Norway’s Magnus Carlsen and Russia’s Aleksandra Goryachkina on Sunday, December 28, won the World Rapid titles. The former claimed his sixth world rapid title by finishing a full point clear of the field
with 10.5/13 at the 2025 FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship.
It marked Carlsen’s 19th world championship title across all three time controls, earning him €70,000 (Rs 74 lakh), with GM Vladislav Artemiev finishing second and GM Arjun Erigaisi taking third place.
Meanwhile, after a series of dramatic twists, Goryachkina beat GM Zhu Jiner to clinch her maiden world rapid championship title and €40,000 (Rs 42.31 lakh) in prize money.
Zhu placed second, while GM Koneru Humpy, also part of the three-way tie for first, finished third.
Humpy, the winner of the world rapid title in 2019 and 2024, tied for the top spot with Jiner and Goryachkina at 8.5 points, after the 11th and final round.
However, under the International Chess Federation’s tie-break criteria, Buchholz Cut 1, Buchholz and opponents’ average rapid rating, Humpy finished behind Zhu and Goryachkina, settling for third after coming close to a third world rapid title.
After taking his seventh-round defeat to Artemiev to heart, Carlsen stormed back with three straight victories on the final day, built a one-point lead and then drew the 13th and final round against Dutch GM Anish Giri to finish on 10.5 points.
Russian GM Artemiev finished second on 9.5 points, while Erigaisi’s victory over compatriot Aleksandr Shimanov lifted him to 9.5 and bagged the bronze ahead of American Hans Niemann and Cuban-American Leinier Domínguez, both also on 9.5.
The world champion in classical chess, D. Gukesh (8.5 points), finished 20th, while Nihal Sarin (8.5) was 19th. R. Praggnanandhaa, also on 8.5, was 27th.
The World Blitz Championships will commence on Monday with eight-time champion Carlsen favourite in the event.
Results: Open – 1. Magnus Carlsen (Nor) 10.5, 2. Vladislav Artemiev (FIDE) 9.5, 3. Arjun Erigaisi (9.5).
Women – 1. Aleksandra Goryachkina (FIDE) 8.5 (Tiebreaker 1.5), 2. Zhu Jiner (CHN) 8.5 (Tiebreaker 0.5), 3. Koneru Humpy (IND) 8.5.
