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World Rapid and Blitz Team Chess Championships 2024

The World Rapid and Blitz Team Chess Championships 2024 was a team chess tournament organized by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) to determine the world team champions in chess played under rapid and blitz time controls.

The 2024 tournament between club teams included both rapid and blitz time formats. It organized by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) in collaboration with the KazChess/Kazakhstan Chess Federation (KCF), with financial support from Freedom Holding Corp. The tournament took place from August 1 to 5, 2024, in Astana, Kazakhstan.[1][2]

Overview

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According to the tournament regulations, teams consisted of 6-9 players. Matches between teams in both rapid and blitz were played on six boards, with each team required to have at least one female player (5th board) and one amateur player (6th board) whose FIDE rating in any time control—standard, rapid, or blitz—had never reached 2000 Elo points (as of registration). The team captain could be a playing member.

The 2024 World Rapid Team Championship took place from August 2 to 4 and consisted of 12 rounds using a Swiss system.

The 2024 World Blitz Team Championship was held on August 5 in two phases. In the first phase, teams played in a round-robin format in five groups (A, B, C, D, and E) of 8 teams each. The top three teams from each group, along with the best fourth-placed team, advanced to the knockout phase. The draw for the Round of 16 was conducted based on the standings in the groups and the average ratings of the teams. The top 16 teams then competed in a knockout format: Round of 16 — Quarterfinals — Semifinals — Final.

Participants

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Over 300 participants from around the world formed 40 teams for the competition. Among the participants were both current (Ding Liren and Ju Wenjun) and former world champions (Magnus Carlsen, Hou Yifan, Alexandra Kosteniuk), as well as vice-champions, World Cup winners, and world champions in rapid and blitz from various years.

Most Notable Participants (Ratings as of August 1, 2024)

Achievement Player Team Rapid Rating Blitz Rating
Current World Champions Ding Liren Decade China Team 2775 2785
Ju Wenjun Decade China Team 2540 2500
Former World Champions Magnus Carlsen WR Chess Team 2827 2888
Hou Yifan WR Chess Team 2550 2529
Alexandra Kosteniuk WR Chess Team 2485 2460
Vice-World Champions Ian Nepomniachtchi WR Chess Team 2753 2777
Humpy Koneru Chessy 2456 2432
World Cup Winners Jan-Krzysztof Duda WR Chess Team 2742 2762
Peter Svidler Kazchess 2728 2687
Alexandra Kosteniuk WR Chess Team 2485 2460
Rapid World Champions Nodirbek Abdusattorov WR Chess Team 2732 2669
Daniil Dubov Alain ACMG UAE 2716 2802
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov Kazchess 2687 2712
Ju Wenjun Decade China Team 2540 2500
Kateryna Lagno Alain ACMG UAE 2466 2478
Humpy Koneru Chessy 2456 2432
Anna Muzychuk Chessy 2404 2408
Blitz World Champions Alexander Grischuk Kazchess 2670 2681
Kateryna Lagno Alain ACMG UAE 2466 2478
Bibisara Assaubayeva Kazchess 2434 2457
Anna Muzychuk Chessy 2404 2408

Favorites

Before the championship, based on achievements and the average ratings of team participants in rapid, FIDE identified the following teams as favorites:

