Volodar Murzin stunned the world last year when he won the World rapid chess championship in New York, finishing ahead of so many big names, including the five-time winner Magnus Carlsen. He had started as the 59th seed, and was just 18 then.
The Russian will be defending his crown at this year’s World rapid championship, beginning in Doha on December 26. Before that though, he will be playing at the third edition of the Global Chess League, to be held in Mumbai from December 13.
This is Murzin’s second GCL season, after playing for Ganges Grandmasters last year. This time, he is representing American Gambits, headlined by World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura.
“I am delighted that I am playing for American Gambits and we have an excellent team,” Murzin told Sportstar over the phone from Moscow. “We have the team to win the title this time and that is what we will be aiming for. All the players in the team are familiar to me.”
He was referring to Richard Rapport, Vladislav Artemiev, Bibisara Assaubayeva and Teodora Injac. When asked about GCL’s format, Murzin said, “It is exciting. And I really like the league’s time control.”
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The trip to Mumbai will be his second visit to India within less than two months. He was in Goa for the World Cup, which was a big disappointment for him, though: he was knocked out in the first round itself. He must be hoping for a better show at the glamorous league.
Looking back at his victory at the World rapid championship, he said the title meant a lot as the world’s leading players were there. He became the second youngest winner in the history of the tournament, behind Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov.
Published on Dec 03, 2025