Magnus Carlsen overcame a temporary slump of form which saw him get a string of five consecutive draws on Sunday to claim the blitz title at the Tata Steel Chess India tournament in Kolkata.
Magnus Carlsen, despite losing on the first day of the blitz event to Arjun Erigaisi, had begun Sunday as the leader and was looking to add the title in the fastest format to the rapid one he claimed at the Tata Steel Chess India event at the Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium in Kolkata two days back.
But then, Praggnanandhaa, Wesley So, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Vincent Keymer and Nihal Sarin managed to grind out draws against him.
Those five results saw Arjun Erigaisi race to the lead in the open standings. But Arjun Erigaisi soon hit his own slump, which saw him collapse from being the leader with three rounds to go to ending third, two and a half points behind the world no 1.
Magnus Carlsen vs Arjun Erigaisi rivalry
Arjun Erigaisi lost all his three finals matches, to Vidit Gujrathi, Magnus Carlsen himself and Praggnanandhaa. The loss to Magnus Carlsen, in fact, was decisive as it ensured that the Norwegian would seal the title in the penultimate round itself.
The win over Arjun Erigaisi was sweet revenge for Magnus Carlsen, who had endured a shocking 20-move defeat at the hands of the 21-year-old Indian. On Sunday, in front of hundreds of spectators at the Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium in Kolkata Magnus Carlsen forced Arjun Erigaisi to resign after 41 moves while playing with black pieces.
Magnus Carlsen had also won the rapid section with a round to spare after going on a six-game winning streak. He had later spoken about how he had particularly enjoyed defeating Arjun Erigaisi on his way to the rapid title.
Magnus Carlsen with his rapid and blitz trophies; Kateryna Lagno and Aleksandra Goryachkina with their individual trophies at the Tata Steel Chess India tournament in Kolkata. (Express Photos by Partha Paul)
In the women’s section, grandmaster Kateryna Lagno emerged victorious in the blitz section, mirroring Magnus Carlsen’s win as she also claimed the title with a round to spare. Just like Magnus Carlsen, Lagno was leading the tournament then saw her lead vanish with five rounds to go as GM Valentina Gunina surged into the lead.
But she managed to overcome the drama and claim the title.
India’s Vantika Agrawal was joint third in the standings along with Aleksandra Goryachkina (9.5 points), a commendable performance for the 22-year-old International Master, who has gone from strength to strength this year, winning the individual gold medal on the fourth board for the Indian women’s chess team at the Budapest Olympiad.
Vantika finished ahead of a much-vaunted quartet of Indian stars, including the three Indian women’s chess players to have become grandmasters — Koneru Humpy (joint fifth with nine points), Harika Dronavalli (seventh place with 8.5 points) and Vaishali R (eighth position with eight points) — and IM Divya Deshmukh (ninth with 7.5 points.)
Final Standings at Tata Steel Chess India Blitz:
Open Section
Magnus Carlsen (13); So Wesly (11.5); Arjun Erigaisi (10.5); R Praggnanandhaa (9.5); Vidit Santosh Gujrathi (9); Daniil Dubov (9); Abdusattorov Nodirbek (8); Nihal Sarin (7) Narayanan S L (6.5); and Keymer Vincent (6).
Women’s Section
Kateryna Lagno (11.5); Valentina Gunina (11); Aleksandra Goryachkina (9.5); Vantika Agrawal (9.5); Alexandra Kosteniuk (9); Koneru Humpy (9); Harika Dronavalli (8.5); Vaishali R (8) Divya Deshmukh (7.5) and Nana Dzagnidze (6.5).
