Superbet Rapid 2024 R1-3: Arjun Erigaisi defies Magnus Carlsen
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.
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.
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
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.
Keymer - Wei
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.
Wei - Carlsen, Round 2
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.
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.
Find out the correct continuation for Black. In the game, Black played 40...Rg6?? 41.h4+- ended things in a hurry for Black.
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.
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.
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.
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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.
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
