GM Vidit Gujrathi and GM Alexey Sarana won the first and second Play-ins of the Chess.com Global Championship.
Vidit and Sarana advance to the main event along with GMs Rasmus Svane and Oleksandr Bortnyk, victors of the two-game matches between second and third places in each Play-in.
The next events of the Play-in phase continue on Friday, starting at 5 a.m. PT/14:00 CEST and 10 a.m. PT/19:00. If you’re a titled player and would like to have a chance to play against players like GMs Vladimir Kramnik, Viswanathan Anand, and other legends make sure you get verified and play in the next event:
Play-In 1
Vidit finished first with the top tiebreaks of those with 7.5, including his must-win victory vs. GM Samvel Ter-Sahakyan in the last round. Vidit sacrificed a knight to gain pressure against Ter-Sahakyan’s king.
Svane and GM Yaroslav Zherebukh finished second and third, allowing them to battle it out in a two-game match for the second qualification spot. In the first game, Svane gained a lasting advantage in pawn structure and gradually pressed it to victory.
In the next game, Svane played in the complete opposite style, discovering a beautiful attacking shot of 40…Re1! when White’s defenses immediately collapsed.
One fascinating moment of the tournament was GM Benjamin Gledura’s 26. Qe4!! in round five. The move initially looks like a complete blunder but with a closer look is a brilliant deflection tactic.
Treat yourself to this brilliancy! ✅✅✅
This is the brilliant move of the day! ❣️#chesscomglobal pic.twitter.com/elo7oGdLkF
— ChesscomLive (@ChesscomLive) July 11, 2022
Play-In #1 Swiss | Final Standings (Top 10)
| Number | Rk | Fed | Title | Username | Name | Rating | Score | SB |
| 1 | 2 | GM | viditchess | Vidit Gujrathi | 2699 | 7.5 | 42.75 | |
| 2 | 11 | GM | rasmussvane | Rasmus Svane | 2606 | 7.5 | 42 | |
| 3 | 10 | GM | Cruel_Yaro | Yaroslav Zherebukh | 2583 | 7.5 | 39.25 | |
| 4 | 9 | GM | GMBenjaminBok | Benjamin Bok | 2599 | 7.5 | 34 | |
| 5 | 16 | GM | jcibarra | José Carlos Ibarra Jerez | 2548 | 7 | 31.5 | |
| 6 | 8 | GM | Msb2 | Matthias Bluebaum | 2595 | 7 | 30.5 | |
| 7 | 3 | GM | FormerProdigy | David Navara | 2656 | 7 | 27.5 | |
| 8 | 13 | GM | Njal28 | Aram Hakobyan | 2593 | 6.5 | 35.25 | |
| 9 | 6 | GM | Jospem | Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara | 2624 | 6.5 | 34.75 | |
| 10 | 1 | GM | mishanick | Alexey Sarana | 2711 | 6.5 | 33.5 |
(Full final standings here.)
Play-In 2
Sarana also clinched first with 7.5 point and the best tiebreaks. He came through with a victory in the last round against GM David Paravyan, fighting back from a worse position with active piece play.
Bortnyk and IM Denis Lazavik finished second and third. In the first game of their match, Lazavik ripped open his opponent’s king with a tactic. Despite his precarious position, Bortnyk managed to coordinate his pieces and seize the attacking chances for himself.
The second game looked to be a clear victory for Bortnyk when Lazavik made a stunning comeback, triggering an Armageddon playoff!
In the tiebreaker, Bortnyk crashed through on the kingside with a checkmating attack.
Play-In #2 Swiss | Final Standings (Top 10)
| Number | Rk | Fed | Title | Username | Name | Rating | Score | SB |
| 1 | 1 | GM | mishanick | Alexey Sarana | 2711 | 7.5 | 44.5 | |
| 2 | 3 | GM | Oleksandr_Bortnyk | Oleksandr Bortnyk | 2676 | 7.5 | 43.25 | |
| 3 | 16 | IM | DenLaz | Denis Lazavik | 2601 | 7.5 | 43 | |
| 4 | 7 | GM | Njal28 | Aram Hakobyan | 2593 | 7 | 42 | |
| 5 | 15 | GM | BogdanDeac | Bogdan Daniel Deac | 2515 | 7 | 38.25 | |
| 6 | 11 | GM | jcibarra | José Carlos Ibarra Jerez | 2548 | 7 | 37.25 | |
| 7 | 8 | GM | daro94 | Dariusz Swiercz | 2578 | 7 | 34.25 | |
| 8 | 42 | NM | forevery0ung | Jan Malek | 2416 | 7 | 34 | |
| 9 | 59 | aigmodern | Arnulfo Jr Gavilan | 2345 | 7 | 30.75 | ||
| 10 | 20 | FM | Reader777 | Read Samadov | 2511 | 7 | 30.5 |
(Full final standings here.)
The Chess.com Global Championship is a worldwide prize event cycle open to all Chess.com verified players. The event has a $1,000,000 prize fund and brings together players from all around the world with chess legends like GMs Alexei Shirov, Vasyl Ivanchuk, Hou Yifan, and many more. The Play-in phase consists of 16 Swiss tournaments which will award the top-two players from each event with a share of the $60,000 prize fund and a spot in the CGC Knockouts.
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