Even though incumbent champion Magnus Carlsen had a tough day and only managed one victory here, Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi started his campaign with four victories and one loss in the World Rapid Chess Championship, tying for fifth place.

After losing late against Russian Denis Lazavik and drawing three games, Carlsen of Norway was unable to recapture his rhythm. Raunak Sadhwani, 13, was another Indian to make an impression. He showed potential on Thursday by defeating France’s Alireza Firouzja, a pre-event favorite.

Shant Sargsyan of Armenia, Daniel Naroditsky and Lenier Dominguez Perez of the United States, and Murzin Volodar of Russia are tied for the lead with 4.5 points each after the first five rounds of the USD 550,000 tournament.

The next 11 players, Arjun and Sadhwani, are tied for fifth place with four points each. Among the notable names on the list are Anish Giri of the Netherlands, Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan, and Hikaru Nakamura of the United States. Local sensation Alice Lee stole the show in the Women’s division, which was contested concurrently, winning four games in a row. World champion Wenjun Ju of China, her countrywoman Zhongyi Tan, Azerbaijan’s Gunay Mammadzada, Georgia’s Nino Batsiashvili, and India’s D Harika, who each have 3.5 points, are the opponents of the American.

From an Indian standpoint, R Vaishali may be one of the players to keep an eye on in the women’s tournament with seven rounds left, as the Chennai native is currently on three points. Koneru Humpy, the top-ranked player and previous champion, only managed to score 2.5 points and will need to make up ground in the next stages of the competition. The top eight will advance to the knockout round of the Blitz competition, which will decide the medal winners.