A frantic end to the FTX Crypto Cup’s prelim stage saw a surprise winner and Magnus Carlsen narrowly avoid being knocked early. 

The World Champion survived by the skin of his teeth as the three-day round-robin finished with Fabiano Caruana out on top. 

Caruana may be world number 2, but he is playing in his first Meltwater Champions Chess Tour event and was thought to have struggled to adapt to the rapid format. The American dispelled those myths immediately with a dominant 10/15 to sail into the knockout stage.

However, the real surprise was Carlsen in serious danger of being knocked out at the first hurdle of a Tour event before pulling out a win when it mattered most. Carlsen got the vital point he needed to save the day in a nerve-jangling final round against Airthings Masters champ Teimour Radjabov.

Anything less than a win would have meant Carlsen’s exit at the prelim stage for the first time since elite chess went online last year. The result meant heartbreak for Levon Aronian who had won his final game to pile even more pressure on Carlsen – but when it mattered most the champ held firm. 

“Obviously it’s a massive relief,” Carlsen said after.

Tied for second behind Caruana were four players: Anish Giri, Hikaru Nakamura, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Wesley So all on 9/15. 

Radjabov finished level with Carlsen on 8.5, half a point ahead of this year’s World Championship challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi. 

Like his opponent in November, the Russian also had a rough ride and only just scraped into the top 8 at Aronian’s expense on a tiebreak.

For further information, please contact: 

Leon Watson, PR for Play Magnus Group
leon@chessable.com
+44 7786 078 770