Carlsen ahead

Nepomniachtchi blunders; not Nakamura’s day

World champion Magnus Carlsen miraculously managed to keep Ian Nepomniachtchi at bay after escaping defeats in two successive games for a 2.5-1.5 victory in the first set of the $100,000 Skilling Open online chess tournament on Friday.

In the other semifinal, Wesley So stayed in control and won 2.5-1.5.

Playing white, Carlsen won the first game, forcing the Russian to resign on the 26th move.

In the second, Nepomniachtchi was close to victory after 49 moves, but faltered on the 50th to let Carlsen force a draw three moves later.

The results:

Semifinals: Set One: Magnus Carlsen (Nor) bt Ian Nepomniachtchi (Rus) 2.5-1.5.

Wesley So (USA) bt Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 2.5-1.5.