"VAN" (Sports Desk - 31.10.2022) :: US Chess Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura gained his first world title, winning the FIDE World Fischer Random Chess Championship today in Reykjavik, Iceland. He defeated Ian Nepomniachtchi, the previous and current challenger for the classical chess world title, winning in a nail-biting “Armageddon” playoff game after their match ended 2-2.
The event was hosted by Iceland to commemorate the legendary chess match in Reykjavik where Bobby Fischer wrested the world champion title from Boris Spassky. The 1972 match was viewed as a Cold War battle between the turbulent American loner Fischer, and the traditionally dominant chess power of the Soviet Union.
Fischer Random, where the initial placement of the pieces are shuffled on the back rank, is a chess variant devised by Fischer to breathe new life into a game gradually being overtaken by deep computer analysis. The starting position is chosen – also randomly – from 959 possible options.
Nakamura, 34, was ranked the number two classical chess player in the world in 2015. He has since become one of the most prominent faces and promoters in the game, amassing millions of followers as a streamer and chess entertainer, and specializing in extremely fast forms of the game. He recently returned to traditional chess and has risen in the rankings again, into the world top 5 despite his long layoff.
Armageddon is played at a quicker pace. The player with the white pieces in Armageddon gets more time on the clock, but loses if the games ends in a draw. Nakamura delivered a win with the white pieces, having 15 minutes versus 13.
The reigning world classical chess champion Magnus Carlsen could only get bronze, after losing to Nepomniachtchi in Semi-Finals.
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