The Airthings Masters kicked off the new 2022 Meltwater Champions Chess Tour season with a day of drama that saw Magnus Carlsen suffer a nightmare start to the defence of his crown. Norway’s World Champion began the $1.6 million Tour with a clean win over last year’s breakout star Vladislav Artemiev in Round 1. It seemed to suggest he was carrying his recent solid form into this event.
But any thoughts that Carlsen – a notoriously slow starter – would dominate the first day were quickly dispelled. Carlsen’s Round 2 game saw him narrowly escape defeat with a shaky draw against the impressive new World Rapid Champion, 17-year-old Uzbek Nodirbek Abdusattorov.
Carlsen finished that game with a wry smile before almost immediately finding himself in trouble again in Round 3 against the ruthless Russian Andrey Esipenko. Carlsen appeared to play some risky chess and was severely punished by 19-year-old Esipenko – a player the champ had talked up as a threat in the build-up to the tournament. Esipenko’s win was hugely-impressive and followed the victory over Carlsen that announced him on the world stage at Wijk 2021.
Grandmaster David Howell, commentating on the action, called it a “masterpiece of strategic dominance”. Esipenko even revealed afterwards that he had even suffered a disconnection during play – yet still went on to win.
For Carlsen, it got worse. The 31-year-old lost a second game in a row in the final round of the day as defeated world title challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi took revenge on his rival. It was the third win in a row for Nepo, who ended second on the leaderboard on 9 points out of 12. Esipenko goes into day 2, a point further behind. Carlsen, meanwhile, finished way down on 4 points.
Top of the leaderboard is China’s number 1 Ding Liren, who finished undefeated with three wins and a draw.
Out of 32 games, there were only 9 draws – a stat which shows the new Tour format to encourage fighting chess is working. On the first day of the new Tour ratings system, it meant he is now the number 1, overtaking Carlsen.
Nine-time British Women’ Champ Jovanka Houska summed up the action: “Everyone is dangerous here, no-one is an easy opponent!”
Eight go through from the round-robin Prelim stage to the knockout which begins on Wednesday.
Full coverage with commentary is available on chess24.com/tour/ and chess24’s YouTube and Twitch channels.
For further comments contact:
Leon Watson
leon@championschesstour.com
About the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour
The Champions Chess Tour is the leading online chess Tour worldwide determining the world’s best chess player over a full competitive season of online chess. The 2022 season begins in February 2022 and features monthly tournaments culminating in a Final in November 2022. The best chess players in the world are competing in rapid chess. All games take place online on www.chess24.com with players competing for a total prize pool of over USD 1.5 million. For more information visit www.championschesstour.com.
About Play Magnus Group
Play Magnus Group is a global leader in the chess industry focused on providing premier digital experiences for millions of chess players and students. The company offers e-learning and entertainment services via its market leading brands: chess24, Chessable, iChess, New In Chess, Everyman Chess, Silver Knights, Aimchess, the Play Magnus App Suite, and the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. The Group’s mission is to grow chess to make the world a smarter place by encouraging more people to play, watch, study, and earn a living from chess. Play Magnus Group is listed on Euronext Growth Oslo under the ticker PMG.
