Viswanathan Anand and Nihal Sarin dealt timely blows to emerge as joint leaders after Round 6 in the rapid section of Tata Steel Chess India. Arjun Erigaisi made a strong comeback after his opening-day blues.
The going wasn’t as good as far as the Indian women were concerned. Three more rounds will be played on Friday before the blitz segment over the weekend.
Two Indians share lead
Overnight joint leader with Hans Niemann of the USA, Anand frittered away a winning position against Erigaisi and lost the fourth-round game. He then posted wins against Niemann and Volodar Murzin of Russia to finish the day on 4.5 points.
Sarin had a disappointing first three rounds. He bounced back by winning all three of his games on Thursday. Niemann, Murzin and Vidit Gujrathi were his victims. With momentum on his side, he should fancy his chances. But he faces Anand in the final round.
Erigaisi back in business
After starting the event with two defeats, Erigaisi had kept himself in contention by winning his third game on the first day. After escaping with a victory against Anand, the top seed in the rapid section of this event beat China’s Wei Yi, who had defeated him in the FIDE World Cup quarterfinals late last year.
Following the draw against Vidit in the sixth round, Erigaisi was on 3.5 points, alongside R Praggnanandhaa. Wesley So of the USA was between the Indian pairs of Anand-Sarin and Erigaisi-Pragg on four points.
Pragg’s clock controversy
There was controversy during the sixth-round game between Pragg and So. The Indian pressed the clock without having made his move under acute time pressure. It’s against the rules. The arbiters stopped the game and had a word with the players, who agreed to a draw.
Tournament Director Dibyendu Barua later praised So for showing sportsmanship because he could have claimed the point. “I don’t want to win like that. It was a drawish position also. I didn’t have an advantage,” said So.
Divya at the bottom
The biggest disappointment in the women’s section has been Divya Deshmukh so far. The highest-rated Indian in the fray, she is winless, with just two points from four draws and two losses. She is at the bottom of the table.
Vantika the saving grace
Vantika Agrawal has been the best-performing Indian so far, although she is a good 1.5 points behind the leader on three. Kateryna Lagno of Russia is in sole possession of the top spot on 4.5. D Harika and R Vaishali are on 2.5 points each.
Inspired run by Rakshitta
The player least expected to excel was the most impressive Indian player in the women’s section until four rounds. Rakshitta Ravi has a rating of 2148, which is 199 ELO rating points behind the next lowest-rated player in the field.
Rakshitta started with three draws and then defeated Georgian veteran Nana Dzagnidze. It was one of the upsets of this event. She then ran out of steam. Defeats against Vantika and Vaishali kept her on 2.5.
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