For the second month in a row, 9z Globant won the Chess Club Showdown on October 28, once again defeating Team Liquid in the finals. They were the two highest-scoring teams after a two-hour arena of five-minute blitz games. In the finals, 50 players from each of the top two teams played head-to-head two-game matches in rating order to crown a champion. GM Faustino Oro, the highest-rated player on 9z Globant, led them to a convincing victory with a 1.5-0.5 win over GM Christopher Yoo.

9z Globant flexed their strength throughout the day, winning the arena and the finals. They had 10 competitors with blitz ratings over 3000, and their whole 50-player team in the finals held ratings over 2000. That meant that they had rating advantages on every board throughout the finals, leading to a dominant 79-21 victory.

Chess Club Showdowns are unique events where super GMs like Vincent Keymer, Gata Kamsky, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave compete in the same event as amateurs. Many of the 6,400 participants got to play against titled opponents, some for the very first time. 

GM Magnus Carlsen had to withdraw at the last minute, while other top Team Liquid players, GMs Fabiano Caruana and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, were unavailable because they were competing in the Clutch Chess Champions Showdown. Even without Carlsen, Caruana, and Praggnanandhaa, Team Liquid finished second, closer to 9z Globant than to third-place Team Vitality. Vitality, FUT Esports, and Natus Vincere rounded out the top five team scores, all taking home prizes. 

In a field stacked with strong GMs, Chinese teenage FM Ziyuan Xu managed to win individual first place in the arena section with 82 points. He scored numerous upsets throughout the event, including this impressive game against GM Matthias Bluebaum, who finished in fourth place. 

IM Yoseph Taher was 9z Globant's top performer in the arena, finishing in second place. He could even even improved on his final score, but he ran out of time on the arena clock with forced mate on the board.

9z Globant had to work hard in the arena, only surpassing Team Liquid by a score of 2566 to 2435. However, in the head-to-head finals, 9z Globant's rating advantage proved decisive. They outrated their opponents on every board and cruised to a clear victory. On the top board, Oro scored a win and a draw in his match against Yoo.

The next Chess Club Showdown will be played on Wednesday, November 18 at 11 a.m. ET / 17:00 CET / 9:30 p.m. IST.

You can watch the broadcast of the October Chess Club Showdown, hosted by GM Benjamin Bok and John Sargent below.