After an underwhelming start, world number one Magnus Carlsen showed why he is the best in the business as he won all three rounds of Rapid play on the second day of the sixth edition of the Tata Steel Chess India (TSCI) Rapid & Blitz tournament in Kolkata on Thursday.
Five-time world champion Carlsen began his day with a win over Indian grandmaster S.L. Narayanan. He followed this by defeating American grandmaster Wesley So and concluded with a victory over another Indian grandmaster, Arjun Erigaisi, who is the second-highest-ranked player in this year’s TSCI Rapid & Blitz.
Carlsen’s three victories on Thursday put him at the top of the Rapid standings in the Open category after six rounds, with a total of 5 points. Nodirbek Abdusattorov, who had led after the first day, slipped to second place with 4.5 points after drawing his first two rounds of the day and winning the final one.
Nodirbek, the grandmaster from Uzbekistan and the third-highest-ranked player in this year’s TSCI Rapid & Blitz faced three Indian grandmasters on Thursday. He drew with both Nihal Sarin and Vidit Gujrathi before securing a victory over S.L. Narayanan.
It was a mixed day for the Indian players. S.L. Narayanan, who had been India’s top performer on day one and ended that day in second place, suffered two losses and managed one draw, dropping to sixth position with 2.5 points.
Meanwhile, young Indian grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa rebounded from his first-day performance at the Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium in Kolkata. With two draws and one win, he emerged as India’s best performer of the day, climbing to fifth place with 3 points.
Russian grandmaster Aleksandra Goryachkina during Tata steel chess tournament in Kolkata | Salil Bera
In the Women’s category, Russian grandmaster Aleksandra Goryachkina maintained her lead in the standings by winning all three of her rounds on the second day, reaching 5 points and securing the top spot.
Georgian grandmaster Nana Dzagnidze, now with 4 points, moved up to second place, replacing Russian grandmaster Kateryna Lagno. Indian grandmaster Vantika Agrawal remained in third with a total of 3.5 points.
