GM Hikaru Nakamura scored 6/7 as top-seed WR Chess received all 12 of their matches on day one of many 2025 World Blitz Crew Championship, however probably the most memorable sport was the world number-two’s one loss, to 13-year-old IM Khagan Ahmad from Azerbaijan. The opposite high groups additionally cruised on a day when the duty was merely to complete within the high 4 of their teams to qualify for Sunday’s 16-player knockout for the title.
Day 5, the final of the occasion, begins Sunday, June 15, at 9 a.m. ET / 15:00 CEST / 6:30 p.m. IST.
In 2024 the World Blitz Crew Championship was performed on a single day with a seven-round pool stage adopted by a 16-team knockout. In 2025, it is unfold over two days, with the identical system however 13 rounds within the pool stage, which has been given its personal full day.
That meant seven hours during which the highest groups had a easy job—to complete within the high 4 of their pool and qualify for the Knockout. Unsurprisingly, the star gamers racked up large scores, with GM Anish Giri, as an illustration, scoring 10/11 (10 wins and one loss, to GM Sam Sevian). He gained 13.1 score factors.
Lengthy day on the farm 🧑🌾
— Anish Giri (@anishgiri) June 14, 2025
There have been 4 swimming pools of 13-14 groups, so let’s check out them in flip.
Pool A: WR Chess Dominate
| Rank | Crew | Matches | + | = | – | MP | BP |
| 1 | WR Chess Crew | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 60 |
| 2 | Ashdod Elit Chess Membership | 12 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 56.5 |
| 3 | Knight Dance | 12 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 19 | 49 |
| 4 | FIDE MB Crew | 12 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 44.5 |
| 5 | Turkish Airways Sports activities Membership | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 42 |
| 6 | ¡Ållez-Y Initiative! | 12 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 14 | 34 |
| 7 | World Ramblers | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 42 |
| 8 | The MongolZ | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 39.5 |
| 9 | ChessbrahTV | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 29.5 |
| 10 | Chess Belief Accelerators | 12 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 6 | 22 |
| 11 | Satranc Istanbul | 12 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 3 | 16 |
| 12 | xChess.AI | 12 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 18 |
| 13 | Berlin Lasker Legends | 12 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 15 |
Favorites WR Chess missed out on a medal in Speedy and shall be hoping to make up for that in Blitz. Their qualification for the ultimate day was all-but-flawless, with 12/12 match wins, together with 4 6-0 clear sweeps. GM Ian Nepomniachtchi, who was unable to play within the Speedy due to a late arrival in London, scored an unbeaten 9.5/11 on high board, however he had a number of competitors for the perfect consequence. GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave scored 7.5/8, GM Wesley So 9.5/10, GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda 11.5/12, whereas GM Alexandra Kosteniuk had an ideal 6/6.
That did not imply it was all a stroll within the park, nonetheless. In spherical 5, a younger crew that might miss out on knockout qualification pushed WR Chess all the way in which.
11-year-old IM Faustino Oro wants no introduction, with the younger Argentine star accurately sacrificing a bishop in opposition to Nepomniachtchi.
Nepomniachtchi, nonetheless, calmly steered the sport towards a draw.
Oro, who scored 7.5/12 for the day, is planning to grow to be world champion in 2032!
“I’ll grow to be a world champion possibly in…”
Interview with 🇦🇷 Faustino Oro. pic.twitter.com/wbZswm3FbK
— Take Take Take (@TakeTakeTakeApp) June 14, 2025
On board two, in the meantime, 13-year-old Ahmad really managed to beat Nakamura!
🇦🇿 13-year previous IM Ahmad Khagan (2290) stuns 🇺🇸 GM Hikaru Nakamura (2837) in Spherical 5 of the FIDE World Blitz Crew Championship! 🔥#FIDERapidBlitzTeams pic.twitter.com/95l6qmnsW8
— Worldwide Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) June 14, 2025
That is our Recreation of the Day, which GM Rafael Leitao has analyzed under.
Nakamura additionally recapped the day’s motion.
WR Chess shall be joined within the knockout phases by Ashdod Elit Chess Membership (GM Nihal Sarin on high board), Knight Dance (GM Jules Moussard), and FIDE MB Board (GM Andrew Hong).
Pool B: Freedom, Hexamind Neck-And-Neck
| Rank | Crew | Matches | + | = | – | MP | GP |
| 1 | Freedom | 12 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 62 |
| 2 | Hexamind Chess Crew | 12 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 57 |
| 3 | Theme Worldwide Buying and selling | 12 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 19 | 46 |
| 4 | Malcolm’s Mates | 12 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 55 |
| 5 | Wooden Inexperienced | 12 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 39.5 |
| 6 | Rishon LeZion Chess Membership | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 41 |
| 7 | Sharks 4NCL | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 33.5 |
| 8 | Mom Continent | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 32.5 |
| 9 | Sassy Seniors | 12 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 29 |
| 10 | UK Chess Problem Masters | 12 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 22 |
| 11 | Hammersmith Chess Membership | 12 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 20 |
| 12 | Oxbridge | 12 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 4 | 22.5 |
| 13 | Desert Penguins | 12 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 8 |
The groups that took silver and bronze in Speedy unsurprisingly topped this group, each scoring 11 wins and one defeat. For Hexamind that loss was to Freedom, with GMs Giri, Vidit Gujrathi, and Leinier Dominguez all struggling their solely lack of the day.
