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GM Ray Robson has done it again, winning his fifth consecutive Puzzle World Championship title in 2024. Since its inception in 2020, the undisputed GOAT of Puzzle His Rush has won every edition of this tournament.
However, this year appears to have been his toughest yet, as he faced up-and-coming 14-year-old IM Andy Woodward in the grand final. The youngster had a great tournament and even took an early lead against Robson, but the reigning champion then won four points in a row to regain the title.
Puzzle Rush Knockout: Prodigy impresses, Robson is solid
The previous day, eight players qualified from a field of 99. To reach this stage, in 3 minutes he must solve 56 (!) puzzles, but the second day becomes even more difficult for the young tactician. The top two seeds, Robson and Woodward, proved Friday to be the top two best at solving puzzles.
In the first round, all players started with a winner’s bracket and played a best-of-five series to determine their placement in the next phase.
Winner standings after quarterfinals
Robson showed the most dominant performance, winning all five rounds against the talented 17-year-old GM genius Christopher Yu, posting a high score of 57. Woodward displayed his tactical genius, defeating GM Hans Niemann 5-2 and becoming the only player to match his high score of 57 points.
In the following clip, we see both tactical wizards achieving the same score in a row.
Woodward continued to show off his puzzle mastery in the next round against Zion, and despite making two mistakes early on, he still performed on par with his Super GM opponent.
Woodward ultimately lost the match, but later defeated Xiong 2.5 to 0.5 in a rematch in the Losers’ Final.
So let’s see if you can solve some of the puzzles that the experts got wrong. (It will take you a little longer than they will!)
The next puzzle was Niemann’s third mistake (puzzle #56) in the second round against GM Raunaq Sadhwani. How is it going? Moving black.
Against Robson, GM Pranav V made his third mistake (Puzzle #50) in the 6th round. Can his movements be improved? Moving black.
It should be mentioned that Neiman initially appeared to be eliminated by Raunak due to a bug in the website. Niemann’s actual score was not displayed correctly. He reported the issue, and after an investigation, the score was revised and the results overturned.
This victory was short-lived anyway, as Pranav eliminated Niemann in dramatic fashion in the subsequent match. Pranav leads 2-1 after the first 2.5 matches, so a draw would mean a loss for Niemann. In the final seconds, Niemann had to risk one mistake to avoid that very situation. Both players answered 50 questions correctly and 2 incorrectly. Taking that risk was easier said than done on the spot, and time ran out, allowing Pranav to advance by a narrow margin.
The victory did not last long, as Pranav himself was defeated by Woodward, who came on strong in his next match. The fight lasted only three of four rounds, and Woodward posted an incredible score of 58 in the final fight.
Meanwhile, Robson won the Winners Final by defeating Sion with an overwhelming score of 5-1. 23-year-old Super GM Zion got his second life against Woodward in the Losers Final, but the young cannon only needed three rounds to win the match again. .
Fate was cruel to Zion as in the final round Woodward struck out on Puzzle #48 and his opponent could have easily struck out. do not have We solved it and won the round. Instead, Zion tried to solve the puzzle and also got a strikeout, leading to a tie and Woodward advancing.
Now, do you think you can solve puzzle 48 where both players failed? Moving black.
Grand Final: Woodward leads early, Robson dominates second half
The grand final could not have started better for Woodward, but his explanation after the match tells you what went wrong. I think that’s one thing we need to improve on next year. ”
I guess I was just getting excited, and that’s when the problems started.
—Andy Woodward
He scored a career-best 59 points twice, building a commanding two-point lead over Robson. At first it looked like an upset was brewing…
Woodward scored a career-best 59 points twice in the Grand Final, giving him a two-point lead over Robson!#Puzzle Champion pic.twitter.com/9MJ7EZlmpk
— chess24.com (@chess24com) January 12, 2024
…However, Robson proved to be the more consistent solver, scoring at least 50 points in every round, while Woodward’s scores fell into the 40s and even the 30s. First, Robson tied the game at 3-3…
Robson tied the score at 3-3, bringing the lead to within 4.5 points.#Puzzle Champion pic.twitter.com/OBZ3OFknwu
— chess24.com (@chess24com) January 12, 2024
…He then won two more games in a row to win the match.
Robson will earn $5,000 for first place and Woodward will earn $4,000 for second place.
After the match, Robson praised his teenage opponent, saying: “We know that when he’s doing well, he can actually maintain this kind of level and like 55 and above pretty consistently. So it’s actually pretty easy for him to come off. I’ve been lucky” the last few times. ”
He also acknowledged that nothing lasts forever and that the next generation will soon be knocking on the door.
“In any case, I think some of them will surpass me or come very close to my level!” – @RayShayRobson, #Puzzle Champion goat pic.twitter.com/2S59KTD0hK
— chess24.com (@chess24com) January 12, 2024
This is an amazing achievement for Robson, who has proven year after year that he is the best at Puzzle Rush and Puzzle Battle. As for Woodward, he plans to return next year, and he will be an even tougher competitor then.
The 2024 Puzzle World Championship (PWC) is a competition for the world’s best chess tacticians. This event is part of the Puzzle Week celebration and will take place on January 11th and 12th from 12:00 PM ET/6:00 PM CET. PWC has a $25,000 prize up for grabs.
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