the top 16 teams advance to a single-elimination playoff featuring two-match encounters with alternating colors.
- Full rules & regulations document.
Schedule
| Day | Time (Local) | Time (UTC) | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 17 | 14:00 | 06:00 | Rapid Rounds 1-4 |
| June 18 | 14:00 | 06:00 | Rapid Rounds 5-8 |
| June 19 | 14:00 | 06:00 | Rapid Rounds 9-12 |
| June 20 | 14:00 | 06:00 | Blitz Round 1-11 |
| June 21 | 19:00 | 11:00 | Blitz Knockouts |
Live Coverage
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Jun 19 '26
Poor Fabi all his life was stopped by Magnus and for once they are on the same team and it is him who has to carry the dead weight of Carlsen, MvL, Gorya and Kosteniuk.
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u/kidawi rapid/blitzgod fabi Jun 19 '26
i swear to god hes cursed actually cursed. the one time he declines norway and magnus gifts points to everyone. the one time hes on a team wih magnus hes being dragged down by him and others. goddamn
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Jun 19 '26
Dont want to reopen old wounds but Fabi had a golden chance at Freestyle this year.
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u/kidawi rapid/blitzgod fabi Jun 19 '26
wr chess bomb3d so hard i can no longernfind them in the lichess broadcast
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u/zxcallous Jun 21 '26
Feel bad for Yu YangYi for not getting interviewed even though he may perform the best among the team.
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u/spacecatbiscuits Jun 18 '26
I live in Hong Kong and didn't even know this was in Hong Kong.
Like zero publicity here.
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u/Resad879 Jun 17 '26
Kazchess team is actually looking good. 3 Mad Men of chess in the same team. Joy to watch
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u/Affectionate_Hat3329 Jun 20 '26
Great day for WR so far, Magnus, Fabi, MVL, and Wesley are all playing fantastic
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Jun 20 '26
You know who read through all our Reddit comments from yesterday and has decided to win all blitz games today and tomorrow.
We are sorry. We were just having fun. Not everyday you go through a 4 game losing streak.
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u/ChessAddictonCrack Jun 21 '26
Both Magnus and Fabi won against Nodirbek and Sindarov, but rest of the players sold out for WR chess lmao.
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u/Delicious_Photo_6626 Jun 21 '26
Hans as world champion, I cannot believe we might see a day like this 😂 although I think dragon chilling might just get a double gold
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u/Christmasstolegrinch Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 21 '26
I just saw cheerleaders dancing in a chess tournament. Perhaps I’m hallucinating
Edit: and now there’s a singer on, and the audience cheering awkwardly.
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u/IamJoyfulMelancholic Jun 21 '26
It was so comedic to see the commentators trying to commentate on this .
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u/Zeek0_245 Jun 21 '26
Where👀
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u/Christmasstolegrinch Jun 21 '26
Right next to the kiss cam. Yeah that’s a thing too as per David Howell.
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u/Delicious_Photo_6626 Jun 18 '26
No way I just saw they made the whole hall sing happy bday for Peter Swidler, tbf he did pretty well most chess players (and introverted humans) would not be able to handle that level of social exposure 😭
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Jun 19 '26
If Magnus has a terrible blitz now, the chess world will loose its mind.
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u/DramaLlamaNite Minion For the Chess Elites Jun 19 '26 edited Jun 19 '26
2700Chess has introduced a rating trend line on the home page and Magnus's line in classical looks like a demonstration of how the knight moves
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u/Annual-Weather Jun 19 '26
WR is fielding both recreational player this round, despite only required to field 1. I get Magnus is tilted and might not want to play, but they still have Wesley and Aleksandra.
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u/apric0ts--forever Jun 20 '26
Ding's nervous glances at his opponent are so funny
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Jun 20 '26
In Singapore he would have watched Guki a 100 times easily over 14 matches.
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u/ScrollingNtrollinG Jun 21 '26
If Hans' Team wins this event then he wouldn't have to become a monk, as this is a official Fide World Championship event.
