Tag: Norway

Norway’s Magnus Carlsen, the world’s number one chess player, on Tuesday won the World Blitz Championship in Doha, days after victory in the slightly longer ‘rapid’ format, to secure his 20th world title.

Carlsen, 35, beat Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov, 21, in the final, securing victory with black in the fourth and final game, after losing the first.

Blitz games are played with three minutes at the start for both players, plus an additional two seconds per move.

Carlsen almost failed to reach the semi-finals after suffering three defeats in the 19 qualifying games, finishing third in the standings.

He beat American Fabiano Caruana in the semis to take on Abdusattorov, rapid world champion in 2021.

On Sunday, Carlsen was crowned rapid world champion, where players have 15 minutes and 10 seconds added per move, finishing first in the regular standings, with the competition taking place without a final phase.

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The Nordic grandmaster now has nine blitz titles, six in rapid and five in the most prestigious longer format, which involves more than 10 games between the world champion and a challenger.

Magnus Carlsen relinquished his long-format crown in 2023, citing a lack of motivation. It is now held by India’s Dommaraju Gukesh.

In October, he and the International Chess Federation (FIDE) backed a new world championship format that sets the stage for his return.

The new “Total Chess World Championship Tour” will consist of four events a year and will crown one combined champion for three disciplines: fast classic, rapid and blitz.

A pilot version of the competition will be tested in the autumn of next year, with the first full season set for 2027.

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MILAN: Norway qualified for their first World Cup since 1998 after Erling Haaland struck again in a 4-1 thumping of Italy on Sunday, which sealed a spot in the 2026 edition in the United States of America (USA), Canada and Mexico.

Haaland scored the decisive brace in the space of seconds at a soaking San Siro for Norway, who completed Group I with a perfect 24 points from their eight qualifying matches.

Norway would have had to lose by nine goals or more in order to be overtaken by Italy for the group’s only automatic place for next summer’s finals in North America, but Stale Solbakken’s side gloriously ended their campaign in front of 70,000 people.

However, Solbakken was coy as to his powerful team’s chances now that a 28-year weight has come to an end.

Haaland’s father, Alf-Inge, was still an international player when Norway last competed in the World Cup 27 years ago, a tournament won by a Zinedine Zidane-inspired France.

 

And the Manchester City striker, called a “goal machine” by Solbakken, will be one of the players to watch in North America after smashing in 16 goals during qualifying.

The 25-year-old is averaging more than a goal a game for club and country this season and was typically ruthless when presented with his opportunities to both put Norway ahead and then double their lead in the 78th and 79th minutes.

Pio Esposito opened the scoring for Italy in the 11th minute, but once Antonio Nusa levelled with a thumping strike in the 63rd minute, there was only one team that looked like winning, and Jorgen Strand Larsen’s brilliant individual goal completed the rout in stoppage time.

Italy will head to the play-offs in March after finishing the group six points behind Norway following two bracing defeats to Solbakken’s team, and exited the San Siro field to a hail of whistles from the few home fans who had stayed until the end.

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