Carlsen claims ninth World Blitz title as Assaubayeva secures third crown

Twenty world titles overall!

The FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championships came to a close in Doha on Tuesday with a long and eventful final day in the World Blitz Championships. The schedule in the open combined the last six rounds of the 19-round Swiss stage with the four-player decisive knockout.

Magnus Carlsen once again emerged as world blitz champion. Despite finishing the first day of blitz play a full point behind the leaders and starting Tuesday with a loss, the Norwegian recovered to qualify for the knockout stage and then won both matches to claim the title. This victory gives Carlsen nine World Blitz Championship titles and brings his overall tally of world championship titles to twenty: five in classical chess, six in rapid and nine in blitz!

In total, eighteen FIDE-recognised World Blitz Championships have been organised: five between 2006 and 2010, and thirteen from 2012 to 2025. Carlsen has now won nine of those eighteen. His 2024 title was shared with Ian Nepomniachtchi, while his first world blitz crown came in 2009 in Moscow, when he was just 18 years old. He has now, remarkably, won seven of the last eight editions.

Carlsen has repeatedly argued that the blitz format, with its larger number of rounds, tends to be less random than the rapid championship, where large fields and shorter schedules can allow chance to play a more decisive role.

The podium of the World Blitz Championship, with the twenty-time world champion Magnus Carlsen standing in the centre! | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes

Swiss stage: rounds 14 to 19

The final six rounds of the preliminary stage were played on Tuesday. Fabiano Caruana, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Arjun Erigaisi entered the day as co-leaders, with six players trailing by half a point and Carlsen part of a larger group standing a full point behind.

The day began badly for the eventual champion. In a balanced position against Haik Martirosyan, Carlsen made a move and accidentally swept several pieces off the board. Before the position could be fully restored, he pressed the clock, which under the rules resulted in an immediate loss. The incident visibly frustrated him, but he channelled that emotion into a highly focused performance in the following rounds.

Carlsen responded by scoring four consecutive wins, repeatedly demonstrating his ability to press for victory in technical positions that would often end in draws. These results brought him rapidly back into contention. By the final round, he was tied for second place, and a draw against Nodirbek Abdusattorov in round 19 was sufficient to secure qualification for the knockout stage. Carlsen finished the Swiss in sole third place with 13½ points.

The Swiss stage was won convincingly by Arjun Erigaisi, who continued his excellent form from earlier in the championships. On Tuesday, he scored four wins and two draws, finishing on 15 points and securing first place with a round to spare.

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Arjun Erigaisi had a strong performance throughout the five days of rapid and blitz action in Doha | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes

Fabiano Caruana also qualified for the knockout. Having entered the day as a co-leader, he recorded four draws and two wins, staying consistently among the frontrunners. The final qualifying place went to Nodirbek Abdusattorov, who scored three wins, two draws and one loss on Tuesday. He finished on 13/19, tied with five other players, and advanced thanks to superior tiebreaks, narrowly edging out Maxime Vachier-Lagrave on the first criterion.

With that, the semifinal pairings were set as Erigaisi v. Abdusattorov and Caruana v. Carlsen.

Bu 0-1 Carlsen

Magnus Carlsen showed his A-game on Tuesday | Photo: FIDE / Anna Shtourman

Knockout stage

The first semifinal to end saw Abdusattorov defeat Erigaisi by 2½–½. Abdusattorov won the first two games and then held a draw in the third, deciding the match with a game to spare. It was a disappointing end to the blitz event for Erigaisi, who had shown the most consistent form in the Swiss stage. Nevertheless, the 22-year-old leaves Doha with a bronze medal in the Rapid Championship and a shared third–fourth place finish in Blitz – surely an impressive overall performance.

In the other semifinal, Carlsen faced Caruana. The first two games were drawn, before Carlsen took control of the match. He won game three with a strong technical performance in a queenless position, and followed it up with a sharp attacking victory in game four, featuring a number of tactical sacrifices, to win the match 3–1.

Carlsen 1-0 Caruana

Two elite GMs who know each other very well | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes

The final between Carlsen and Abdusattorov proved tense and hard-fought. Abdusattorov struck first, winning game one with the black pieces after Carlsen misplayed an objectively equal endgame with rook and bishop against rook and knight. Carlsen responded immediately in game two, converting a completely equal and symmetrical endgame with knight and three pawns per side, a result that visibly unsettled his opponent.

The third game ended in a well-played draw.

In the decisive fourth game, Carlsen again had black. He gained a pawn in a queenless position with rook, bishop and knight on each side and all pawns on the kingside. Although the position appeared close to equal, Carlsen continued to pose practical problems. The game was eventually simplified into a pure bishop endgame with a 4 v. 3 pawn structure on the same flank. With both players’ clocks down to around ten seconds, Carlsen maintained his concentration and converted the advantage.

Abdusattorov showed clear frustration at the outcome, while Carlsen stood up to celebrate a title that completed a remarkable comeback, both in the Swiss stage and in the championship match itself, and brought the 2025 World Rapid & Blitz Championships to a close.