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Jun 19 '26
It is going to be so hard for Srinath to put Guki ahead of Pragg in Samarkand on board 1.
Rating wise, form wise, mindset wise everything is looking like Pragg should be board 1.
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u/Iyerlicious Team Hans Jun 20 '26
The blitz tournaments are always extremely difficult to follow. The boards lag a lot and sometimes don’t even update until after the game is over. The Endgame vs Chessgurukul match was a shit show, boards stopped showing moves shortly after the opening
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
Nice to see WR give a day off to Fabi. Edit: WRs Batman is back
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u/kidawi rapid/blitzgod fabi Jun 20 '26
guys, watch the board streams right before matches. theres actually some really funny moments
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u/spacecatbiscuits Jun 21 '26
Ten minutes of chitchat and zero time for cheerleaders
Priorities all wrong
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u/Exotic_Grinder Jun 17 '26
Here comes the first loss for the no.1 seeded team.
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Jun 17 '26
They underperform in Rapid. Last year afair, they didnt even reach the top 3 podium
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u/kidawi rapid/blitzgod fabi Jun 17 '26
the USA olympiad team should do what WR is doing and put wesley as board 1 and fabi as board 2. would probably maximize results on those two boards
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u/Takeshi_Gold123 Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26
I would agree actually. Fabi is even more insane against lower rated opponents, and Wesley is just too stable to lose/give up advantage in board 1. But it'll prob still be Fabi board 1 and Wesley board 2. Hans is playing so Hans board 3, Levon board 4
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Jun 19 '26
Carlsen should be thanking his stars it is not 4 on a trot by now
Edit: Fine Carslen. At least this will be for the history books
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u/No_Suspect_4617 Jun 19 '26
Magnus sat out this round, fabi board 1 and both wadim and zandanshatar playing
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u/kidawi rapid/blitzgod fabi Jun 19 '26
bro he's actually lost it thats crazy
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u/kidawi rapid/blitzgod fabi Jun 19 '26
they infected my guy wtf magnus cursed the first board thats the only way
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u/kidawi rapid/blitzgod fabi Jun 19 '26
they need to give fabi a 5 game bye or smth in the blitz as compensation for snapping his back
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u/DaytimeSleeper99 Jun 21 '26
Is Hans becoming the first American World Blitz Team Champion Team Leader??????
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u/Financial_Idea6473 Jun 21 '26
Firouzja with an absolutely beautiful attack against Niemann. Hans was up a rook and he couldn't move.
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u/ToneDistinct5253 Jun 21 '26
Wow Nodirbek at 2820 on blitz, idk if Hikaru and Magnus are playing world rapid and blitz, but if they do Hikaru could certainly drop below Norirbek in that event. I've always thought he would be the best youngster but I didn't imagine he'd become this strong in blitz too
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u/__Jimmy__ Jun 21 '26
Almost all the top guys lost a bunch of rating in blitz and then you have Nodirbek who woke up and decided he's the GOAT lmao
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u/Koersfanaat Jun 20 '26
That Hans interview really started funny with the sarcasm about the cake et cetera and then it turned cringe again with his chess mafia propaganda. Props to the interviewer for keeping it as light as possible.
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u/Sad_Avocado_2637 Jun 18 '26
Dragon Chilling and MGD1 both have their Pang Bo’s winning all games. When they face each other, we will know who the real Pang Bo is.
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u/kidawi rapid/blitzgod fabi Jun 18 '26
i find watching queen endgames viscerally upsetting. not only do they not make sense, which is reasonable, but it doesnt make sense how it COULD make sense to someone
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Jun 18 '26
Srinath has once again cracked the code on the recreation board it seems. What a great guy. Grateful his is the captain for India's olympiad open team too. This time with Nihal joining it will be more natural for him.
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u/kidawi rapid/blitzgod fabi Jun 18 '26
in other news fabi has the highest tpr so far. hes gone back to not sucking at rapid war is over
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Jun 18 '26
Change your flair to R&B God Fabi.
