Carlsen and Lazavik to compete in Esports World Cup final
Magnus Carlsen and Denis Lazavik are set to face each other in the final of the Esports World Cup. Carlsen secured his spot by defeating Nihal Sarin 2.5-0.5 and then overcoming Alireza Firouzja with a 4-1 score. Lazavik advanced after victories against Nodirbek Abdusattorov (3-2) and Hikaru Nakamura (3.5-1.5).
The final matches of the Esports World Cup are scheduled to begin on Saturday, August 15, at 4:30 p.m. IST.
Semifinal Encounters
The semifinal matchups mirrored those of the Speed Chess Championship held earlier this year in London, featuring the same four players: Carlsen, Firouzja, Nakamura, and Lazavik. Carlsen described Lazavik’s playing style as “very, very solid positional chess,” noting that he “doesn’t beat himself.”
In his match against Nakamura, Lazavik felt his opponent “didn’t have any chance to win at any point.” Nakamura acknowledged being “probably worse” in the first game and briefly “totally lost.” The match reportedly hinged on the third game, where Nakamura made a critical error, allowing Lazavik to convert the advantage.
Nakamura later blundered a pawn in the next game, leading to his defeat. Despite a “miracle” save involving a sequence of checks and a stalemate tactic, Nakamura ultimately resigned. He attributed his loss in part to spending five minutes on a single move, stating, “in this time control you can’t do that.” Nakamura expressed that Lazavik’s win was “very, very deserved.”
Carlsen’s semifinal against Firouzja was a repeat of the 2025 Esports World Cup Final and the Speed Chess Championship Final. Carlsen considered this his “best performance so far in the tournament.” He noted that his strategy was to “press him on time in a lot of these situations,” which proved effective.
The first game saw Firouzja employ sharp tactics, forcing Carlsen to find a narrow path to hold. Firouzja’s time consumption in this game contributed to Carlsen’s strategy. In the third game, Carlsen observed that Firouzja thought for too long, and Carlsen aimed to create a position that his opponent could not break, leveraging the time difference. Despite a blunder by Carlsen, Firouzja could not navigate the complications with limited time, leading to Carlsen’s win.
Carlsen described the last two games as “absolute bloodbaths,” but he was content with his fighting performance. Firouzja also encountered time trouble in game four, and Carlsen maintained the upper hand for most of the game.
Quarterfinal Results
The quarterfinals saw several intense matches. Arjun Erigaisi and Nihal Sarin, representing India, were eliminated at this stage. Arjun, playing for Gen.G Esports, lost to Team Falcons’ Hikaru Nakamura in an Armageddon tiebreak after their four regulation games ended in draws. Nakamura had previously defeated Arjun in last year’s third-place playoff.
Nihal Sarin faced defending champion Carlsen of Team Liquid, a rematch from last year’s knockout stage. Carlsen won the first two games, and the third ended in a draw, securing a 2.5-0.5 victory for Carlsen.
In other quarterfinal matches, AG.AL’s Denis Lazavik defeated Natus Vincere’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov in Armageddon. Team Falcons’ Alireza Firouzja beat GodLike Esports’ Hans Moke Niemann 2.5-1.5. Arjun and Nihal’s quarterfinal appearances marked India’s best showing in the chess event, with both players receiving USD 75,000 from the tournament’s USD 1.5 million prize pool.
The Esports World Cup Chess playoffs will conclude with the championship match, which will follow a best-of-three sets format. The first two sets will each consist of four games, with a potential third set of two games if needed to determine the champion.
Source: chess.com
