World Blitz Championship 2024: India’s hopes end in open category after Praggnanandhaa & Erigaisi falter

India had a really bad run in the World Blitz Championship 2024, Open category, as none of the players in the open category qualified for the knockouts on Monday night in New York. India’s top players like R Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi had a poor run, ultimately failing to get into the top 8. Both of them displayed promising performances earlier, but they couldn’t maintain the momentum needed to advance to the knockout stages. They both faced tough challenges and crucial defeats that hampered their progress. Russian Grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi finished on top, while Magnus Carlsen placed himself into the second position. From the Women’s category, India’s R Vaishali qualified for the knockouts. She finished the 11 rounds unbeaten topping the table. She’s the only Indian who’s going to play the knockouts overall.

Pragg’s hopes dashed in the last round, Arjun’s late woes

Praggnanandhaa’s run in the World Blitz Championship 2024 came to an unfortunate end when he lost to Daniil Dubov. He blundered during a crucial moment, and Dubov capitalised on it to secure a victory. Meanwhile, Arjun Erigaisi experienced a challenging finish in the championship. Despite a strong start, he lost to Daniel Lazavik, which knocked him out of the race for the knockouts. Arjun’s defeat against Anish Giri earlier had already put him on shaky ground, and this final loss sealed his fate. He faced some tough opponents and couldn’t find the breakthrough he needed in the final rounds. along with losing, Arjun also fails to qualify for the 2026 candidates.

Cautious play at the top

In the top boards of the Open category, the leading players chose a cautious approach by opting for quickdraws. This strategy ensured they maintained their spots with 9.5 points each, leading to an intense eight-way tie at the top. The level of competition was extremely high, with each player trying to secure their position as the championship drew to a close.

Here are the pairings for the knockout stage of FIDE World Blitz Championship:

Ian Nepomniachtchi – Volodar Murzin
🇫🇷 Alireza Firouzja – 🇺🇸 Wesley So
🇳🇴 Magnus Carlsen – 🇺🇸 Hans Niemann
🇵🇱 Jan-Krzysztof Duda – 🇺🇸 Fabiano Caruana#RapidBlitz pic.twitter.com/psdZ33W1IO

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) December 31, 2024

Indian contingent’s overall performance

Before the final rounds, Praggnanandhaa was in the 13th spot with 8.5 points, and Arjun Erigaisi stood 23rd with 7 points. Raunak Sadhwani and Aravindh Chithambaram also competed but couldn’t climb higher in the standings.

Rank	Player	Rating	Points/Rounds
24	GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu	2716	8.5/13
35	GM Raunak Sadhwani	2663	8/13
64	GM Arjun Erigaisi	2749	7/13
68	GM Aravindh Chithambaram	2618	7/13
67	GM V Pranav	2572	7/13
121	GM Harsha Bharathakoti	2527	6/13
131	GM Diptayan Ghosh	2552	5.5/13
65	GM Sam Shankland	2657	7/13
136	GM Chanda Sandipan	2441	5.5/13
130	GM Raja Harshit	2451	5.5/13

Players qualified for World Blitz Championship 2024, Open Category Knockouts

Rank	Player	Country	Rating	Points/Rounds
1	GM Ian Nepomniachtchi	Russia	2770	9.5/13
2	GM Magnus Carlsen	Norway	2890	9.5/13
3	GM Fabiano Caruana	USA	2796	9.5/13
4	GM Wesley So	USA	2803	9.5/13
5	GM Alireza Firouzja	France	2871	9.5/13
6	GM Hans Moke Niemann	USA	2709	9.5/13
7	GM Daniil Dubov	Russia	2784	9.5/13
8	GM Volodar Murzin	Russia	2629	9.5/13