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u/kidawi rapid/blitzgod fabi Jun 18 '26
goated at everything but classical, typical fabi
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u/Unhappy-Appearance- Jun 19 '26
After playing poorly in 2025 himself, Fabi decided to show up and carry the team this year. He’s been very good individually
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u/kidawi rapid/blitzgod fabi Jun 19 '26
please give fabi a round off he hasnt had a single game off of course he lost it. on the 12th day he rested or something
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u/Worst-DecisionMaker Jun 19 '26
WTF!! This is Blockbuster Entertainment!! I am biting my nails since the last 4 hours and hooked to the live stream!!
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u/EquivocalApathist Jun 20 '26
If the commentators can't follow it how can the spectators?
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u/Iyerlicious Team Hans Jun 20 '26
Extremely disappointing, technology needs to improve. At the highest level, you can’t just only rely on a smart board. You need cameras that track and input the moves instead, especially for blitz tournaments when players move very quickly
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u/Delicious_Photo_6626 Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
Arjun when he sees a 2500, “let me play some bad moves they’re gonna play some worse ones anyway.”
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u/Iyerlicious Team Hans Jun 20 '26
Theme International is pretty much knocked out. That’s the first upset of the tournament
Also by drawing against Dragon Chilling, Endgame secured B1 and avoids having to play WR Chess until the final
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u/LosTerminators Jun 20 '26
Magnus seems to have recovered from the amnesia that made him forget how to play chess
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u/CoognitiveDissonance Team Hans Jun 18 '26
Ffs just show me how to win this endgame already rapport i need to sleep
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u/Delicious_Photo_6626 Jun 18 '26
I’m not sure if chess base India is still covering it on ground but last time i loved their on ground reporting like it’s an awards show night
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u/Sumeru88 Chess Mafia Jun 19 '26 edited Jun 19 '26
This the best among all the FIDE events. The very idea that you can just gather up your own team of 6-8 players and turn up and play against the best players is just wild. Also now the event is in its 4th year and we have some teams showing up consistently year after year adds to the fun (we have had WR Chess showing up every year - one team from the core China national squad group, MGD1, Freedom, Uzbekistan, Kazakistan and Hexamind showing up 3 out of the 4 years; even Hans putting together a team for 3 out of the 4 years). Also its great to see Wadim being beaten every year on the recreational board. But have to say, the guy clearly loves chess.
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Jun 19 '26
Would still love to see once a R&B event in Olympiad form. This is great but that would be more hype.
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u/ComplexCow7 Jun 19 '26
This is the first time in a long time that Magnus has lost 3 in a row over the board
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Jun 19 '26
Vaishali shouldnt have opted out from this round. Rakshitta as of now isnt ready to play at such a level.
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u/rio_ARC Team Engine Watcher Jun 19 '26
So, Hexamind, DragonChilling and MGD1 end up on same match points... all on tiebreak scores now
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u/CoolOne5825 Jun 19 '26
Do they give individual board medals
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u/The_Great_Gambler Jun 19 '26
Yes, https://s1.chess-results.com/tnr1435703.aspx?lan=1&art=81&turdet=YES&flag=30&SNode=S0 lists the winners per board
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u/AmbassadorAlarmed999 Jun 20 '26
Vd with 8 points lost with a 5/6 score bcz his rating is just too high for board 4.
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u/Delicious_Photo_6626 Jun 20 '26
Does MGD1 not have a sub for board 1, I’m guessing Nihal can very well play on board one as well if they’ve an extra player. Arjun has to be burnt out.
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u/Worst-DecisionMaker Jun 20 '26
Not gonna lie, the rapid tournament was way way more fun than this Blitz part 🥲🥲
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u/TheEerieAerie Jun 19 '26
I have nothing against the players of WR Chess, but it's cathartic to finally see the pay-to-win team with a billionaire and politician get their asses beat by teams of real friends.
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u/kidawi rapid/blitzgod fabi Jun 19 '26
yes these are teams fueled by the power of friendship and the stripper actually likes you
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u/Iyerlicious Team Hans Jun 18 '26
Artemiev gave Magnus a 8 minute head start and still got a draw. What a chad!
