Erigaisi shares lead, Carlsen withdraws @ World Rapid New York

Indian Grandmaster Erigaisi Arjun kept himself on track for the Candidates spot, sharing the lead with 7.0 points after nine rounds in the 2024 FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship at CIPRANI 55 Wall Street, New York here today. Sharing the leaderboard with Erigaisi were Murzin Volodar (Rus), Duda Jan-Krzysztof(Pol) and Grischuk Alexander (Rus). Amazing shows of teenager Murzin in the past two days was overshadowed by what could be known as “Jeansgate” involving top seed Magnus Carlsen.

Citing violation of dress code, defending champion Magnus Carlsen was not paired for the 9th round. Following the action taken by FIDE (International Chess Federation) Carlsen withdrew from both – the rapid and blitz – tournaments. In a statement of explanation of action FIDE said, “Today, Mr. Magnus Carlsen breached the dress code by wearing jeans, which are explicitly prohibited under long-standing regulations for this event. The Chief Arbiter informed Mr. Carlsen of the breach, issued a $200 fine, and requested that he change his attire. Unfortunately, Mr. Carlsen declined, and as a result, he was not paired for round nine. This decision was made impartially and applies equally to all players.” More will be heard, written and discussed about the “Jeansgate” incident that has given a great tournament in New York a negative twist.

Earlier, Indian star Erigaisi had a good day in office, scoring two wins over GMs Robson Ray (USA) and Sargsyan Shant (Arm) respectively. Russian prodigy Murzin continued to impress by scalping home favorite GM Hikaru Nakamura in the last round for the day. In crucial top board pairings for the tenth round, Murzin crosses swords with Duda, while Grischuk faces Erigaisi.

In the women’s section, three Grandmasters viz., Ju Wenjun (Chn), Dronavalli Harika, Koneru Humpy (both India) shared the lead with 6.5 points after eight rounds. The final three rounds promise to be exciting, with no holds barred battle from the women. Humpy had a fine 4/4 day and will be hoping to carry the form into the final day. Having previously won the world rapid chess title in 2019 at Moscow, Humpy knows what it takes to step into the pinnacle.

With stakes getting higher, each point is going to be extremely hard fought. While it is a spot in the Candidates that matters for Erigaisi, for the rest it is the medals and the huge prize money. The final rounds in the Open & the women’s section will be played tomorrow.

Ray Robson (2645) – Erigaisi Arjun (2694) 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 4. e4 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Qxd4 7. Bxb4 Qxe4+ 8. Ne2 Na6 9. Bf8 Qg6 10. Bd6 e5 11. Bxe5 Nb4 12. Nf4 Qf5 13. Qd6 f6 14. Bc3 Nc2+ 15. Kd2 Nxa1 16. Bd3 Qd7 17. Re1+ Kf7 18. Qc5 g6 19. Ne6 Qxe6 20. Rxe6 Bxe6 21. Qd4 c5 22. Qxc5 Rd8 23. Ke2 Nh6 24. Qc7+ Rd7 25. Qf4 Bf5 26. Bxf5 Nxf5 27. Qc1 Re8+ 28. Kf1 Red8 29. Ke2 Nd4+ 30. Bxd4 Rxd4 31. g3 Rd1 32. Qxd1 Rxd1 33. Kxd1 Ke6 34. Kd2 Ke5 35. Kd3 a5 36. b3 g5 37. f3 f5 38. Kc3 g4 39. fxg4 fxg4 40. a3 b6 41. a4 Nxb3 42. Kxb3 Kd4 0-1

Hikaru Nakamura (2755) – Murzin Volodar (2588) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. Nc3 h6 6. Nd5 d6 7. Be3 a6 8. Bxc5 dxc5 9. Ne3 Qd6 10. O-O O-O 11. a4 Be6 12. a5 Rad8 13. h3 Bxc4 14. Nxc4 Qe6 15. Nfd2 Nd4 16. c3 Nc6 17. Qe2 Ne7 18. Kh2 Ng6 19. g3 Qd7 20. Nb3 Qb5 21. Qc2 Nxe4 22. Rae1 Nf6 23. Nxe5 Nxe5 24. Rxe5 b6 25. axb6 cxb6 26. Re3 Nd5 27. Re2 Nc7 28. d4 Qc6 29. dxc5 bxc5 30. Nd2 Rfe8 31. Rfe1 Rxe2 32. Rxe2 Ne6 33. h4 Qd5 34. Qa4 Qb7 35. Qc2 Qd5 36. Qe4 Qxe4 37. Nxe4 Rd1 38. Kg2 Kf8 39. Nd2 h5 40. Nc4 Ke7 41. Ne3 Rb1 42. Rd2 a5 43. Nc4 a4 44. f4 g6 45. Ne5 Ke8 46. Kf3 a3 47. bxa3 Rb3 48. Ra2 Rxc3+ 49. Kf2 c4 50. a4 Nc5 51. a5 f6 52. Nf3 Na6 53. Ke2 Kd7 54. Rb2 Ra3 55. Rb6 Ra2+ 56. Kd1 Nc5 57. Rb4 Nd3 58. Rb5 Kd6 59. Nd2 Kc6 60. Rb8 Kc7 0-1

Round 9 Standings (Open): 1-4 Murzin Volodar (Rus), Duda Jan-Krzysztof(Pol), Erigaisi Arjun (Ind), Grischuk Alexander (Rus) 7.0, 5-12 Sevian Samuel, Dominguez Perez Leinier (both USA), Abdusattorov Nodirbek (Uzb), Mamedyarov Shakhriyar (Aze), Sindarov Javokhir (Uzb), Naroditsky Daniel (Rus), Giri Anish (Ned), Lazavik, Denis (Rus) 6.5 pts (180 players).

Round 8 Standings (Women): 1-3 Ju Wenjun (Chn), Dronavalli Harika, Koneru Humpy (both India) 6.5, 4-8 Lagno Kateryna (Rus), Yip Carissa (USA), Kosteniuk Alexandra (Sui), Paehtz Elisabeth (Ger), Tsolakidou Stavroula (Gre) 6.0, 9-12 Tan Zhongyi, Lei Tingjie (both China), Batsiashvili Nino (Geo), Assaubayeva Bibisara (Kaz) 5.5 pts (110 players)

Picture courtesy: FIDE (International Chess Federation)

Official Site: https://worldrapidandblitz2024.fide.com/