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CCT Finals (Day 2): Carlsen Beats World Numbers 2 And 3 Back To Back

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CCT Finals (Day 2): Carlsen Beats World Numbers 2 And 3 Back To Back

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Just two players are left on a perfect score after four rounds across two days, GMs Magnus Carlsen and Wesley So. They have won all four matches they have played at the 2023 Champions Chess Tour Finals so far.

Carlsen defeated two of his greatest rivals, GMs Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura, back to back. So, on his end, shut down both French players in the event, GMs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Alireza Firouzja. GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov recovered from a poor day one by winning both matches, while GM Denis Lazavik won his first match in the tournament.

Rounds five and six of the round-robin will be on Monday, December 11, starting at 12 p.m. ET / 18:00 CEST / 22:30 p.m. IST.

Standings | Round-Robin 


Sunday was full of new opportunities for players with a shaky start in the first two rounds. Abdusattorov had the greatest recovery, winning both of his matches after finishing day one with zero points.

The shirt of the day was undoubtedly Firouzja’s. 

Every player has won at least one match so far. For those with a slow start, there’s still hope. Nobody will be eliminated until Tuesday—and, in the round-robin, finishing in the top six means making it at least to the Survival Stage. 

Round 3: Carlsen Beats Caruana, Nakamura Recovers

Carlsen and So continued their perfect runs with 3/3 match wins, while Nakamura and Abdusattorov won matches for the first time.

Carlsen 1.5-0.5 Caruana 

The clash of world number-one vs. world number-two was the marquee matchup of the round. In their 2018 world championship match, Carlsen won all three of the rapid tiebreak games, but since then Caruana has greatly stepped up his speed-chess game. Most recently, he finished first in the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz before also winning the Sinquefield Cup and the Grand Chess Tour.

Carlsen, with White, tried the Catalan Opening in game one, but Caruana held a pawn-down endgame. 

Caruana showed excellent preparation against the Catalan. Photo: Thomas Tischio.

About game two, Carlsen said: “I decided to play a somewhat unusual opening, gunning for a fight, and he was all for it.” Carlsen sacrificed a pawn and, later, when Caruana had the opportunity to repeat the position soon, Hess foretold: “His position is quite in danger of crumbling if he continues this game.”

“His position is quite in danger of crumbling if he continues this game.

—Robert Hess 

Continue he did—and the prediction came true. GM Rafael Leitao analyzes the game below.

Asked if it gives him special pleasure to beat the former world championship challenger, Carlsen answered: “Yeah, but I’ve played with him for many years.”

Nakamura 2-0 Firouzja

Going into the match, Firouzja had good reason to be confident. He nearly won both his matches the previous day, losing to only Caruana in the armageddon, while Nakamura lost both of his. 

“A wounded beast is a dangerous beast,” said Sachdev after the match, as Nakamura won both games.

A wounded beast is a dangerous beast.

—Tania Sachdev

Nakamura didn’t look so wounded in round three! Photo: Thomas Tischio/Chess.com.

45.Rd6!, the only winning move, in the first game was an incisive finish. There was no defense to the threat of taking on f6 with an irresistible attack.

Nakamura, needing just a draw, even won the second game too after trapping his opponent’s knight. What a night-and-day performance after Saturday’s debacle!

So 2-1 Vachier-Lagrave

These two veterans faced off recently in St. Louis. While they drew their classical game in the Sinquefield Cup, it was Vachier-Lagrave who had won their rapid game the week before. But after losing game one, So won the next two to keep his Toronto dream alive.

In game one, after sacrificing the exchange in the opening, Vachier-Lagrave dropped the mic with the queen sacrifice 34…Qh4!, the move that provoked collapse.

So won the next game on demand with Black. And, in the armageddon, after bidding just under nine minutes and even seeming to regret his decision just seconds later, he defended against the Frenchman’s fearsome and sacrificial attack.

For a single move, So nearly blundered his queen, but he was able to hold the draw in the end. After the game, he said of the nerve-racking encounter: “It seems that, based on history, I just can’t play chess against Maxime. I don’t want to play him again!”

I don’t want to play him again!

—Wesley So 

Abdusattorov 2-1 Lazavik

The two youngest players in the field had an even score in rapid chess, 3-3 with one draw. It was the tamest match in round three, and Abdusattorov won the armageddon after two draws.

The first game was a relatively uneventful draw; in the second, Abdusattorov had a winning rook endgame in the end but was unable to find the precise continuation.

Abdusattorov was up a pawn, but it wasn’t enough in game two. Photo: Thomas Tischio/Chess.com.

“After yesterday’s experience, I chose to play with White,” said the Uzbek grandmaster, who had lost with Black against Carlsen the day before, about the armageddon game. Playing with 15 minutes against 10 minutes, the Olympiad gold medalist converted a difficult rook endgame to win his first match in the event.

