Checkmate: Polish grandmaster dethrones favourites in Oslo

An unexpected turn of events, a tense skirmish and lastly the first Major round of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour season, the Oslo Esports Cup, won by Polish Grandmaster Jan-Krzysztof Duda.

The main action on the final day of the esports chess tournament was over quickly, and almost no one could have predicted the outcome!

The most talked-about turn of events was a two-horse race between World Champion Magnus Carlsen and 16-year-old Indian prodigy Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa. However, both of the players lost their cool and suffered disastrous defeats in their final matches, resulting in a fight for the top between Pole Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Lê Quang Liêm from Vietnam.

A new king emerges

Magnus Carlsen was facing a resurgent Shakhriyar Mamedyarov who had won his previous two matches and was always on the defensive. At the time the chess world champion admitted that he had no energy left whatsoever with all hope gone. At the same time, the Indian prodigy lost to Russian-Dutch chess grandmaster Anish Giri.

That meant that the players a point behind the leaders were suddenly playing for the title, and Jan-Krzysztof Duda was in a hurry as he crushed Canadian Eric Hansen in the first two games.

He then survived a scare in the third game ending it with a draw. It was a great result for the Polish chess superstar as now the only player able to snatch the win out of his hands was the Vietnamese chess grandmaster.

Jan-Krzysztof Duda holds a draw, wins his match and will win the #OsloEsportsCup... unless Liem Le wins on demand with the black pieces vs. Jorden van Foreest in the next game! https://t.co/Eh6iDvgELr #ChessChamps pic.twitter.com/GuQI9VvnlN

— chess24.com (@chess24com) April 28, 2022

Lê Quang Liêm could still win the trophy if he beat Jorden van Foreest in rapid chess since he won the individual clash against Duda. He came very close, but in the end, he only overcame Foreest in tiebreaks, picking up two points, and placing Duda as a clear winner for the whole online tournament.

Congratulations @GM_JKDuda! 🔥🎊 https://t.co/VCLFFrxIBC

— Meltwater Champions Chess Tour (@ChampChessTour) April 28, 2022