Magnus Carlsen won both matches on the first day of the Chess Champions Final.

Magnus Carlsen (33) won both his matches on the opening day of the Chess Champions Tour final, with the winner taking home just over two million kroner.

• The world number one first defeated Belarusian Denis Lazavec (17) after winning with the white pieces and tying with the black ones.
• Against Noderbek Abdul Starov (19), Carlsen drew first with the white pieces, and with the black pieces there was also a draw.
• Therefore a decision had to be made The disasterThe disasterIn Armageddon, White will be given more time than Black, but if Black can break even (draw), Black will win the match. Where Magnus Carlsen got the white color and therefore had to win. He managed it.

“I am satisfied with the way the traps were set for him,” Carlsen tells Channel 2 about the Armageddon party.

He hopes to celebrate by going to an NHL game with the Toronto Maple Leafs if he can get tickets on Saturday evening, Canadian time.

The eight who have collected the most points over the six tournaments held in 2023 are in the final. So they meet physically in Toronto.

• After two rounds, Wesley Su earned a full house after defeating both Hikaru Nakamura and Dennis Lazavec. Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana have the same thing.
• Hikaru Nakamura lost both of his matches on his birthday. He meets Carlsen on Sunday.

Carlsen won half of the six digital tournaments leading up to the final, and is therefore the best of all time.

Here you can play through the games

World champion Carlsen is back in action in the Bahamas, where of course he also plays online – and this week he set a “world record” in the online blitz chess ranking. He scored 3,340 points, beating Hikaru Nakamura’s mark of 3,336 points.

From Saturday to Tuesday, the eight meet all against all in two matches of rapid chess, and perhaps Armageddon, to determine the winner. The top two teams qualify for the semi-finals, while the three to six places play for the bottom two places in the semi-finals. The final match will be held on Friday and Saturday.

You can watch the tournament on TV 2 Play.