Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi kicked off his campaign at the World Rapid Chess Championship with four victories and one loss, placing him in a tie for fifth.
Meanwhile, defending champion Magnus Carlsen had a tough day, securing just one win while recording three draws and suffering a late defeat to Russian player Denis Lazavik.
Another standout was 19-year-old Raunak Sadhwani, who made headlines by defeating one of the pre-tournament favourites, Alireza Firouzja from France, on Thursday. After five rounds, with eight more to play in the USD 550,000 championship, the leaders are Murzin Volodar from Russia, Shant Sargsyan from Armenia, and American players Daniel Naroditsky and Lenier Dominguez Perez, all of whom have 4.5 points each.
Arjun and Sadhwani are part of a group of 11 players tied for fifth with four points, featuring notable names such as Hikaru Nakamura from the United States, Nodirbek Abdusattorov from Uzbekistan, and Anish Giri from the Netherlands.
In the Women’s section, taking place simultaneously, local favourite Alice Lee impressed with four consecutive wins. She is closely followed by world champion Wenjun Ju of China, her fellow countrywoman Zhongyi Tan, Gunay Mammadzada from Azerbaijan, Nino Batsiashvili from Georgia, and India’s D Harika, each accumulating 3.5 points.
With seven rounds left in the women’s event, R Vaishali, based in Chennai, is also a potential contender, sitting on three points. Former champion and highly-rated Koneru Humpy has had a slower start, amassing only 2.5 points, meaning she will need to catch up in the upcoming rounds.
If Arjun wins this championship, he will be the first player to qualify for the Candidates tournament, a cycle running from early this year until December 2025. Currently, he is in second place behind Fabiano Caruana of the United States, who holds 3.5 points. Arjun performed well overall, barring his single defeat against Samuel Sevian of the United States in the third round. With four wins so far, he poses a significant threat.
However, the spotlight shone on Sadhwani, who demonstrated his skill early in round two against Firouzja with the black pieces. The game was nearing an even position when Sadhwani capitalized on a weak white pawn with a centralized knight. The knight’s aggressive play created vulnerabilities on the king’s side, ultimately forcing his opponent to resign.
Harika was the standout among the Indian women, delivering a commanding win over Nataliya Zhukova from Ukraine in her fourth-round match. Harika skillfully collected pawns in a Queen and opposite coloured Bishops endgame, achieving a smooth victory after 70 moves.
The rapid event features a time control of 15 minutes for the entire game, with an additional 10 seconds added after each move. It will be followed by a blitz competition that allows only three minutes per player along with a two-second increment. The women’s tournament consists of 11 rounds, while the open section will have 13 rounds. In the blitz format, the top eight players will advance and compete for medals through a knockout stage.
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