Abdusattorov 0-1 Carlsen

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It was a tense final match | Photo: FIDE / Anna Shtourman

Nodirbek Abdusattorov still got the silver medal | Photo: FIDE / Anna Shtourman

All games – Knockout stage

Final standings – Swiss stage

…252 players

Replay all available games from the Swiss stage on Live.ChessBase.com…

Assaubayeva beats Anna Muzychuk in the final of the women’s championship

The women’s event also produced a repeat champion. Bibisara Assaubayeva, the 21-year-old grandmaster from Kazakhstan, captured her third Women’s World Blitz Championship title in Doha. Assaubayeva finished the Swiss stage as one of five players tied for first place on 11 points out of 15, before defeating Zhu Jiner and Anna Muzychuk in the knockout phase to secure the crown.

With this victory, Assaubayeva adds to her previous world blitz titles from 2021 and 2022. A total of 13 FIDE-recognised Women’s World Blitz Championships have been held to date, including early editions in 1992 and 2010, and Assaubayeva is now one of only four players to have won the title more than once. Moreover, she has drawn level with Kateryna Lagno at the top of the all-time list, with three titles each. The result also confirms her standing among the very best in fast time controls, as she now sits third in the live women’s world blitz ratings.

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The winners of the 2025 Women’s World Blitz Championship | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes

Swiss stage: rounds 11 to 15

Unlike the Open event, where two of the four players who began the day among the leaders went on to qualify for the knockout, the women’s Swiss stage saw far greater reshuffling at the top on Tuesday. Eline Roebers, who had entered the day as the sole leader, suffered two losses but still managed to remain among the top four and qualify for the knockout.

By contrast, Roebers’ closest chasers at the start of the day – Aleksandra Goryachkina, Antoaneta Stefanova and Umida Omonova – all failed to secure places in the top four and were eliminated before the knockout stage.

Three players produced strong late surges to climb into qualification positions. Assaubayeva scored 3½ points out of 5 on Tuesday, while Anna Muzychuk finished the day with an impressive 4/5. The most striking comeback came from Zhu Jiner, who delivered a flawless 5/5 performance in the final five rounds of the Swiss stage to force her way into the knockout.

Zhu Jiner ended the preliminary stage with a perfect 5/5 | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes

Another central figure in the final day’s drama was Valentina Gunina, a two-time women’s world blitz champion herself. Gunina won her first four games on Tuesday, extending her winning streak to seven consecutive victories when including her final wins from Monday. She entered the last round as the sole leader, but the tournament turned abruptly. In a clearly winning position, Gunina blundered and then failed to hold a draw against Anna Muzychuk in the final round.

Although she still finished tied for first place in the Swiss standings, Gunina was the one player excluded from the knockout on tie-breaks, finishing just half a Buchholz Cut-1 point behind Zhu – a particularly painful outcome given her form earlier in the day.

The semifinal pairings were therefore set as Assaubayeva v. Zhu and Muzychuk v. Roebers.

Zhu Jiner, Valentina Gunina, Bibisara Assaubayeva and Anna Muzychuk looking at some data – perhaps the tiebreak criteria? | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes

Knockout stage

One of the semifinals proved unexpectedly one-sided. Despite her perfect finish in the Swiss stage, Zhu was comprehensively outplayed by Assaubayeva. The Kazakh GM won three games in a row, sealing the match 3–0 and advancing to the final without conceding a draw.

The other semifinal was far more competitive. Anna Muzychuk struck first, winning with the black pieces. Roebers responded in game three to level the match and force a decisive fourth game. In that encounter, however, Roebers quickly found herself in difficulties after an early …g6–g5 pawn push left her position strategically weakened. Muzychuk converted her advantage methodically, winning the game in 56 moves and securing her place in the final.

Reaching the knockout stage was still a strong performance for Dutch rising star Eline Roebers | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes

The final match between Assaubayeva and Muzychuk began cautiously. The first two games were relatively short draws, and the third game also ended peacefully, although Assaubayeva missed opportunities to increase the pressure while playing with the black pieces.

In the fourth and final game, Assaubayeva showed greater composure in a complex tactical struggle. Playing with the white pieces, she took control when given a chance and converted her advantage to win the game and the match.

It is worth noting that Muzychuk is herself a two-time women’s world blitz champion, having won the title in 2014 and 2016.

Bibisara Assaubayeva facing Anna Muzychuk | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes

Fully focused | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes

The three-time women’s world blitz champion relaxed and enjoying her time during the press conference | Photo: FIDE / Anna Shtourman

All games – Knockout stage

Final standings – Swiss stage

…140 players

Replay all available games from the Swiss stage on Live.ChessBase.com…

About the event

The FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championships 2025 will take place in Doha, Qatar from 25 to 30 December, bringing together the world’s elite chess talent for a thrilling end-of-year showdown. Held at the Sports and Events Complex, Qatar University, this edition features both Open and Women’s events in Rapid and Blitz formats, with a total prize fund of €1,000,000. Doha returns as host after nine years, underscoring Qatar’s growing stature in the chess world.

The full list of registered players can be found here: