Carlsen, Nepomniachtchi agree to share first place at the World Blitz Championship

It had been a ‘normal’ dramatic day of chess. Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi were deadlocked in the Finals match of the World Blitz Championship, taking some winding paths to get there. Magnus had been up 2-0 in the best-of-four match, needing only a draw to clinch the win, but Nepo won twice to force a sudden death tiebreak. Then after three straight relatively tame draws, it is understood that Magnus suggested to Nepo that they share first place. The rules for the event were that whoever first won a game would win the match, rather than the modern format of eventually settling a match with Armageddon. This shows why Armageddon is used, because a string of draws can prolong a match indefinitely, which presumably neither player was keen on at 7:00 p.m. on New Year’s Eve.

FIDE apparently preferred not to engage in another scuffle with the world #1, and allowed the proposal, sparking quite a mixed reaction from observers.

As a final curiosity, Lei Tingjie and Ju Wenjun played to five straight draws before Ju won the second tiebreak game to become Women’s World Blitz Champion. They may have been interested in the same outcome as Magnus and Nepo had they known it was a possibility.

Photo via Lichess.org