  • WR Chess Team – 2582 (Magnus Carlsen, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Hou Yifan, Wadim Rosenstein, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, Vincent Keymer, Alexandra Kosteniuk)
  • Decade China Team – 2559 (Ding Liren, Wei Yi, Wang Yue, Yu Yangyi, Ju Wenjun, Pang Bo, Li Chao, Xu Xiangyu, Li Deyan)
  • Chessy – 2528 (Richard Rapport, Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, Jorden van Foreest, Alexey Sarana, Humpy Koneru, Mukhtar Ainaikul, Aik Martirosyan, Anna Muzychuk, Yagyz Kaan Erdogmus)
  • Alain ACMG UAE – 2519 (Vladislav Artemiev, Daniil Dubov, Parham Maghsoodloo, Dmitry Andreikin, Kateryna Lagno, Wafiya Darvish al-Maamari, Volodar Murzin, Zhu Jinyer, Ibragim Galyamzhanuly)
  • Kazchess – 2510 (Peter Svidler, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Alexander Grischuk, Darmeen Sadvakassov, Bibisara Assaubayeva, Alimzhan Ayapov, Alisher Suleimenov, Aldiyar Ansat, Nurmuhammed Kabinazar)
  • Team MGD1 – 2453 (Arjun Erigaisi, Sunilduth Lina Narayanan, Raunak Sadhwani, Baskaran Adhiban, Harika Dronavalli, Mihir Shah, Vijay Pranav, Narayanan Srinath)

Format and Rules

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The FIDE World Rapid Team Championship was played with a time control of "15+10" (15 minutes per game with a 10-second increment per move starting from the first). It consisted of 12 rounds using a Swiss system. Teams received 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 for a loss. The team with the highest number of team points became the rapid world champion.

The FIDE World Blitz Team Championship was played with a time control of "3+2" (3 minutes per game with a 2-second increment per move starting from the first). It consisted of two phases. In the first phase, teams played in a round-robin format across five groups (A, B, C, D, and E) of 8 teams each. The top three teams from each group, along with the best fourth-placed team, advanced to the knockout phase, where teams competed in a two-match final. The team winning the final was crowned blitz world champion.

Prize Fund

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The total prize fund for the championship was €350,000, distributed as follows:

Place Rapid Blitz
1st €100,000 €40,000
2nd €60,000 €25,000
3rd €40,000 €17,500
4th €25,000 €17,500
5th €12,500 -
1st "under 2400" €12,500 -
Total €250,000 €100,000

Results

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The 2024 FIDE World Rapid Team Championship was won by the team "Al-Ain ACMG UAE" (Vladislav Artemiev, Daniil Dubov, Parham Maghsoodloo, Dmitry Andreikin, Kateryna Lagno, Wafiya Darvish al-Maamari, Volodar Murzin, Zhu Jinyer, Ibragim Galyamzhanuly), who scored 21 team points (10 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss) across 12 matches.

The silver medals went to the "Decade China Team" (20 points), while the bronze medals were awarded to last year's champion, the "WR Chess Team" (19 points). The fourth place was taken by "Chessy" (18 points), and the fifth place went to "Team MGD1" (17 points). The prize for teams with an average rating below 2400 was won by "Royal Chess": starting as the 10th seed (2390), they finished 7th (14 points).

The fate of all medal sets was decided literally "at the last moment": the gold was secured for "Al-Ain ACMG UAE" by the first victory (!) of their top player Daniil Dubov, while Hou Yifan's win helped the defending champion "WR Chess Team" maintain third place.

Notable individual results include a sensational defeat of the reigning champion and rating leader "WR Chess Team" by "Chessy" with a score of 5:1 in the fourth round, where Magnus Carlsen (2827), playing white, chose to stop the clock and resign without waiting for the 24th move of the black pieces commanded by Richard Rapport (2702).

