In the ongoing Superbet rapid and blitz chess tournament, a part of the Grand Chess Tour, India’s R. Praggnanandhaa has once again defeated world number one Magnus Carlsen of Norway. Despite Wei Yi of China leading the tournament with a significant 2.5-point lead, Praggnanandhaa’s victory over Carlsen has been a standout moment.
Wei Yi, with an impressive score of 20.5 points and seven wins on the first day, is poised to win the first leg of the Grand Chess Tour. However, Carlsen, currently in second place with 18 points, has been struggling, primarily due to his losses against Praggnanandhaa.
Praggnanandhaa, despite his victories, is trailing behind the leaders with 14.5 points, making the title race predominantly between Wei Yi and Carlsen.
Other notable performances include Arjun Erigaisi, who is in fourth place with 14 points, closely followed by Duda Jan-Krzysztof of Poland with 13 points. Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan is in sixth place with 12.5 points, while Vincent Keymer of Germany and early leader Kirill Shevchenko of Romania are in seventh and eighth places respectively.
Anish Giri of Holland is in ninth place with 10.5 points, while D. Gukesh, the world championship challenger, is currently at the bottom with 9.5 points in the USD 1,75,000 prize money tournament.
Carlsen admitted to struggling after his second-round loss against Praggnanandhaa, which led to further losses, including one against Abdusattorov from a winning position.
Wei Yi, despite starting the day with a loss against Gukesh, quickly recovered to win seven games, conceding a draw only to Carlsen.
Gukesh had a challenging day, scoring only 2.5 points despite a promising start against the tournament leader. However, Arjun, with victories over Praggnanandhaa and Gukesh, remains in contention for a podium finish. Despite losses to Wei Yi and Carlsen, Arjun scored five wins and two draws in his other games, keeping the hopes high for the final day of the event.