One participant who deserves a point out is nine-year-old “leisure participant” Sabartho Mani, who scored an unbeaten 11/12, rising his already 2014 blitz score (the cut-off to be eligible as <2000 was in March) by 97.6 score factors!
Freedom’s one defeat got here to Theme Worldwide Buying and selling, led by GM Jose Martinez, whereas Malcolm’s Mates (GM Michael Adams) took the fourth spot.
Pool C: Uzbekistan, Germany, And The Prodigies
| Rank | Crew | Matches | + | = | – | MP | GP |
| 1 | Uzbekistan | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 58 |
| 2 | Germany and Buddies | 12 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 55 |
| 3 | Rookies | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 20 | 51 |
| 4 | Technology XYZA | 12 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 52.5 |
| 5 | Duobeniajan Costa Calida ESJ | 12 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 46.5 |
| 6 | Mongolia-B | 12 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 41 |
| 7 | Wooden Inexperienced Youth | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 31 |
| 8 | e-therapeutics | 12 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 29.5 |
| 9 | Berlin Chess Federation | 12 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 20.5 |
| 10 | ANI | 12 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 19.5 |
| 11 | OlalaStars | 12 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 21.5 |
| 12 | Chess Rising Stars | 12 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 3 | 23.5 |
| 13 | Youth KG | 12 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 18.5 |
Uzbekistan was one other crew that solely simply missed out on medals in fast chess, and so they hit again to attain an ideal 12 match wins within the blitz qualification, together with a 4.5-1.5 victory over second-placed Germany and Buddies. That featured a thumping win for GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov over GM Vincent Keymer.
Abdusattorov was on 8.5/9 earlier than he suffered a shock loss to Mongolian IM Sugar Gan-Erdene within the closing spherical of the day.
Group C featured many prodigies, with the Rookies crew, which incorporates 10-year-old IM Roman Shogdzhiev, qualifying rather than the stronger, on paper, Spanish Duobeniajan Costa Calida ESJ crew (Shogdzhiev beat GM Pepe Cuenca). 14-year-old GM Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, in the meantime, used the match to enhance his blitz score, choosing up 66 factors after scoring an unbeaten 11/12 for Technology XYZA.
One participant who will not get to play within the knockout is 10-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan, however she reminded us all how particular she is with a 2307 8/12 efficiency that noticed her achieve 75.2 score factors. A five-game successful streak included defeating GM Bella Khotenashvili.
Interview with extremely proficient 🏴 Bodhana Sivanandan, who’s presently 6/9 and has overwhelmed an IM and a Grandmaster! pic.twitter.com/08JlNThK4i
— Take Take Take (@TakeTakeTakeApp) June 14, 2025
Pool D: Crew MGD1 Roll On
| Rank | Crew | Matches | + | = | – | MP | GP |
| 1 | Crew MGD1 | 13 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 65.5 |
| 2 | KazChess | 13 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 24 | 62.5 |
| 3 | Hetman GKS Katowice | 13 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 52 |
| 4 | Barys.kz | 13 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 19 | 54.5 |
| 5 | Crew Hungary | 13 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 18 | 51.5 |
| 6 | Noval Group Kyrgyzstan | 13 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 17 | 48 |
| 7 | Mongolia-A | 13 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 16 | 44.5 |
| 8 | English Knightmares | 13 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 12 | 40.5 |
| 9 | The London Legends | 13 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 35 |
| 10 | Danish Futures | 13 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 8 | 26.5 |
| 11 | Excellent | 13 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 29 |
| 12 | Uppsala SSS | 13 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 25 |
| 13 | Fairness Financial institution, Kenya | 13 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 9.5 |
| 14 | REY AHOGADO | 13 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 2 |
Crew MGD1, recent from successful the FIDE World Speedy Crew Championship, look simply as formidable in blitz, with IM Stavroula Tsolakidou (10.5/13), GM Leon Luke Mendonca (9.5/10), and GM Arjun Erigaisi (11/13) among the many star performers.
Arjun’s efficiency would have been even higher if he hadn’t been checkmated in a wild final-round sport in opposition to GM David Navara, who additionally scored 11/13 as Hetman GKS Katowice succeeded in qualifying considerably in opposition to the chances.
KazChess, who completed second, noticed GM Andrey Esipenko rating 10 wins in a row earlier than shedding to GM Pranav Venkatesh, however the star was a youngster, Islam Aiten, who scored 12/13 and picked up 126 score factors on the “leisure board”—for sure, he will not be eligible to play on that board in 2026!
One other Kazakh crew, Barys.kz, edged out Crew Hungary, in order that the 16 finalists are set for Sunday’s showdown. Every match shall be performed over two mini-matches, with colours reversed. The Knockout pairings look as follows:
Tied matches shall be determined by as much as three extra blitz mini-matches, after which, if essential, by one of many pairs of gamers competing in a single armageddon sport.
How you can watch?
The 2025 FIDE World Speedy and Blitz Crew Championships run June 11-15 in London, UK, with over 50 groups of six gamers competing. Every crew should function no less than one feminine participant and one “leisure participant,” by no means rated 2000+. The Speedy is a 12-round Swiss with a time management of quarter-hour for all strikes, plus a 10-second increment per transfer. The Blitz (3+2) begins with groups enjoying a round-robin in swimming pools earlier than the highest 16 play a knockout, the place every conflict options two mini-matches.
Earlier protection:
