Chess pro misses out on huge prize in $1.5m tournament after staggering mistake makes him resign

A chess player quit after he lost out on up to $250,000 due to a misclick of his mouse during a match.

Jan-Krzysztof Duda faced Nodirbek Abdusattorov at the Esports World Cup on July 30. And it was Abdusattorov who prevailed with a win after a huge mishap by Duda.

Poland’s Duda, 27, and Uzbekistan’s Abduattorov, 20, drew twice during regular games before Duda resigned in the Armageddon after a decisive mouse slip.

On move five, the Pole resigned despite the game being the difference between winning $65,000 or at least $85,000 in the quarterfinals, so missed out on an initial $20,000.

The first prize for the tournament is $250,000, with a combined prize pool of $1.5 million.

After his victory, Abdusattorov said: "It's quite unbelievable right now. In general, I am very happy to qualify for the final eight. This has been an incredibly tough day; it's going to be even tougher in the Finals."

He added: “I'm extremely happy, first of all, doing this match was extremely hard. I played a good game in the first game, but yeah, I couldn't keep my nerves in the second game. I played a horrible opening. In the third game, I really held my nerves and played well. Yeah, at the end, he was close to holding on, but I managed to swindle in the endgame."

Fans were quick to have their say on social media.

One said: “To those asking, ‘Why not just continue playing?’ He is mathematically 100% unable to win after the mistake.”

Another added: “Bro will regret this his entire life”

A third claimed: “If only there was a way to play chess sitting next to each other without using a computer.”

What is an Armageddon in chess?

According to Chess.com, an Armageddon “has the same rules as a regular game of chess except for two very important distinctions: 1) Black has draw odds, meaning that if Black draws the game, then they win, and 2) Black starts with less time on the clock than White. Armageddon games are typically used as a final tiebreak system after multiple draws have occurred in previous stages of the match”.

They are important “because they're a way of quickly determining a winner after a match has had many draws. Since draws are not uncommon at the highest levels of play, armageddons help decide the match's winner even if the game ends in a tie”.