Superbet Rapid 2024 R1-3: Arjun Erigaisi defies Magnus Carlsen

by Shahid Ahmed - 09/05/2024

Arjun Erigaisi made a solid start at Grand Chess Tour Superbet Rapid and Blitz 2024. He drew his first game against the World no.1 - Magnus Carlsen (NOR). Arjun also shared the point in the next two games against Anish Giri (NED) and Wei Yi (CHN), finishing the day with 3/6. R Praggnanandhaa also scored the same 3/6. He split the point versus Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL) in the first round, lost the second against Kirill Shevchenko (ROU). Then bounced back with a win over Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB). Among the Indians, D Gukesh struggled the most. After suffering two losses, he managed to score a draw against Giri. Kirill won all three games to gain an early sole lead 6/6. He is closely followed by Magnus and Abdusattorov at 4/6 each. Round 4 starts today from 1 p.m. local time, 4:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

A perfect day for Kirill Shevchenko

Kirill Shevchenko (ROU) continues his great form from Sardinia World Chess Festival 2024. He finished second on tie-breaks at that event. Here at Warsaw, Kirill scored three wins on the first day of Superbet Rapid and Blitz 2024. D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa and Vincent Keymer (GER) were his opponents.

Kirill Shevchenko (ROU) emerged an early sole leader 6/6 by winning all three of his games

Arjun Erigaisi had a well fought draw against Magnus Carlsen

Round 1: Abdusattorov - Giri: 2-0

Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB, 2733) has a better score against Anish Giri (NED, 2687) in the faster time controls in a rated event. In the first round, the former World Rapid champion was building a good attack on the kingside. At the right moment he made a great practical decision to sacrifice his knight and expose his opponent's kingside. Giri was also lower on time.

Position after 40.Nxg7!

40.Nxg7! is a great sacrifice. White might not be getting anything anytime soon, but he will have enough compensation Qxg7 41.Bxh6 Qa7 42.g5 practically it is not easy to defend correctly for a human especially when you are down on time. 42...fxg5 43.hxg5 Qa2 44.f6 Qb1 45.Rg3 Ra2 46.f7 Rxc2 47.g6

Position after 47.g6

White doesn't even need his queen to deliver the checkmate. 47...Rxd2+ 48.Bg2 Rxg2+ 49.Rxg2 and now g7# can only be delayed via 49...Bf6 then 50.g7+ Bxg7 51.Bxg7#. A picturesque finish.

Abdusattorov started the tournament with a beautiful win against Giri

Gukesh blundered his queen against Kirill as he hallucinated a checkmate

R Praggnanandhaa - Jan-Krzysztof Duda: 1-1

Keymer - Wei

Position after 16.Nb5

Vincent Keymer (GER, 2647) got an early advantage against Wei Yi (CHN, 2758) 15.Ng6 Qd6 16.Nb5 cxb5 17.Qxc8 Qb6 18.Ne7+ Kf8 19.Nf5 g6 20.Bb4+ Kg8 21.Ne7+ Kg7 22.Qc2 exd4 23.Bxf7!? White keeps things interesting d3 24.Qb3 Ne5? 25.Bxg6 White needed to play 25.Nd5 to keep the attack going. 25...d2 26.Bxd2 Rxd2 and the game petered out to a draw in another 104 moves.

Vincent Keymer could have started with a win against Wei Yi

Magnus Carlsen - Arjun Erigaisi: 1-1

Wei - Carlsen, Round 2

Position after 26.Qa7

Try to think like Magnus Carlsen and find out the best continuation for Black in the above position. It's incredible moves and ideas like these is one of the many reasons why he such a great player.

Magnus Carlsen (NOR) scored his first win of the day against Wei Yi (CHN)

Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL) could not find the precise defense which cost him the game against Vincent Keymer (GER)

Abdusattorov - Gukesh: 2-0

Nodirbek Abdusattorov and D Gukesh games are almost always exciting. In the final moments, Gukesh blundered in a relatively balanced position.

