Nepomniachtchi, Nakamura and Abdusattorov also advance to the QF
The time control for all games is 10 minutes with no increment. All players are allowed to wear noise-canceling headphones and also listen to their choice of music if they wish to. This is on par with all chess esports events. Apart from US$ 1.5 Million prize fund, the chess players are also part esports teams of a shared $27 Million prize fund. As per the rules of the tournament, the loser of a match gets their key crushed by their opponent.
Group A: Ian Nepomniachtchi (Aurora Gaming)
GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (Aurora Gaming) defeated GM Vladislav Artemiev (Team Spirit) by 1.5-0.5 and then GM Andrey Esipenko (Virtus.pro) by 2-1 to secure his place in the Quarterfinals.
Group B: Nihal Sarin (S8UL Esports)
GM Nihal Sarin (S8UL Esports) won both matches without suffering a single loss. First, he defeated GM Anish Giri (Team Secret) 2-0. In the next match, he won 1.5-0.5 against GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Team Vitality).
Group C: Hikaru Nakamura (Team Falcons)
GM Hikaru Nakamura (Team Falcons) defeated GM Wei Yi (Weibo Gaming) 2-1 to secure his place in the Quarterfinals.
Group D: Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Team Liquid)
GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (NAVI) won against GM Fabiano Caruana (Team Liquid) and GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Twisted Minds) with the same score 2-1 each.
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