World Rapid Teams R1-4: MGD1 makes a perfect start
MGD1 has made a perfect start by winning all four of their matches on the first day of FIDE World Rapid Team Championship 2025. Uzbekistan lost to MGD1 by a minimum margin 2.5-3.5. WR Chess, Freedom and Malcolm's Mates are at 7/8 each. Each of those three teams drew one match. Both Arjun Erigaisi and Pentala Harikrishna suffered a loss each. However, they are the top two players of the team and would certainly like to continue their momentum. Vishy Anand played two games for his team and he won both. Sarbartho Mani scored 3/4 including a walk over. Four more rounds of Rapid will be played today. Round 1 starts today at 2 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Abhyudaya Ram
Vishy Anand wins two out of two
Round 1: A comfortable start for the top seeds
WR Chess Team and Uzbekistan scored 6-0 whitewash victories over Sassy Seniors and Berlin Chess Federation respectively. KazChess and Malcolm's Mates won 4.5-1.5 against Turkish Airlines Sports Club and Mongolia-B respectively. Freedom and Team MGD1 won 5.5-0.5 and 1-5 against Mother Continent and The MongolZ respectively. GM Vishy Anand (Freedom, 2719) won an exciting battle against the Madagascar no.1, IM Fy Antenaina Rakotomaharo (Mother Continent, 2404).
Replay Freedom - Mother Continent games
Round 2: Ediz stuns MVL
Generation XYZA lost to WR Chess Team 2-4. However, GM Ediz Gurel (GXYZA, 2452) scored the sole win for the team against GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (WRCT, 2735). MGD1 defeated Barys.kz 5-1.
Vachier-Lagrave - Ediz
Ediz played 35...Qxh5, even 35...e3 is also winning for Black. Due to being low on time, Ediz's win took slightly longer as he took relatively cautious approach.
Replay Generation XYZA - WR Chess Team games
Uzbekistan defeated Hetman GKS Katowice 4.5-1.5. GM David Navara (HGKSK, 2671) scored the sole win for the team against GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB, 2732) who blundered in the bishop and knight vs rook endgame.
Replay Uzbekistan - Hetman GKS Katowice games
FIDE MB Team lost to Freedom 0.5-5.5. Sarbartho Mani (Freedom, 1871) scored his first win of the round against Stepan Zaiarski (1764).
Replay FIDE MB - Freedom games
Round 3: To touch or not to touch?
WR Chess defeated Ashdod Elit Chess Club 4-2. GM Alireza Firouzja (WRCT, 2753) won an exciting battle against GM Nihal Sarin (AECC, 2676). GM Pavel Eljanov (AECC, 2734) missed an opportunity to win against GM Hikaru Nakamura (WRCT, 2614). GM Alexandra Kosteniul (WRCT, 2483) drew against IM Yuliia Osmak (AECC, 2343) after the former played for 37 moves with only two knights on the board.
Firouzja - Nihal
The rook and knight vs rook and few pawns endgame was quite rich and complex. Here, Black had to go 60...Rg4 to keep draw chances. Instead, he played 60...Rh1?? in time trouble and went on to lose the game.
Replay WR Chess Team - Ashdod Elit Chess Club games
Whether GM Anish Giri (Hexamind Chess Team, 2688) touched his knight or not, he was winning either way against IM Aldiyar Ansat (KazChess, 2383). Giri tweeted the same.
Replay Hexamind Chess Team - KazChess games
Rishon LeZion Chess Club lost to Team MGD1 by 1.5-4.5. GM Arjun Erigaisi (MGD1, 2708) defeated FIDE World Cup 2009 winner, GM Boris Gelfand (RLCC, 2708). GM Pentala Harikrishna (MGD1, 2634) suffered the sole loss of his team against GM Maxim Rodshtein (RLCC, 2603).
Replay Rishon LeZion Chess Club - Team MGD1 games
Round 4: Freedom draws against WR Chess, Uzbekistan goes down against MGD1
GM Samuel Sevian (2636) and Sarbartho Mani (1871) scored the crucial victories for Freedom, while GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2735) and GM Wesley So (2714) won their respective games to ensure a 3-3 draw. Sarbartho, who recently joined DDDBCA (Dhanuka Dhunseri Dibyendu Barua Chess Academy), finished the first day with a win over Wadim Rosenstein, the main sponsor of his team, WR Chess and also the one instrumental in this tournament - World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships.
Replay Freedom - WR Chess games
Uzbekistan lost 2.5-3.5 against MGD1. GM Leon Luke Mendonca (2477) and Atharvaa P Tayade (1952) scored the key wins for their team MGD1 over GM Shamsiddin Vokhidov (2519) and WFM Nilufarkhon Imomkuzieva (1943) respectively.
Replay Uzbekistan - MGD1 games
Replay live stream
Venue
The venue for the event is Novotel London West in London, England.
