ETCC 6-7: Firouzja hits 6.5/7 | Russia stumble
18-year-old Alireza Firouzja’s reign of terror against 2600 players continued as he beat Dimitrios Mastrovasilis and Baadur Jobava to reach a stunning 6.5/7 and climb to 2798.9 on the live rating list. If he didn’t play again he’d overtake Ding Liren as world no. 2, but his sights will be set on crossing 2800 at a younger age than Magnus Carlsen. Firouzja’s France now face Russia, whose first loss of a game, Kirill Alekseenko’s loss to Kirill Shevchenko of Ukraine, cost them a match defeat. Azerbaijan joined Ukraine in the lead with two rounds to go.