World No.1 Magnus Carlsen added the blitz title to the rapid crown in the Tata Steel Chess tournament in Kolkata.
| Photo Credit: DEBASISH BHADURI
Magnus Carlsen played 27 games of chess here over the last five days. He lost just one of those games. The man who beat him was Arjun Erigaisi.
So, the World No. 1 had a score to settle. And he did, in the penultimate round of the Tata Steel Chess India blitz tournament at the Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium on Sunday.
That win would be enough for him to claim the title. Thus, for the second time in three days, the Norwegian won an elite tournament with a round to spare.
While Carlsen won the rapid title by a margin of two points, he finished on top of the blitz table by 1.5 points. He ended his campaign with a win, against Vidit Gujrathi.
Wesley So, the third-seeded American, took the runner-up spot, while Arjun finished third. It was a fine comeback for the youngster from Warangal though, after his disappointing show in the rapid section, in which he was placed eighth.
The women’s event also produced a champion with a round to spare. Russian Kateryna Lagno showed why she is a three-time World champion in this format.
A draw in the penultimate round was all she needed to ensure the title. She got that, with black pieces, in a rook ending with D. Harika.
Lagno, however, was beaten in the final round by Valentina Gunina. That made it a 1-2-3 for Russia, with Gunina finishing second and Aleksandra Goryachkina, the rapid champion, third.
Goryachkina had tied for third place with Vantika Agrawal, who was undone by her inferior tie-breaker score. It was still a memorable tournament for the fast-improving player from Noida. She had finished third in the rapid event.
The results: Men:
18th round: S.L. Narayanan bt Vincent Keymer (Ger); Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb) lost to Nihal Sarin; Wesley So (USA) bt Daniil Dubov (Rus); R. Praggnanandhaa bt Arjun Erigaisi; Magnus Carlsen (Nor) bt Vidit Gujrathi.
17th round: Gujrathi bt Narayanan; Arjun lost to Carlsen; Dubov drew with Praggnanandhaa; Nihal lost to So; Keymer drew with Abdusattorov.
16th round: Narayanan lost to Abdusattorov; So bt Keymer; Praggnanandhaa lost to Nihal; Carlsen bt Dubov; Gujrathi bt Arjun.
15th round: Arjun bt Narayanan; Dubov lost to Gujrathi; Nihal drew with Carlsen; Keymer bt Praggnanandhaa; Abdusattorov lost to So.
The standings: 1. Carlsen 13; 2. So 11.5; 3. Arjun 10.5; 4. Praggnanandhaa 9.5; 5-6. Gujrathi and Dubov 9; 7. Abdusattorov 8; 8. Nihal 7; 9. Narayanan 6.5; 10. Keymer 6.
Women:
18th round: Koneru Humpy drew with D. Harika; Kateryna Lagno (Rus) lost to Valentina Gunina (Rus); Vantika Agrawal drew with Divya Deshmukh; Nana Dzagnidze (Geo) bt R. Vaishali; Aleksandra Goryachkina (Rus) drew with Alexandra Kosteniuk (Rus).
17th round: Kosteniuk bt Humpy; Vaishali bt Goryachkina; Divya bt Dzagnidze; Gunina b Vantika; Harika drew with Lagno.
16th round: Humpy drew with Lagno; Vantika bt Harika; Dzagnidze drew with Gunina; Goryachkina bt Divya; Kosteniuk lost to Vaishali.
15th round: Vaishali lost to Humpy; Divya bt Kosteniuk; Gunina lost to Goryachkina; Harika drew with Dzagnidze; Lagno bt Vantika.
The standings: 1. Lagno 11.5; 2. Gunina 11; 3-4. Goryachkina and Vantika 9.5; 5-6. Kosteniuk and Humpy 9; 7. Harika 8.5; 8. Vaishali 8; 9. Divya 7.5; 10. Dzagnidze 6.5.
Published – November 17, 2024 08:28 pm IST