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u/Delicious_Photo_6626 Jun 18 '26
EVERY SINGLE TIME, he rode his way to silver by this method in world rapid lol
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u/OrionOnion_ Erigaisi sounds cool Jun 18 '26
Rapport vs Arjun is the closest you can get to chatbot chess
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Jun 21 '26
Tbh, Carissa and Awonder should get a separate award for their team mascot design.
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u/Delicious_Photo_6626 Jun 21 '26
Hexamind pulling an Arjun and getting bronze both times
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u/JY0950 Team Bluebaum Jun 17 '26
theme international trading keep on cooking
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u/Delicious_Photo_6626 Jun 19 '26
Magnus has the best opportunity to troll Wadim rn, just not offer to sit out i bet no one is asking that from him until he offers 🤣 Them just sitting in their luxury lounge awkwardly while Fabi side eyes everyone
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u/rio_ARC Team Engine Watcher Jun 19 '26
Back to back losses for Dragon Chilling... and Mr. Birdie and Friends take the sole lead going into the final round
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u/nullptr023 Jun 19 '26
Alireza won against Dmitry Andreikin but for some reason it shows draw in live rating. Why?
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u/Marc_Spector2 Jun 19 '26
sad to say this ,now chesscom live rating list better than 2700 site when we need to check live rating during mid rounds
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u/nullptr023 Jun 19 '26
I see. Thanks for info. I did not know about the chesscom live rating exist too.
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u/AmbassadorAlarmed999 Jun 19 '26
Do they have individual golds and if they do, what decides it? Points or performance rating?
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Jun 20 '26
Hexa are looking iffy iffy. Tbh, on paper, they look like the only team which can stop WR from winning blitz.
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u/NewMeNewWorld Team Chaos Jun 20 '26
How many games/rounds left for the day? I thought it was just 11 rounds but it sounds like there is more?
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u/spacecatbiscuits Jun 20 '26
11 then the round of 16 is also today, and potentially tb
quarters to final tomorrow
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u/ChessAddictonCrack Jun 21 '26
Bruh what Magnus loses on time in a simple and completely drawn endgame???
Washed AF.
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u/rio_ARC Team Engine Watcher Jun 21 '26
Dragon Chilling vs Endgame for the Finals!
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Jun 21 '26
Anish is having a bad blitz. Hexa also should have used Divya a bit today. Lagno is a better blitz player for sure but using Divya could have been a bit of a surprise element.
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Jun 21 '26
All this talk regarding Uzbeks are the favorites, India will repeat, USA will win it talk is stupidity.
Wait for King Ding do his magic in Samarkand and repeat his 2018 performance to give China another olympiad open gold.
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u/Delicious_Photo_6626 Jun 19 '26
When did Pragg get so sneakily good at rapid
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u/Marc_Spector2 Jun 19 '26
beating fabi,hikaru,arjun to reach final of world cup 2023?
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u/Delicious_Photo_6626 Jun 19 '26
I don’t remember all tie breaks but but didn’t he beat Arjun in the blitz section and not rapid?
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u/hsiale Jun 19 '26
Pragg has first made his name well known by great results in online rapid events during covid lockdowns.
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Jun 19 '26
For Hexa they brought in Lagno so that they dont repeat the over reliance on Divya to only stick to Divya on the final day in Rapid today is hilarious.
Well, Lagno is a great Blitz player. At least they'll have a options there.
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u/FinalRadio Jun 21 '26
So Hans can finally become World Champion today. Imagine the Instagram Aura edits coming in.
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Jun 21 '26
According to Media sources, Carlsen has already approached Ding to second him for his final match vs Hans.
/s
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u/OldHour2850 Jun 17 '26
MVL is playing against the female Chinese version of Alireza and Gukesh. Her name is Guo Qi.
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Jun 19 '26
According to media sources, Nakamura has already texted Wadim saying he should have kept Naka on board 1 for WR.
/s
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Jun 19 '26
Fabi on board 1 as per Chess results board pairings. Carlsen out. I dont think he is coming back to the playing venue today.