Place Team Games Points TB1 TB2
1 Al-Ain ACMG UAE 12 21 635.5 47
2 Decade China Team 12 20 682 52.5
3 WR Chess Team 12 19 533.5 42.5
4 Chessy 12 18 606 45.5
5 Team MGD1 12 17 583 44
6 Ashdod Chess Club 12 14 545 42.5
7 Royal Chess 12 14 450.5 37
8 Rookies 12 14 432 40
9 GMHans.com 12 13 505.5 37
10 Kazchess 12 13 498.5 40.5
11 Q4Rail Kingsofchess Krakow 12 13 450.5 36.5
12 Hunnu Air 12 13 444 41
13 Theme International Trading 12 13 423 38.5
14 Teniz Kazakhstan 12 13 412.5 39
15 Noval Group Kyrgyzstan 12 13 390 40
16 Greco 12 12 424 42
17 FIDE Management Board 12 12 415.5 36.5
18 World Champions Higher School 12 12 403.5 37
19 Astana-2 12 12 394 38
20 GMs Kazakhstan 12 12 370.5 33
21 Storm of Dragons 12 12 364 38.5
22 Astana-1 12 12 359.5 31
23 Chess Ratel 12 12 350.5 35
24 TKM Chess 12 12 303 38.5
25 Future GM 12 12 275.5 37.5
26 Kyrgyz Chess Academy 12 11 320 34.5
27 Chess Mates 12 11 265.5 34.5
28 Kazakhstan Dream Team 12 11 240.5 30.5
29 Egypt 12 10 329 33.5
30 Helicopter 12 10 271 29.5
31 KRG-Team 12 9 221.5 29.5
32 Abai Chess Team 12 9 220 31.5
33 Chess Empire 12 9 195.5 28.5
34 Chess Dream 12 8 236.5 31
35 VKO Team 12 8 219 29.5
36 Baiterekchess 12 4 190.5 23.5
37 Chessacademy_pvl 12 4 170.5 22.5
38 Abai's Gambit Pioneers 12 4 123 19

Additionally, the top three players on each board were awarded prizes, not just on the six main boards, but across all nine, based on the maximum allowed in the application. The main indicator was the Tournament Performance Rating (TPR), reflecting the level at which a player performed in the tournament, calculated based on the number of games played, points scored, and opponents' ratings.

Gold Medalists by Board:

  1. Magnus Carlsen (2827, "WR Chess Team") – 2895 (6½ points out of 8 possible);
  2. Wei Yi (2771, "Decade China Team") – 2822 (10/12);
  3. Jan-Krzysztof Duda (2742, "WR Chess Team") – 2756 (5½/8);
  4. Dmitry Andreikin (2644, "Al-Ain ACMG UAE") – 2815 (9/10);
  5. Alexey Sarana (2648, "Chessy") – 2681 (7/10);
  6. Klaudia Kulon (2313, "Q4Rail Kingsofchess Krakow") – 2273 (6½/12);
  7. Ju Wenjun (2540, "Decade China Team") – 2451 (8/12);
  8. Bella Khotenashvili (2399, "Ashdod Chess Club") – 2326 (7/12);
  9. Pang Bo (1400, "Decade China Team") – 2624 (11/11).

The 2024 FIDE World Blitz Team Championship was won by the "WR Chess Team" (Magnus Carlsen, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Hou Yifan, Wadim Rosenstein, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, Vincent Keymer, Alexandra Kosteniuk), who defeated "Team MGD1" in the final over two matches. The bronze medals went to the losing semifinalists – "Chessy" and "Al-Ain ACMG UAE."

In the first stage, 40 teams were divided into 5 groups of 8, which played against each other in a round-robin format, similar to the rapid event: team vs. team on six boards, including a woman (5th board) and an amateur player with a blitz rating below 2000 (6th board). In case of a tie in team points, the Sonneborn-Berger coefficient was used for team (TB1) and individual points (TB2).

Group A:

Place Team Games Points TB1 TB2
1 WR Chess Team 7 14 38 84
2 GMHans.com 7 12 31.5 60
3 Rookies 7 10 27.5 40
4 Theme International Trading 7 8 23.5 24
5 Kyrgyz Chess Academy 7 6 19 12
6 Chess Empire 7 4 9 4
7 Storm of Dragons 7 2 15 0
8 Baiterekchess 7 0 4.5 0

Group B:

Place Team Games Points TB1 TB2
1 Al-Ain ACMG UAE 7 12 35 56
2 Team MGD1 7 12 33 60
3 Teniz Kazakhstan 7 10 26.5 36
4 Helicopter 7 6 18 14
5 Egypt 7 5 15.5 10
6 Chess Mates 7 5 14 10
7 Chessacademy_pvl 7 2 8.5 0
8 VKO Team 7 0 5.5 0