Position after 40.Rg1

Find out the correct continuation for Black. In the game, Black played 40...Rg6?? 41.h4+- ended things in a hurry for Black.

Nodirbek Abdusattorov and D Gukesh had another thrilling match in their ever-growing saga

Anish Giri - Arjun Erigaisi: 0.5-0.5

Shevchenko - Praggnanandhaa: 2-0

Kirill Shevchenko (ROU, 2622) faced R Praggnanandhaa (2704) only once in a rated game. The latter won that battle last year.

Position after 10.Nxe5

Those who are familiar with Kirill's playing style know that he loves to play sharp chess. 10.Nxe5! is a typical Kirill sac dxe5 11.Bb4 c5 12.Bxc5 Qc7 13.Bxf8 Kxf8 14.dxe5 Ne8 15.f4 White has a rook and three pawns for two minor pieces which certainly gives him an edge.

Position after 37.e6!

36...Nb8? was a mistake 37.e6!+- ended things in a hurry for Black.

Praggnanandhaa - Abdusattorov: 2-0

R Praggnanandhaa is yet to lose a rated game against Nodirbek Abdusattorov this year. That remained unchanged yesterday. Praggnanandhaa navigated the favorable queen endgame into a win.

R Praggnanandhaa bounced back with a win after losing his previous round game against Kirill Shevchenko

The chess universe will have to wait a little longer for an exciting game between Magnus Carlsen and Jan-Krzysztof Duda

Arjun Erigaisi - Wei Yi: 0.5-0.5

Photo Gallery

Inaugural first move was made on R Praggnanandhaa and Jan-Krzysztof Duda's board

Round 1 in progress

Rey Enigma made the ceremonial first move of Round 2 on Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Vincent Keymer's board

Fans waiting for their favorite players

Magnus Carlsen fans

Jan-Krzysztof Duda fans

Replay Grand Chess Tour Superbet Rapid Round 1-3 Live Commentary by IM Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal | Video: ChessBase India

Schedule and Format

Superbet Rapid and Blitz will have three rounds per day in the Rapid portion from 8th to 10 May. The Blitz event will take place on 11th and 12th May. It will be a double round-robin event for the Blitz which means nine rounds will be played on each day. Round 1 starts at 1 p.m. local time, 4:30 p.m. IST. It will be a 10-player Round Robin event. Time control for Rapid will be 25 minutes + 10 seconds increment.

Superbet Rapid and Blitz 2024 schedule | Photo: Grand Chess Tour

Prize

The total prize fund for each of the Rapid and Blitz event is US$ 175000.

Replay Rapid Round 1-3 games

Standings after Rapid Round 3

Kirill Shevchenko (ROU) has gained an early sole lead 6/6

Links

Official site

Related news:

	Maximus Magnus Carlsen wins ten in-a-row to become a clear champion at Superbet Rapid and Blitz 2024 @ 13/05/2024 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
	Superbet Blitz 2024 R1-9: Praggnanandhaa outplays Carlsen as the latter struggles to catch Wei Yi @ 12/05/2024 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
	Superbet Rapid 2024 R7-9: Praggnanandhaa draws with Carlsen, halts Wei Yi's winning streak @ 11/05/2024 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
	Superbet Rapid 2024 R4-6: Gukesh escapes against Magnus Carlsen @ 10/05/2024 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
	Gukesh, Arjun and Praggnanandhaa set to face Magnus Carlsen and co. at Superbet Rapid and Blitz 2024 @ 08/05/2024 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
	Grand Chess Tour 2024: Arjun Erigaisi and Vidit Gujrathi named among 13 Wildcards @ 03/04/2024 by ChessBase India (en)
	Grand Chess Tour 2024: Praggnanandhaa and Gukesh named full tour participants @ 23/02/2024 by Shahid Ahmed (en)