Praggnanandhaa, Vidit, Nihal, Gukesh, Arjun to battle Carlsen and world's best at World Rapid and Blitz 2023
26/12/2023 - The World Rapid and Blitz Championships 2023 was inaugurated in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on 25th of December 2023. The opening press conference, draw of lots and inauguration ceremony was held at Hotel Silk Road by Minyoun. In this edition, a total of 29 Indians are slated to take part which is the highest ever. Magnus Carlsen (NOR), Zhongyi Tan (CHN) and Bibisara Assaubayeva (KAZ) returns to defend their World Rapid and Blitz titles. The tournament marks the absence of Hikaru Nakamura and Alireza Firouzja. R Praggnanandhaa, Vidit Gujrathi, Nihal Sarin, D Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, Koneru Humpy, Harika Dronavalli, Divya Deshmukh and Vaishali R are the top Indians in the fray. Five rounds of Rapid in the Open and four in the Women will be played on 26th December 2023. Round 1 starts today at 3 p.m. local time, 3:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Shahid Ahmed