2020 Clutch Chess International

Woman Grandmaster Tatev Abrahamyan recaps the finals of Clutch Chess International online knockout between Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana.

SAINT LOUIS, MO. (June 14, 2020) – The Clutch Chess International tournament concluded with a gripping final match between World Champion Magnus Carlsen and World Number 2, Fabiano Caruana, with Carlsen claiming victory in the final round and taking home the grand prize of $50,0000 and an additional $25,000 in clutch bonuses. This historical online tournament, hosted by the Saint Louis Chess Club and created by Grandmaster Maurice Ashley, featured electrifying knockout matches that had the audience glued to their seats after every move.

Day one of the Clutch Chess International finals was an absolute thriller from start to finish. The two highest-ranked players, World Champion Magnus Carlsen and Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana faced off in an echo of their 2018 World Championship match. This time around both players left blood on the battlefield; the commentators were enthralled and fans were left on the edge of their seats during the back-and-forth affair.

Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana qualified to the Clutch Chess International finals after defeating Levon Aronian and Wesley So in their respective matches. Carlsen’s four point lead at the beginning of the day allowed for smooth sailing to the finals, whereas Caruana had the titanic task of overcoming a four point deficit in his own match. The world’s number one and two will face off in a 12-game match, reminiscent of their 2018 World Championship match.

The semifinalists returned to action after the rest day ready to fight, as Magnus Carlsen and Wesley So took a commanding four point lead over Levon Aronian and Fabiano Caruana respectively. The matches mirrored each other in results, as neither Caruana nor Aronian were able to find their footing and score a single win. Even with a big score discrepancy, neither match is in the bag as wins in games 11 and 12 will be worth three points each, leaving room for big comebacks. Tomorrow, the two Clutch Chess International finalists will be decided.

Congratulations to Levon Aronian and Fabiano Caruana for defeating Alexander Grischuk and Leinier Dominguez respectively and qualifying to the semifinals. Both matches were highly contentious and were decided in the final clutch game. Dominguez and Grischuk are eliminated from the event, earning $15,000 each, with Grischuk picking up an extra $4,000 for his clutch game victories.

Congratulations to Magnus Carlsen and Wesley So for qualifying to the semifinals after defeating Jeffery Xiong and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave respectively. So clinched the match with a round to spare while the battle between Carlsen and Xiong was a close affair which was decided in the final game. Vachier-Lagrave and Xiong are both eliminated, earning $15,000 each, with Xiong collecting a bonus of $2,000 for defeating the World Champion in clutch game number 5.

Day two of Clutch Chess International featured two exciting match ups: Fabiano Caruana vs Leinier Dominguez and Levon Aronian vs Alexander Grischuk. The all American pairing was a rematch from their last encounter in the previous Clutch Chess USA, which Caruana won in a dominant fashion. He finished the first half of the match with a three point lead. Aronian and Grischuk are two of the most entertaining, creative and well-liked personalities in the chess world and their match today did not lack any flavor. The tumultuous six game struggle ended in the favor of the Armenian Grandmaster, but could have easily gone in the other direction.

The second installment of Clutch Chess has expanded internationally, featuring eight of the world’s top players and a prize fund of $265,000. The quarterfinals of Clutch Chess International kicked off with two exciting matchups: World Champion Magnus Carlsen vs the 19 year old American phenom Jeffery Xiong and the winner of Clutch Chess USA Wesley So vs France’s number one player Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.