By Leon Watson

The miracle of Murzin: Unknown youngster banks World Rapid title on Wall Street

The 2024 FIDE World Rapid Championships in New York City has ended with one of the most extraordinary results in chess history.

Volodar Murzin, a teenager virtually unknown at the top level, beat a string of big guns and then his nerves to secure a final-round draw that clinched the world title. He finished on 10/13.

"Unreal! I'll tell you I never heard of the kid before this tournament. A star is born right here in New York City," FIDE commentator Maurice Ashley said.

The 18-year-old Murzin was joined as a champion by Indian veteran Humpy Koneru, who secured the Women's title for the second time in equally dramatic fashion.

Speaking after his victory, Murzin said: "I came to win, of course. "But I hope it's not a dream!"

Murzin had stormed through the field as he finished unbeaten in the 13-round tournament with a stellar performance rating of 2904 FIDE.

Murzin's scalps included some of the most illustrious names in chess. American heavyweights Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura both fell to the youngster, as did the ever-dangerous Pole Jan-Krzysztof Duda.

Murzin also held important draws against Alexander Grischuk, Arjun Erigaisi, Leinier Dominguez and Anish Giri. All were in the hunt at one point or another.

But it was Murzin's penultimate round win over India's supremely-talented Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, which included an audacious king march, that was truly memorable. It gave him a crucial, and thoroughly unexpected, half-point lead going into the final round.

"Sometimes I got lucky because I had, maybe, two lost positions," the softly-spoken Murzin admitted afterward.

After Grischuk and Dominguez settled for an early draw, the spotlight fell onto Murzin's game against the Armenian Karen Grigoryan.

Yet Murzin continued to hold his nerve. He was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief as he extended his arm to accept a draw and celebrate his moment of victory. Among spectators, the excitement was palpable.

"He has done it! The kid pulled off a miracle here in New York," said Ashley. "Look at the smile on his face. Wow, incredible, extraordinary! He deserves all the confetti, all the cheers. His family must be in tears!"

The remarkable three-day tournament which precedes the World Blitz on Monday and Tuesday was punctuated by a series of shocks over the board and one serious off-the-board controversy.

World number-one Magnus Carlsen made headlines on Friday after pulling out of the event following a row with officials over his choice of attire. The incident dubbed "Jeansgate" split opinion in the chess community and threatened to overshadow the event, but Murzin's triumph will come as an even bigger surprise.

The Women's event finished in equally spectacular fashion as the final round started with the lead split seven ways.

With draws elsewhere, the tournament was left hanging on the clash between Humpy and Irine Kharisma Sukandar. The game looked to be heading for a draw, making tiebreaks inevitable. But in a dramatic turnaround, Humpy took full advantage of a slip to convert a pawn endgame. It meant she leapfrogged the competition to finish half a point ahead of the chasing pack.

Humpy, a chess mother who previously took two years out of the game to tend to her daughter, paid tribute to her family for supporting her.

She said: "I would like to thank my parents first, for their tremendous support, and also my husband. It's not easy in India to be a professional after having a marriage and a kid, but he supported me a lot, and also my parents took the responsibility of my daughter whenever I travel. So all these things helped me to achieve this."

Humpy's win capped a wonderful year for Indian chess which also saw Dommaraju Gukesh crowned the classical world champion.

The ICC, the original home of online chess, has followed the progress of several sponsored players throughout the event.

One of those was Anna Muzychuk. Ukraine 2016 World Rapid champion won her first two games of the day to leap up the leaderboard to 16th.

But in the final round she was paired with her younger sister Mariya. The sisters have a history of draws against each other and so it played out again. The elder Muzychuk finished on 7/11, her sister half a point ahead.

ICC-sponsored Priyanka Nutakki, the 22-year-old Woman Grandmaster from India, also picked up two final day wins and ended the tournament on 5/11. All her games were decisive.

Argentinia's rising star Faustino Oro and Jose Carlos Ibarra, the 2023 Spanish blitz champion, both finished with a highly-respectable 6.5/13.

The 2024 FIDE World Blitz Championship starts on Monday from 2pm ET / 8pm CET. You can watch the official stream on FIDE's YouTube channel.