Arjun secures joint fifth place after first day of World Rapid Chess

Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi opened his campaign with four wins and a solitary loss in the World Rapid Chess Championship to be tied fifth even as defending champion Magnus Carlsen endured a frustrating day, managing to log just one victory here.

Carlsen of Norway could not find his mojo drew three games and a late loss against Russian Denis Lazavik. Another Indian to impress was 13-year-old Raunak Sadhwani, who provided glimpse of his promise by taking down one of pre-event favourites Alireza Firouzja of France on Thursday.

With the first five rounds done and eight more still to come in USD 550,000 championship, Murzin Volodar of Russia, Shant Sargsyan of Armenia and the American duo of Daniel Naroditsky and Lenier Dominguez Perez share the lead on 4.5 points apiece.

Arjun and Sadhwani are in the next group of 11 players who share the fifth spot on four points each. It is an impressive list that includes the likes of Hikaru Nakamura of United States, Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan and Anish Giri of Holland.

In the Women's section being played simultaneously, local star Alice Lee stole the opening day thunder with four straight victories in as many games.

The American is challenged by world champion Wenjun Ju of China, her compatriot Zhongyi Tan, Gunay Mammadzada of Azerbaijan, Nino Batsiashvili of Georgia and India's D Harika who all have 3.5 points to their credit.

With seven rounds to come in the women's event, R Vaishali could also among the ones to watch out for from an Indian perspective as the Chennai-based is on three points.

Highest rated and former winner Koneru Humpy could manage only 2.5 points and has a lot of catching up to do in the remainder of the event.

Arjun, if he wins this championship, will be the first player to go through to the Candidates, a cycle that started early this year and will continue till December 2025.

Currently the Indian stands second behind Fabiano Caruana of United States who is on 3.5 points.

He got things pretty much right except the sole defeat he suffered against Samuel Sevian of United States in the third round. With four victories under his belt, Arjun can be a real threat.

The day, however, belonged to Sadhwani who found his magical touch as early as in round two when he tackled Firouza with the black pieces.

The position seemed headed to equal when Sadhwani punched his way back keeping an eye on a weak white pawn with his centralised knight. The knight darted through the board creating another hole on the king side that forced a resignation.

Harika was the pick of the Indian women as she came up with a crushing victory against Nataliya Zhukova of Ukraine with the white pieces in her fourth-round game.

Harika picked up pawns at will in a Queen and opposite coloured Bishops endgame and registered a smooth victory in a game that lasted 70 moves.

The rapid event has a time control of 15 minutes for the entire game with 10 seconds added after each move is played.

This will be followed by the blitz championship that will have three minutes for both players with just two seconds increment. The women's event is spread over 11 rounds while in the open section, 13 rounds will be played.

In blitz, the top eight will qualify and determine the medallists through a knockout stage.

Standings after round 5 open: 1-4: Shant Sargsyan (Arm); Lenier Dominguez Perez (Usa); Daniel Naroditsky (Usa), Murzin Volodar (FID); 5-15: Arju Erigaisi, Raunak Sadhwani (both Ind); Javokhir Sindarov, Nodirbek Abdusattorov (both Uzb); Duda Jan-Kryzstof (Pol) Anish Giri (Ned); Levon Aronian, Hikaru Nakamura, Ray Robson, Samuel Sevian (All USA); NOgerbek Kazybek (Kaz) 3.5 each  Indians: V Pranav (3.5); R Praggnanandhaa (3); Aravindh Chithambaram (2); Kartik Venkatramanan, Sandipan Chanda (1.5) each;  Standings after round 4 Women: 1. 2-5Alice Lee (Usa, 4); 2-6: D Harika, (Ind); Nino Batsiashvili (Geo); Gunay Mammadzada (Aze); Wenjun Ju (Chn); Zhongyi Tan (Chn) 3.5 each:  Indians: R Vaishali (3); Vantika Agarwal, Koneru Humpy (2.5 each); Sahiti Varshini, Divya Deshmukh (2 each); Padmini Rout (1.5).