6 days Ago By Firstpost
Top-ranked Indian Arjun Erigaisi handed world No 1 Magnus Carlsen a rare defeat, checkmating him in just 20 moves during the Tata Steel Chess India Blitz Championship in Kolkata on Saturday. Carlsen had won the ‘Rapid’ section of the tournament on Friday only to suffer his first defeat in the ongoing tournament, but managed to end Day 1 of the Blitz event on top of the table regardless. The Norwegian Grandmaster, who had won the 2019 edition in his previous appearance at the premier Indian event, had registered five wins and two draws on the opening day of the Blitz championship at Kolkata’s Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium.
That was until world No 4 Erigaisi brought his unbeaten run to a screeching halt with a spectacular victory in an eighth-round clash that lasted just in just 20 moves and six minutes. Carlsen had earlier beaten Arjun in the Rapid section on Thursday in a game lasting 40 moves. On Saturday, however, the five-time world champion accepted defeat with nine pieces left on the board.
Arjun Erigaisi crushes Magnus Carlsen in 20 moves with the black pieces — the World no. 1's 1st loss in #TataSteelChessIndia this year! https://t.co/FKdLhuE3sh pic.
twitter.com/tUCb7T9a8R Carlsen had earlier defeated SL Narayanan, R Praggnanandhaa, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Vincent Keymer and Nihal Sarin besides holding Wesley So and Daniil Dubov to draws before the defeat against Arjun. He would later collect a third draw against Vidit Gujrathi in the ninth and final round of the day to finish with 6.
5 points out of a possible 9 to remain on top of the standings. Praggnanandhaa ended the day at the second sport just half-a-point behind him, winning six in a row after losing his first three. Arjun and Vidit were third and fourth with 5.
5 and 5 points respectively. Germany’s Vincent Keymer, meanwhile, found himself at the bottom of the table with just two points. Meanwhile in the women’s section, Kateryna Lagno ended the day at the numero uno spot with a total of 7 points, ending the day unbeaten with five wins and four draws.
Valentina Gunina trailed her by a solitary point at the second spot while Aleksandra Goryachkina, who had won the Rapid tournament recently, was third..
