This is a flash report. The full report, including photos, clips, interviews, and game analysis, will be added soon. 

GMs Magnus Carlsen and Nodirbek Abdusattorov take the lead in Toronto in the 2023 Champions Chess Tour Finals. 

Against GM Fabiano Caruana, Carlsen won game one from a lost position—after losing his queen. After losing the next two games, he won on demand twice to steal the match. Abdusattorov lost his first game against GM Wesley So but then won two consecutive games to live up to his name, the comeback kid.

This is the first of three potential sets in the Semifinals, which will conclude on Thursday, December 14, starting at 12 p.m. ET / 18:00 CET / 10:30 p.m. IST.

We’re nearly at the final stretch of the tournament. The remaining players are guaranteed at least $50,000 at this point (not counting an extra $1,000 per match win).

You can watch the video below to learn about Chess.com’s fair play protocols at this tournament. 

How do we know players aren’t cheating at the #CCTFinals? 🧐 pic.twitter.com/8oiQz9ZoiO

— Chess.com (@chesscom) December 12, 2023

The Semifinals format is similar to tennis—three sets decide a winner. Each set consists of four games and a possible armageddon tiebreak; if the players have an even score after two sets, the third will break the tie. For full format information, read more here.

Carlsen 3-2 Caruana 

GM Rafael Leitao presents our Game of the Day below. (It will be added soon.)

Abdusattorov 2.5-1.5 So