2020 Champions Showdown: Chess 9LX

The big rivalry of the summer between World Champion Magnus Carlsen and U.S. Champion Hikaru Nakamura was reignited in the final day of Champions Showdown: Chess9LX. The duo famously played a marathon match in the Magnus Carlsen Invitational in August, which came down to the wire and was decided in an Armageddon game in favor of the World Champion. This time, there was no tiebreaker and the two giants were declared co-champions of the 2020 edition of Chess9LX, collecting $31,250 each for their efforts. World Number Two Fabiano Caruana and former World Rapid Champion Levon Aronian finished half a point behind the winners, tying for third place and collecting $17,500 each.

Day two of Champions Showdown: Chess9LX was action packed. After winning all three games, Levon Aronian emerged as the new leader, half a point ahead of Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura and Wesley So. In the postgame interview, Aronian remarked that he spent more time preparing and doing tactics before the games today and felt that he was playing “with more passion.” He still has his work cut out for him as he faces Garry Kasparov, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Magnus Carlsen on the final day. With $37,500 and the title on the line, tomorrow promises to be a thriller.

The 2020 Champions Showdown: Chess 9LX set the stage for a long anticipated event in the chess world. For the first time since their only encounter in 2004, World Champions Garry Kasparov and Magnus Carlsen were set to face off again, this time in Fischer Random. Fans weren’t left waiting, as the two were paired in the second round of the Champions Showdown. The epic battle drew the attention of the entire chess world, who were delighted to see two of the best chess players in history square off.