By David Yagudayev, Science and Technology Editor
Semyon Lomasov (YC ‘24) is a Yeshiva University alumnus who majored in mathematics. He is currently a student at Stanford University pursuing a master’s degree in computational and mathematical engineering. A top chess player at #300 in the world, Semyon played in the 2024 FIDE (International Federation of Chess) World Blitz and Rapid Championship. He is also a former YU Chess Club board member.
The World Rapid and Blitz Championship is the most prestigious FIDE rated rapid chess tournament in the world, attracting the most elite players worldwide to compete for the $1.5 million dollar prize fund and coveted titles of World Rapid and/or Blitz Champion. The World Rapid Championship consisted of 13 grueling rounds of Rapid chess with a time control of 15 minutes plus a 10 second increment per move allotted to each player. The World Blitz Championship featured 13 rounds of Blitz chess with a time control of three minutes plus a two second increment per move allotted to each player.
To qualify for this event, a player must have over 2550 ELO rating in either the blitz, rapid or classical format of chess. In the past few years, cities such as Almaty, Kazakhstan, Samarkand, Uzbekistan and Warsaw, Poland have hosted the tournament. The 2024 FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championships, held in New York City from December 26 to 31, 2024, marked the first time this event was hosted in the United States. The event’s favorable location at Cipriani, Wall Street and close proximity to campus enabled YU students to attend and spectate Semyon and other world-class chess players. Representing the State of Israel, Semyon Lomasov went on to perform remarkably well in the FIDE World Blitz Championship placing 31st place out of 188 players. He also performed very well in the FIDE World Rapid Championship, placing 105th place out of 180 players.
What was your experience competing in Rapid and Blitz?
It’s been a while since I played in such strong tournaments, so I was very excited to see how well I’d do. I had a chance to play against some of the world’s best players (and even did well against some), and met some friends I had not seen in a while.
What do you credit your success to and is there anything you did specifically to help prepare you for this grueling prestigious tournament?
Surprisingly, the less I cared, the better I played. I think a big part was lack of pressure; I tried to focus on having fun, and as soon as I started caring about the result, my performance dropped. I also think doing rigorous academic work trained my brain in different ways and helped me perform. I knew that my approach to the game had changed, although I can’t point exactly how.
What was your most tense moment and how did you deal with it?
Having a disastrous last day in the Rapid, where I lost three games out of four, was definitely hard. I played really well in the first two days, and even drew GM Wesley So, who is a current world #12 and former world #2, and had very high ambitions for the last day. I think getting the support from the YU was a key to bouncing back in Blitz.
You received a lot of support from the YU Chess Club Community who were watching and spectating your games. What did their support mean to you?
It really helped me take the pressure off. After the last day of Rapid, I felt that I didn’t live up to the expectations. Looking back, I made the mistake of thinking about the result too much rather than trying to play my best chess. Having the whole YU group chat cheer me up after what I thought was a big failure made me feel like the result didn’t matter that much, and I could enjoy playing chess again.
A few YU students went to spectate your games in-person thanks to your ticket requests. Do you think spectating chess events in-person is a valuable experience or do you think there are better ways to fund and promote such tournaments?
Definitely. I’m sure everyone who went can say that the atmosphere of the live tournament is much more enjoyable than online chess. I’d highly recommend that any chess fan try it at least once.
What did you think of the joint-shared first place title between GM Magnus Carlsen and GM Ian Nepomniachtchi for the World Blitz Championship?
I’m not a big fan of that decision. I think it makes chess look like an amateur sport. Think how that would look in, say, soccer. World Cup finals, Argentina is playing France, they’re having post-match penalties. After four shots, the teams decide they’re bored and leave?
Do you have any advice to offer YU’s Chess Team for competitive tournaments?
I’d say, don’t overthink – just play. Try to make it a good experience regardless of the result. Meet new people, visit new places, see what a tournament feels like. With this approach, chess will be very enjoyable.
Photo Caption: Lomasov playing in the Pan Ams Intercollegiate Chess Tournament for the Standford University A Team
Photo Credit: Semyon Lomasov