Magnus Carlsen grabs his 5th Speed Chess Championship Title

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The Norwegian chess superstar and well considered to be the greatest chess player to ever play the game has done it again but this time in the field of Chess.com's Speed Chess Championship. He retained his title for the 5th and got a qualification for the Esport Cup coming up in the summer.

It is super impressive to know that Magnus Carlsen is not just a phenomenal player over the chess board but he can also get the job done when it comes to online chess. His final match against Alireza Firouzja was a tough one as the young French star, Firouzja was looking for all means to defeat him like he did to Nakamura in the semi finals.

The Speed Chess Championship is not like any other chess tournament played over the board rather it involves game play over the computer. The event was set up in London for spectators to watch the grand finale of the event and engage with their favourite chess player as well. It was a battle of nerves as every move made on the board involved the use of a mouse and you know what that means. A simple misclick could lead to loss or even a wrong pre-move could cost you the game. The format involved blitz, 5+1 and 3+1, and then bullet 1+1, played over a series of games. It was lovely to watch these players play over the chess board as it is entertaining to see how fast they can be with their calculations.

Time and time again, Carlsen proves he is not just good in rated FIDE chess tournaments, rather he can also get the job done with it comes to fast online play. I was amazed by how he kept his nerves calm, not showing much signs of weakness even when the game did not turn out in his favour. Facing a young star like Firouzja who is a total gangster when it comes to fast chess especially online, he didn't give up any loops to the young man and played him like he would play him in a physical chess tournament where the stakes are high.

Alireza Firouzja did not hold back at all in any of the game. He came with his A-game especially in the blitz section where he did a good job of keeping the score line close to one another. As you would expect from two tactical players with a lot of sharp memorization and recognition of patterns, there was tactics flowing on the board that kept fans at the edge of their sitting wondering what would happen next. I for sure was one of the fans back home that was well entertained by game play from both players.

The final decider for the match came in at the finals of the game where Carlsen prevailed in the bullet section. He used his experience and understanding of certain positions to navigate the game toward that direction where it was much understandable for him to play. Then when time came for simplification, he did it effortless and made it easy for him to grab the win. The time came for Alireza to push for a win with the white pieces and he tried his best in making the position as complicated as possible while he kept pushing for tactics and possible wins. But what kept the game truly impressive was how Magnus was able to maintain and exploit little advantages he got and not in any kind of chess format but in bullet. Oh, that's truly impressive. I have lost winning games in classical chess not to talk about games in bullet and then there is someone out there who is using little advantages to grab a win against a fellow super grandmaster.

The event was truly one to watch and a big congratulations to Magnus Carlsen.

_{I am @samostically, a chess player and writer. I love to share the experience I have gained from different battles over the 64 squares and the knowledgeable insights from books I have read. But most importantly, I am a Midnight Owl and I founded the community Midnight Letters.}