GM Alireza Firouzja Dominates Titled Tuesday with 10.5 Points, Denis Lazavik Wins Late Tournament

GM Alireza Firouzja came a ninth-round draw away from the first perfect Titled Tuesday of the year on January 28, settling for a full-point victory on 10.5 points in the third straight early field of over 900 players. In the late event, GM Denis Lazavik took home the first prize with 9.5 points and the tiebreak advantage over GM Jose Martinez. GM Hikaru Nakamura finished in the top 11 in both events and continues to lead the Titled Tuesday Grand Prix standings.

In the early tournament, the final standings may make Firouzja’s ride through the field of 946 look easy, but IM Almas Rakhmatullaev matched him game-by-game for 10 rounds. Both started on 8/8, drew with each other in round nine, and won again in round 10. Rakhmatullaev’s win in that round came against none other than Magnus Carlsen. Firouzja faced Lazavik in the final round and gained some measure of revenge for his loss in December’s Champions Chess Tour.

In the late tournament, Lazavik emerged victorious as the fourth seed, with Martinez and Liem Le also reaching 9/10. Lazavik and Martinez played each other in the final round, opening the door for Le, but he would lose to Nakamura. Lazavik took home the first prize with Martinez in second place.

Nakamura and Matthias Bluebaum held onto their top two spots in the Grand Prix standings, with Bogdan-Daniel Deac moving into third. IM Karina Ambartsumova maintained her lead in the women’s standings.

Titled Tuesday continues to attract more players, with a record 905 registrations last week. The anticipation is building for the first Titled Tuesday of 2025 with over 1,000 players, which will have a doubled prize pool to celebrate the milestone. Stay tuned for more exciting chess action on Chess.com’s weekly tournament for titled players.