Group C:

Place Team Games Points TB1 TB2
1 Decade China Team 7 14 36.5 84
2 Royal Chess 7 12 33.5 60
3 Greco 7 9 25 34
4 GMs Kazakhstan 7 8 23 28
5 FIDE Management Board 7 7 23 20
6 Chess Ratel 7 3 15.5 3
7 Chess Dream 7 3 8 3
8 ChessStar 7 0 3.5 0

Group D:

Place Team Games Points TB1 TB2
1 Chessy 7 14 33 84
2 Ashdod Chess Club 7 12 35 60
3 Astana-2 7 10 25 40
4 Noval Group Kyrgyzstan 7 7 24 23
5 World Champions Higher School 7 6 24.5 14
6 Future GM 7 3 11.5 11
7 KRG-Team 7 2 8.5 6
8 Abai's Gambit Pioneers 7 2 6.5 4

Group E:

Place Team Games Points TB1 TB2
1 Kazchess 7 14 34.5 84
2 Astana-1 7 12 30.5 60
3 Q4Rail Kingsofchess Krakow 7 10 28.5 40
4 Hunnu Air 7 8 26.5 24
5 TKM Chess 7 6 20 12
6 Kazakhstan Dream Team 7 4 12 4
7 Abai Chess Team 7 2 10.5 0
8 ChessStar 7 0 5.5 0

The top three teams from each group advanced to the playoffs, along with the best of the five teams that finished in 4th place – Hunnu Air (Group E). The draw for the round of 16 was conducted based on the teams' placements in their groups and their average ratings. The opponents then faced off in two-match showdowns with alternating colors.

Round of 16:

  • WR Chess Team (No. 1) – Hunnu Air (No. 14) – 4½:1½, 4½:1½
  • Al-Ain ACMG UAE (No. 2) – Astana-1 (No. 11) – 6:0, 3½:2½
  • Greco (No. 15) – Decade China Team (No. 3) – 1½:4½, 2½:3½
  • Chessy (No. 4) – Q4Rail Kingsofchess Krakow (No. 12) – 4:2, 4:2
  • Rookies (No. 13) – Kazchess (No. 5) – 2½:3½, 2:4
  • Team MGD1 (No. 6) – Astana-2 (No. 16) – 5½:½, 4:2
  • Teniz Kazakhstan (No. 12) – Ashdod Chess Club (No. 7) – 3:3, 1:5
  • GMHans.com (No. 9) – Royal Chess (No. 8) – 3½:2½, 5:1

Quarterfinals:

  • GMHans.com – WR Chess Team – 2½:3½, ½:5½
  • Decade China Team – Al-Ain ACMG UAE – 3:3, 3:3, 2½:3½
  • Kazchess - Chessy – 3:3, 1:5
  • Ashdod Chess Club – Team MGD1 – 2:4, 1½:4½

Semifinals:

  • Team MGD1 – Al-Ain ACMG UAE – 3:3, 3:3, 5½:½
  • WR Chess Team – Chessy – 4½:1½, 3:3

Final:

  • Team MGD1 – WR Chess Team – 2½:3½, 3:3

As with the rapid tournament, the top three players on all nine boards were awarded prizes.

Gold Medalists by Board:

  1. Ediz Gurell (2465, "Rookies");
  2. Ian Nepomniachtchi (2777, "WR Chess Team");
  3. Jan-Krzysztof Duda (2762, "WR Chess Team");
  4. Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu (2693, "WR Chess Team");
  5. Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2669, "WR Chess Team");
  6. Harika Dronavalli (2423, "Team MGD1");
  7. Xu Xiangyu (2473, "Decade China Team");
  8. Alexandra Kosteniuk (2460, "WR Chess Team");
  9. Mukhtar Ainaikul (2025, "Chessy").

References

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