MOSCOW, 23 Jul – Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi lost with white pieces to Norwegian Magnus Carlsen in blitz at the third stage of the Grand Chess Tour, which takes place in Zagreb.
On the fourth day of the competition, grandmasters play blitz. Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi played in the fifth round of nine scheduled for Saturday. The Russian chess player takes an intermediate fifth place in the tournament table with the participation of ten grandmasters, Carlsen is the second.
Nepomniachtchi won the Candidates Tournament in Madrid in early July and won the right to play against Carlsen again for the world crown in 2023. However, the Norwegian on Wednesday announced his refusal to play the match for the world title. Now Nepomniachtchi must face the Chinese Ding Liren, who came second in the Candidates Tournament.
Carlsen became world champion in 2013 and defended the title four times. The last time he beat Nepomniachtchi was in 2021.
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