Magnus Carlsen, the world No 1, won both the World Rapid and Blitz chess crowns in Doha, Qatar, last weekend, despite a series of mishaps including time forfeits and knocking over pieces. The 35-year-old Norwegian's victories were his 19th and 20th world titles, further fuelling the debate over whether he, Garry Kasparov or Bobby Fischer is the greatest chess player of all time.
Carlsen's peerless endgame technique was key to his blitz success. He won a knight ending with Black against Nodirbek Abdusattorov from a position where most elite grandmasters would have agreed a draw. However, his campaign nearly derailed when he blundered a rook for a bishop against Vladislav Artemiev in the rapid, and later left the building and swatted a photographer's camera.
In the rapid, Carlsen finished with 10.5/13, ahead of Artemiev (silver) and Arjun Erigaisi (bronze) on 9.5. The blitz saw Carlsen blunder a rook against Fabiano Caruana and lose on time after fumbling a piece. He needed four wins and a draw to qualify for the knockout stage, then defeated Abdusattorov 2.5-1.5 in the final. Each title earned him €70,000.
Russias Aleksandra Goryachkina won the World Women's Rapid after a tie-break with Chinas Zhu Jiner. Kazakh star Bibisara Assaubayeva, aged 21, beat Ukraine's Anna Muzychuk 2.5-1.5 to win the World Women's Blitz for the third time.
There were no British competitors, but Talab Rami, a 12-year-old Cornwall champion representing Syria, impressed with a performance rating of 2325 in the rapid and 2350 in the blitz, defeating several titled players.
