The world champion reached the Banter Blitz final with a Bobby Fischer style 9-0 victory, while the 16-year-old rising star is strong favourite in the second semi-final
Magnus Carlsen, the world champion, has helped spark an immediate and impressively rapid growth in online chess with his announcement of a $250,000 elite tournament which starts on Saturday 18 April with Carlsen himself as the No 1 seed.
Before that, there is the fascinating prospect of a dream final in chess24’s Banter Blitz Cup where players commentate on their moves verbally while the game is in progress and may also trash talk their opponent.