World Rapid & Blitz, Day 3: Sprint to the finish!
Day three of the World Rapid Championship started with some big results at the top, as Jan-Krzysztof Duda lost to Volodar Murzin, who is on an absolute tear, and Alexander Grischuk took down Arjun Erigaisi. Ian Nepomniachtchi also won on board three, followed by draws on boards 4 through 10, meaning only Nepo was within half a point of Murzin and Grischuk with three rounds to play.
In the Women’s, Ju Wenjun’s string of draws on day two allowed some other players to catch up, and after round 9 she was part of a four way tie at the top with Kateryna Lagno, Harika Dronavalli, and Humpy Koneru, plus six players only half a point back. The 10th round didn’t help, as the four leaders drew amongst themselves and three more players jumped into a share of the lead with wins, making it a total of seven players tied for first with one round to go!
The Open similarly had some draws at the top in round 11, but Erigaisi scored a win to gain back some ground. The 12th round has two co-leaders at 8.5 and four players at 8, and the matchups are Grischuk-Nepo, Praggnanandhaa-Murzin, and Erigaisi-Dominguez. With some luck, one of the 11 players at 7.5 could also sneak their way onto the podium.
The Open’s 12th round and Women’s 11th and final round have begun. You can follow all the day’s action on Lichess, or the chess24 livestream with GM Aman Hambleton and FM James Canty.