Round 4: Three Armageddons Leave Carlsen, So On Top

Just as on Saturday, the second round of the day had three armageddon games in store. Only Abdusattorov won his match, with an impressive 2-0 score against Caruana.

Carlsen 2-1 Nakamura

Like Carlsen vs. Caruana in round three, this was the marquee matchup in round four. 

Nakamura showed his intention to play sidelines. In the first game, he played the Austrian Variation of the Queen’s Gambit Declined with Black, while he essayed the Trompowsky Opening with White in game two—which could not be a surprise since he had played it the day before. Still, both games ended in well-played draws.

Off to the armageddon they went. Carlsen bid 15 minutes and guaranteed himself the white pieces. Nakamura would have nine minutes 40 seconds but with draw odds.

For the second time in the day, Nakamura opted for the Damiano Variation of the Petroff. Carlsen objectively didn’t get much but had nagging pressure for a while: “To be honest, he’d been under pressure for a long time there, so I’m not shocked that he blundered.” 29.g6 weakened the dark squares and lost the game, but the alternative of sacrificing a pawn wasn’t too inspiring either.

After the game, Carlsen stated: “If I play at my best, I usually do pretty well.” He also prolonged the interview a bit with “I don’t think we’re quite done” and revealed why he’s been coming in early:

So 2-1 Firouzja

In St. Louis, the last time they had met over the board, So and Firouzja drew all four games they played—one classical, one rapid, and two blitz. But So won in Toronto to continue with 4/4 match wins, and he said afterward: “My goal before the start of the tournament was to finish in the top six. Like, at least not to go home so early…. I couldn’t have asked for a better start. It’s crazy.”

My goal before the start of the tournament was to finish in the top six.

—Wesley So

Firouzja held his own with Black in the Italian Opening in game one. He came with an opening novelty against the Berlin Defense in game two, 13.Rf4N, but it was not enough to take down one of the world’s most solid players.

Winning chances are hard to come by against So. Photo: Thomas Tischio.

So had White in the armageddon against just under nine minutes. Firouzja played the solid Petroff but didn’t respond properly after 16.g4!. The game ended quickly as So switched from a kingside attack to simply winning a pawn on d6.

Only So and Carlsen are on a perfect score now, and they’ll play in round five on Monday. So said: “It’s up to him which Magnus shows up. I hope the best Magnus doesn’t show up, but if he does, it’ll be an uphill battle.”

I hope the best Magnus doesn’t show up, but if he does, it’ll be an uphill battle.

—Wesley So

Caruana 0-2 Abdusattorov

Both players will surely remember their Grand Final match at the ChessKid Cup, where Abdusattorov prevailed and thus qualified for the CCT Finals. Abdusattorov proved his prowess in rapid chess with a sweep.

The only decisive game on the four boards was this one. Abdusattorov won a topsy-turvy rook endgame where he fumbled a two-pawn-up position but then salvaged the victory even after Caruana had a path to equality.

Caruana, playing White in a must-win second game, accepted an isolated queen’s pawn, trying for an imbalance, but only Black was better. Abdusattorov went on to transform a crushing attack into a material advantage—ultimately winning the endgame with the extra exchange.

After the match, Abdusattorov reflected that he played “really well,” especially in the second game. He added: “Also [Caruana] played Magnus and after losing to him, maybe he was a little bit frustrated. After beating Lazavik, I was very confident and I was really in good shape.”

Lazavik 2-1 Vachier-Lagrave 

Neither player got anything out of the opening in the regular games. Vachier-Lagrave proved nothing against the Berlin Defense in game one, while Lazavik’s Zukertort Opening in the second game didn’t set any challenges either.

The round’s third armageddon awarded Denis “the Menace” his first victory in the CCT. Vachier-Lagrave, playing the black pieces with nine minutes and 24 seconds, essayed the Queen’s Gambit Accepted, his replacement for the Grunfeld in recent times, but landed into big trouble on the dark squares:

“Denis may be a teenager, but he’s not kiddin’ around!” said Hess after the game. It was a huge victory for the prodigy who had won Titled Tuesday when he was a 15-year-old FIDE master.

Carlsen vs. So on Monday will be the most important matchup in round five. They’ve been perfect until now, but just one of them can maintain a perfect score after the day’s first round. We should also point out the all-French duel in Firouzja vs. Vachier-Lagrave!

The 2023 Champions Chess Tour Finals (CCT Finals) is the closing event of the Champions Chess Tour, Chess.com’s most important event to date. The players meet in Toronto, Canada, in a thrilling last clash for the title. The Finals start on December 9 at 12 p.m. ET/18:00 CET/22:30 IST and feature a $500,000 prize fund.

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