New Delhi: French Grandmaster (GM) Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (MLV) and Kazakhstan’s International Master (IM) Bibisara Assaubayeva won the FIDE World Blitz Chess Championship 2021 at the PGE Narodowy Stadium, Warsaw, on Friday.
Vachier-Lagrave defeated reigning champions Duda, Levon Aronian, and GM Magnus Carlsen, among others, and scored 15 points in the 21-round Swiss Tournament.
GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda and GM Alireza Firouzja scored 15 points each and ranked second and third, respectively. Carlsen had a hard time as he was defeated in 4 games of the event, including the final round against MLV.
On the other hand, 17-year-old IM Bibisara Assaubayeva completed a winning streak by gaining 14 points in 17 rounds. GM Alexandra Kosteniuk finished second with 12.5/17 and GM Valentina Gunina finished in third with 12/17 in the Women’s Blitz Championship.
IM Polina Shuvalova too finished with 12 points, but an inferior tiebreak dragged her to the fourth position.
(Avya Mathur)