Doha: Norwegian superstar Magnus Carlsen was crowned champion of the FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship – Qatar 2025 after finishing with 10 points at the end of the 13th and final round.
The world No.1 secured the title with a crucial draw against Dutch Grandmaster Anish Giri, ranked third in the tournament, in the decisive final-round encounter.
Carlsen benefited from the stumble of former leader Vladislav Artemiev, who drew his final game against American Wesley So.
Carlsen’s triumph marked a strong comeback after losing to Artemiev a day earlier.
Despite earlier setbacks—including draws against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and others—the Norwegian star surged to the top on the final day to claim the title in emphatic fashion.
Final Standings – Open Rapid
1st: Magnus Carlsen (Norway) – 10 points
2nd: Vladislav Artemiev (Russia) – 9 points
3rd: Hans Niemann (USA) – 9 points (on tiebreaks)
4th: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) – 8.5 points
5th: Arjun Erigaisi (India) – 8.5 points
Defending world classical champion Gukesh Dommaraju of India finished 31st with 7.5 points.
The men’s rapid championship featured 251 players while 254 players are competing in the blitz event.
The rapid format consisted of 13 rounds in the Open section and 11 rounds in the Women’s section.
Goryachkina triumphs
In the women’s competition, Russian Grandmaster Alexandra Goryachkina, seeded third, claimed the World Rapid Women’s title with 9.5 points, prevailing in a tiebreak playoff against China’s Zhu Jiner.
Former world champion Koneru Humpy of India finished third with 8.5 points.
Five-time world champion Ju Wenjun of China ended the tournament on 37th place with 6.5 points while former world champion Tan Zhongyi placed seventh with 7.5 points.
Blitz Championship up next
Attention now turns to the World Blitz Chess Championship, which begins on Monday, as the world’s top players look to add another prestigious title in Doha.
