Semifinalists of Opera Euro Rapid Determined

Magnus Carlsen defeated Daniil Dubov in a breathtaking battle.

The quarterfinals of the Opera Euro Rapid online chess event, a part of the $1.5 million Meltwater Champions Chess Tour, started on Chess24.com on February 10. 

Each tie is held over two days, with a 4-game rapid match each day. If the score in matches ends 1:1 a playoff is held, where two 5+3 blitz games are potentially followed by Armageddon, a single game where White has 5 minutes to Black’s 4, but a draw counts as a win for Black.

The match between Magnus Carlsen and Daniil Dubov was a real thriller. On the second day, the Russian won against the World Champion 2.5-0.5 to equalise the total score. On tiebreak, Carlsen won the first blitz game; however, Dubov fought back on demand. The Norwegian won the Armageddon game as White and qualified for the semi-final.

Wesley So eliminated Jan-Krzysztof Duda, having won two games on the second match day. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Levon Aronian made a draw in the return match, and the Frenchman made it to the next round, having celebrated the overall victory. 

Anish Giri and Teimour Radjabov drew both their matches. The first blitz game was drawn as well, but Radjabov got the upper hand in the second one to become the fourth semi-finalist.

Semifinal pairings:

Carlsen - Vachier-Lagrave
So - Radjabov

The semi-final matches will take place on February 11-12. The games begin at 7 PM (Moscow time).

The prize fund is $100,000 prize fund, with $30,000 for 1st place.

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