Indian Grandmasters Arjun Erigaisi and D Gukesh shared the lead with world No.1 Magnus Carlsen after the opening five rounds of the FIDE World Rapid Championships in Doha, as the marquee event began with a tightly contested first day.
Erigaisi, the reigning classical world champion Gukesh and Carlsen all finished on 4.5 points, sharing the top spot with France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Russia’s Vladislav Artemiev.
Carlsen looked in imperious form early, winning his first four games with relative ease before being held to a draw by Erigaisi in the fifth and final round of the day. The encounter, played in the Queen’s Gambit Declined, quickly simplified into an equal queen-and-rook endgame.
The Norwegian pressed deep into the endgame and even reached a rook ending with two extra pawns on the “f” and “h” files. However, Erigaisi defended with precision, holding a theoretically drawn position to deny Carlsen a perfect opening-day score.
Gukesh, meanwhile, rebounded strongly after a modest start. Following a draw in the opening round, the teenager strung together four successive wins to surge into the joint lead, marking a sharp contrast to his subdued performance in the Global Chess League in Mumbai earlier this month.
Defending World Rapid champion Volodar Murzin endured a difficult day. The 18-year-old Russian managed only two points from five rounds, beginning with a second-round loss to compatriot Rudik Makarian. Further defeats followed before a recovery win in round five, leaving his title defence hanging by a thread.
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R Praggnanandhaa also struggled to find momentum. The Indian GM opened with a win but followed it up with two draws before suffering a fourth-round defeat as Black against Levan Pantsulaia, a player rated more than 150 points below him. He ended the day on a disappointing note.
Veteran Ukrainian Grandmaster Vasyl Ivanchuk, a former World Rapid champion in Doha in 2016, stood on three points after drawing four of his five games following a first-round victory.
In the women’s section, China’s Zhu Jiner emerged as the sole leader, winning all four of her games to set the early pace. She dominated her opponents, including Armenian Grandmaster Elina Danielian and Georgia’s Nana Dzagnidze, and is set to face Aleksandra Goryachkina in the next round.
Seven players trailed Zhu by half a point, led by Georgia’s Nino Batsiashvili. The chasing group also included former Women’s World Champions Mariya Muzychuk and Antoaneta Stefanova, former challenger Goryachkina, India’s D Harika, Song Yuxin and Sara Khadem.
Former Women’s World Champion Tan Zhongyi suffered a setback despite holding a winning position against R Vaishali. In time trouble, Tan blundered into a back-rank checkmate, a rare lapse at this level.
Defending Women’s Rapid champion Koneru Humpy and reigning classical world champion Ju Wenjun both ended the day on three points.
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