Prize
The total prize fund is €500000 combining Rapid and Blitz, €310000 in Rapid and €190000 in Blitz. There are six prizes in Rapid - top five and two rating categories. The top three prizes are: €110000, 70000 and 50000 each respectively. Best U2400 and U2200 will earn €10000 and €5000 each respectively. For Blitz, the number of prizes got increased to five from four. The top three are - €75000, €50000 and €30000 each.
Replay Round 1-4 games
Round 4 results
| No. | SNo | Team | Pts. | MP | Res. | : | Res. | MP | Pts. | Team | SNo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Freedom | 15 | 6 | 3 | : | 3 | 6 | 14 | WR Chess Team | 1 |
| 2 | 4 | Uzbekistan | 15 | 6 | 2½ | : | 3½ | 6 | 14½ | Team MGD1 | 6 |
| 3 | 3 | Malcolm's Mates | 11 | 5 | 3½ | : | 2½ | 6 | 14 | Hexamind Chess Team | 9 |
| 4 | 2 | KazChess | 10½ | 4 | 4½ | : | 1½ | 5 | 12½ | Mongolia-A | 25 |
| 5 | 17 | FIDE MB Team | 9½ | 4 | 2 | : | 4 | 4 | 10½ | Germany and Friends | 7 |
| 6 | 8 | Ashdod Elit Chess Club | 11½ | 4 | 4½ | : | 1½ | 4 | 11½ | Barys.kz | 18 |
| 7 | 19 | Theme International Trading | 10½ | 4 | 3 | : | 3 | 4 | 13 | Knight Dance | 10 |
| 8 | 11 | Team Hungary | 10½ | 4 | 3 | : | 3 | 4 | 12 | Rookies | 21 |
| 9 | 22 | Wood Green | 9 | 4 | 2 | : | 4 | 4 | 10½ | Rishon LeZion Chess Club | 12 |
| 10 | 24 | Sharks 4NCL | 10 | 4 | 3 | : | 3 | 4 | 11 | Generation XYZA | 13 |
Standings after Round 4
| Rk. | SNo | Team | Games | + | = | - | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Team MGD1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 68 | 18 | 16 |
| 2 | 1 | WR Chess Team | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 65 | 17 | 18 |
| 3 | 5 | Freedom | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 63 | 18 | 16 |
| 4 | 3 | Malcolm's Mates | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 53,5 | 14,5 | 16 |
| 5 | 2 | KazChess | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 63 | 15 | 18 |
| 6 | 9 | Hexamind Chess Team | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 62,5 | 16,5 | 17 |
| 7 | 4 | Uzbekistan | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 60,5 | 17,5 | 17 |
| 8 | 14 | Duobeniajan Costa Calida ESJ | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 53,5 | 17 | 13 |
| 9 | 8 | Ashdod Elit Chess Club | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 52 | 16 | 16 |
| 10 | 7 | Germany and Friends | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 44,5 | 14,5 | 13 |
Round 5 pairings
| No. | SNo | Team | Pts. | MP | Res. | : | Res. | MP | Pts. | Team | SNo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Team MGD1 | 18 | 8 | : | 7 | 18 | Freedom | 5 | ||
| 2 | 1 | WR Chess Team | 17 | 7 | : | 7 | 14½ | Malcolm's Mates | 3 | ||
| 3 | 12 | Rishon LeZion Chess Club | 14½ | 6 | : | 6 | 15 | KazChess | 2 | ||
| 4 | 9 | Hexamind Chess Team | 16½ | 6 | : | 6 | 17½ | Uzbekistan | 4 | ||
| 5 | 7 | Germany and Friends | 14½ | 6 | : | 6 | 17 | Duobeniajan Costa Calida ESJ | 14 | ||
| 6 | 28 | Turkish Airlines Sports Club | 16½ | 6 | : | 6 | 16 | Ashdod Elit Chess Club | 8 | ||
| 7 | 21 | Rookies | 15 | 5 | : | 5 | 16 | Knight Dance | 10 | ||
| 8 | 11 | Team Hungary | 13½ | 5 | : | 5 | 13½ | Theme International Trading | 19 | ||
| 9 | 13 | Generation XYZA | 14 | 5 | : | 5 | 12 | Perfect | 23 | ||
| 10 | 15 | Global Ramblers | 15½ | 5 | : | 5 | 13 | Sharks 4NCL | 24 |
Links
|
World Rapid Teams R5-8: Hexamind hexes MGD1 to join the lead
@ 13/06/2025 by Shahid Ahmed (en) |
|
Anand, Arjun, Nihal, Vidit, Harikrishna and co. set for FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Team 2025 starting today
@ 11/06/2025 by ChessBase India (en) |
|
FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships 2025 tickets go on sale
@ 17/05/2025 by ChessBase India (en) |
|
Last chance to join FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships 2025 in London
@ 09/05/2025 by Shahid Ahmed (en) |