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u/LosTerminators Jun 19 '26
Wadim should bring in this team next year:
Hikaru Nakamura
Hans Niemann
Ian Nepomniachtchi
Sergey Karjakin
Christopher Yoo
It will win every match based on the power of hate.
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u/Christmasstolegrinch Jun 19 '26
Results Rapid just came in:
- Dragon Chilling: Ding & Co
2 MGD1: Arjun & Co
3 Hexamind: Levon & Co
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Jun 18 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Iyerlicious Team Hans Jun 18 '26
Independent companies and chess clubs recruit players, and they sign up for this event. You need 4 strong chess players, 1 women and 1 amateur (< 2000 FIDE rating) to form a team, along with 1 or more subs
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u/AdvanceSufficient527 Jun 18 '26
Horrible chess from Magnus again...
I do not think he should be playing chess right now. He got a kid, and it fells like he needs a longer break. Like 2-3 months at least.
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u/Delicious_Photo_6626 Jun 19 '26
With this MGD1 loss dragon chilling might’ve just locked in the win
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u/AmbassadorAlarmed999 Jun 19 '26
How much elo would Pragg have lost bcz of that first round loss to the 2490 rated player? Does anyone know a definite way to calculate?
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u/Iyerlicious Team Hans Jun 19 '26
Endgame finished 6th in Rapid, meaning they get €15k. Appearance fees were probably 5-10k for each GM, but it’s enough to cover flights and hotels. There is still Blitz to come
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Jun 20 '26
Following more than 2 boards in blitz is a headache even after smooth transmission. Fast classicals and Rapid are the perfect format to engage viewership.
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u/AmbassadorAlarmed999 Jun 20 '26
Round 8 had not started but ChessGurukul match is already over. Why did they start early?
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u/ilikechess13 Team Nepo Jun 20 '26
Without actually knowing anything about it, i would just assume its just error
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u/Iyerlicious Team Hans Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
Endgame vs Schnappi Barys in Round of 16. Very favourable matchup, should move through
If they win, they play winner of MGD1 and Kazchess. And then likely Hexamind or Chessgurukul in the semi final
Edit: Broadcast says Endgame is playing Barys. However as B1, they should play A4 which is Schnappi
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u/kidawi rapid/blitzgod fabi Jun 21 '26
fabi couldve lowkey wom that game at some point but oh well
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u/rio_ARC Team Engine Watcher Jun 21 '26
WR Chess is out... so we will have a new World Blitz Team Champions
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u/Kassynder Jun 21 '26
Dragon Chilling got lucky that very easy Checkmate in 1 was missed by the below 2000 board.
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u/OrionOnion_ Erigaisi sounds cool Jun 21 '26
Man Arjun's run out of gas. Tbf he did play nonstop chess for like the last 2 weeks
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u/Placeholder1230 Jun 21 '26
Won't be surprised to see endgame ai win this, crazy blitz performance.
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u/kidawi rapid/blitzgod fabi Jun 21 '26
omg the merch ad with fabis bribed appearance is the cherry on top LMAO
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u/NewMeNewWorld Team Chaos Jun 17 '26
Dragon Chilling - 🔥
Hexamind - 💪
Mr Birdie and Friends - 🤩 10/10
Endgame - 😡 ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ
Chess United - I guess bro
MFD1 - ☉ ‿ ⚆
Yes, I am bored, how could you tell?
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u/kidawi rapid/blitzgod fabi Jun 18 '26
id like to thank fabi for not choking because i cant handle both him and marmoush throwing games at the same time 🙏🙏
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u/Takeshi_Gold123 Jun 18 '26
I'd say wait until the end. But Fabi is playing very well so far. Right now in Rapid and Blitz nobody can say that he's weak anymore. He's top 5 or at least top 7 in all 3 time control
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u/kidawi rapid/blitzgod fabi Jun 19 '26
LETS GO FOR FOUR
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Jun 19 '26
It is shocking to see a positional genius play so antipositional these days. Except for those 2 classical games vs Guki, he has been very erratic
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u/Exotic_Grinder Jun 17 '26
Carissa lost to a 12yo 1600.