Teenager Khagan Ahmad stuns Hikaru Nakamura
Blitz means the games are not worth analyzing. The best way to watch/replay them is through a video. GM Jan Krzysztof Duda (WR Chess) was the best performer among all 53 teams. He scored the highest 11.5/12. Sarbartho Mani (Freedom), GM Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus (Generation XYZA) and GM Arjun Erigaisi (MGD1) scored an unbeaten 11/12 each. GM Andrey Esipenko (KazChess) and Islam Alten (KazChess) also scored 11/12, however, they both suffered a loss each.
13-year-old Khagan Ahmad (Turkish Airlines Sports Club, 2232) scored quite possibly the biggest of the day when he defeated GM Hikaru Nakamura (WR Chess, 2837) in Round 3. The teenager not only scored a hat-trick with this win but also went on to score a triple hat-trick, regstering nine wins in-a-row. It goes without saying that beating the World no.2 gave him an immense confidence boost.
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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 Blitz Pool stage games
Pool A standings
| Rk. | SNo | Team | Games | + | = | - | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | WR Chess Team | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 60 | 264 | 1989,3 |
| 2 | 5 | Ashdod Elit Chess Club | 12 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 56,5 | 211 | 1774 |
| 3 | 7 | Knight Dance | 12 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 19 | 49 | 171 | 1461,8 |
| 4 | 6 | FIDE MB Team | 12 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 44,5 | 136 | 1298,8 |
Pool B standings
| Rk. | SNo | Team | Games | + | = | - | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Freedom | 12 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 62 | 230 | 1960,3 |
| 2 | 6 | Hexamind Chess Team | 12 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 57 | 224 | 1800 |
| 3 | 9 | Theme International Trading | 12 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 19 | 46 | 185 | 1374,3 |
| 4 | 7 | Malcolm's Mates | 12 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 55 | 158 | 1683,3 |
Pool C standings
| Rk. | SNo | Team | Games | + | = | - | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Uzbekistan | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 58 | 264 | 1868,5 |
| 2 | 12 | Germany and Friends | 12 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 55 | 220 | 1755 |
| 3 | 6 | Rookies | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 20 | 51 | 180 | 1614,8 |
| 4 | 9 | Generation XYZA | 12 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 52,5 | 131 | 1626,3 |
Pool D standings
| Rk. | SNo | Team | Games | + | = | - | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Team MGD1 | 12 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 61 | 233 | 1855,3 |
| 2 | 14 | KazChess | 12 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 57,5 | 230 | 1822,5 |
| 3 | 8 | Hetman GKS Katowice | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 20 | 50,5 | 172 | 1429,5 |
| 4 | 11 | Barys.kz | 12 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 48,5 | 151 | 1408,3 |
KO stage pairings
| Round of 16 | |||
| No. | Team | Game 1 | TB1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A1 WR Chess Team | 0 | |
| 8 | B4 Malcolm's Mates | 0 | |
| 15 | D3 Hetman GKS Katowice | 0 | |
| 10 | C2 Germany and Friends | 0 | |
| 13 | D1 Team MGD1 | 0 | |
| 12 | C4 Generation XYZA | 0 | |
| 3 | A3 Knight Dance | 0 | |
| 6 | B2 Hexamind Chess Team | 0 | |
| 5 | B1 Freedom | 0 | |
| 4 | A4 FIDE MB Team | 0 | |
| 11 | C3 Rookies | 0 | |
| 14 | D2 KazChess | 0 | |
| 9 | C1 Uzbekistan | 0 | |
| 16 | D4 Barys.kz | 0 | |
| 7 | B3 Theme International Trading | 0 | |
| 2 | A2 Ashdod Elit Chess Club | 0 | |
