Overview
- Alexandra Goryachkina beat Zhu Jiner 1.5–0.5 in a rapid playoff after both finished on 8.5/11, with Humpy Koneru placed third on tiebreaks.
- Magnus Carlsen topped the open event with 10.5/13 for his sixth World Rapid title, as Vladislav Artemiev took silver on 9.5 and Arjun Erigaisi claimed bronze on the same score via Buchholz.
- Artemiev defeated Carlsen during the main rounds, after which Carlsen did not reset the pieces and pushed a camera operator; Russian chess officials publicly criticized his conduct, and no sanctions were reported.
- Hans Niemann, who tied for second on points, said finishing fourth on Buchholz was unjust and argued playoffs should decide all medal places; organizers use Swiss-system coefficients to rank ties.
- The World Blitz championship follows in Doha on December 29–30, with attention shifting quickly from the rapid titles to the two-day sprint format.