Magnus Carlsen, the highest ranked player in history, led a 202-player field almost all the way to retain his World Rapid crown at Samarkand on Thursday with an unbeaten 10/13 total, seven wins and six draws. It was the fifth Rapid title for the Norwegian, 33, who abdicated his classical crown last year as he preferred faster time limits. In rapid chess, each player has 15 minutes for all the moves plus 10 additional seconds for each move starting from move one. Carlsen said “It feels great. I thought the key moment was against Fedoseev. He is the only one who could catch me. Sometimes I was playing my games a little bit too safe, but I don’t think I was ever really in trouble.”
Chess: Magnus Carlsen World Rapid champion again and targets Blitz
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