There was no shortage of controversy on day 1 of the World Blitz Championships in Samarkand. A dispute regarding an alleged clock malfunction delayed the start of round 7 by close to an hour, while a 13-move draw featuring only knight moves between Daniil Dubov and Ian Nepomniachtchi resulted in both players losing a half point as their encounter, according to the Chief Arbiter, would “bring the game of chess into disrepute”. Meanwhile, Valentina Gunina got a 1½-point lead in the women’s tournament after finishing day 1 with an astonishing 8½/9 score. | Photo: chess.com / Maria Emelianova
World Blitz Chess Championship Day 1: Dubov, Nepo Punished As Carlsen Shares Lead; Gunina Dazzles With 8 5/9 independantexpress.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from independantexpress.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Alas, even wins against both Karjakin and Nepomniachtchi weren t enough for Daniil to earn a medal. He finished fourth, but thrilled spectators with his creative play and desire to fight in every game. We can t wait to see him online in the Airthings Masters, which starts on 26th December, as well as in the Tata Steel Masters in Wijk aan Zee from January 16th.
Dubov played some fine games but missed out on first place after losing to Vladimir Fedoseev in the penultimate round - he said he didn t regret his choice to take risks, since wins for Ian and Sergey meant a draw wouldn t have been enough to fight for the title | photo: Eteri Kublashvili, ruchess.ru