Magnus Carlsen Wins the World Rapid Chess Championship in Doha: Performance Review of Armenian Players

The 2025 FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship has concluded in Doha, Qatar, bringing together a strong field of participants and delivering many exciting games for chess fans.

A total of 247 players from 64 countries competed in the open tournament, including 126 grandmasters. The winner of the championship was Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen, who scored 10 points out of 13 and once again confirmed his status as one of the strongest chess players of modern times. During the tournament, Carlsen also faced Armenian representative Shant Sargsyan, winning their encounter.

Second place went to Russia’s Vladislav Artemiev with 9.5 points. Indian grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi also scored 9.5 points and claimed the bronze medal based on tie-breaks.

Among the Armenian players, the best results were achieved by grandmasters Shant Sargsyan and Haik Martirosyan, who both scored 8 points and finished in 38th and 51st places respectively. American-Armenian grandmaster Samuel Sevian delivered an especially strong performance, scoring 9 points and sharing places 6–10, eventually finishing 11th on tie-breaks. Levon Aronian ended the tournament in 47th place with 8 points. Armenian-born player representing Russia, Rudik Makarian, finished 36th, also with 8 points.

At the World Championship, Shant Sargsyan defeated Armenian player Mamikon Garibyan, as well as representatives of the USA, Greece, Vietnam, and Kazakhstan. He drew five games, including one against Robert Hovhannisyan, and lost only to Magnus Carlsen and India’s Leon Luke.

Haik Martirosyan defeated Russian players Artyom Uskov and Arseniy Nesterov, along with representatives of Mongolia and Georgia. His only loss came against Indian player Andhaban Baskaran, while all other games ended in draws.

The remaining Armenian players finished outside the top 80. Robert Hovhannisyan placed 80th with 7 points, Aram Hakobyan finished 82nd with the same score, and Robert Piliposyan scored 6.5 points to take 119th place.

The Women’s World Rapid Chess Championship featured 141 players from 42 countries, including 23 grandmasters and 32 international masters. Russia’s Alexandra Goryachkina claimed the title, scoring 8.5 points out of 11.

The best result among Armenian women was achieved by International Master Lilit Mkrtchian, who scored 7 points, shared 15th place, and finished 29th overall on tie-breaks.

It should be noted that the World Blitz Chess Championship will take place from December 29 to 30 and will be the next major event on the FIDE calendar.