Magnus Carlsen won both the World Rapid and World Blitz chess titles in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in the latest landmark of his glittering career
The 32-year-old Norwegian is now the holder of all three world chess championship titles – in Classical, Rapid and Blitz – for the third time in his career, while no other player has ever won both the Rapid and Blitz titles in the same year. “Gonna need more hands soon,” Carlsen joked on Twitter, posting a video of himself counting his now 15 world titles on his fingers.
Rapid allows each player 15 minutes + 10 seconds additional time per move, starting from move 1 while Blitz is three minutes per player per game, with two seconds additional time per move. Carlsen secured his fourth Rapid title on Wednesday, half a point ahead of Germany’s Vincent Keymer. He then made a dramatic entrance to Round 1 of the World Blitz Championship, running through the playing hall and arriving at his board two minutes and 30 seconds late, still dressed in a tracksuit.