Magnus Carlsen earned the rare feat of clinching both titles in the men’s section of the Tata Steel Chess India 2024 rapid and blitz tournament, which got over in Kolkata on Sunday. Having won the rapid crown two days earlier, the Norwegian sealed the blitz title with a comfortable margin of 1.5 points. Russian Kateryna Lagno won the women’s blitz championship by half a point.
Carlsen, the World No. 1 in all three formats, had drawn two and lost one of his games on the first day of blitz a day earlier. On the final day, he drew five of his first six games, including against India’s R Praggnanandhaa and Nihal Sarin. But the champion in him was in full flow after that, as he won his last three rounds to emerge winner by a comprehensive margin.
Lagno dominated the women’s with an impressive 11.5 points. Compatriots Valentina Gunina and Aleksandra Goryachkina took the first and second runner-up spots, respectively, following thrilling contests across the rounds. Gunina logged 11 points and Goryachkina 9.5. Gunina had won the rapid title in this section two days ago.
It turned out to be a disappointing outing for the Indians. Trailing Carlsen by half-a-point overnight, Praggnanandhaa started the final day with two points from the first three rounds. He was still in contention. This was followed by four straight defeats, which dented his chances. Even though he scored 1.5 points from the last two rounds, the youngster finished fourth with nine points.
Arjun Erigaisi, who had defeated Carlsen in the eighth round, was the best finisher among the Indians in the men’s section. He was third with 10.5 points. Vidit Gujrathi was fifth, while Sarin and SL Narayanan finished eighth and ninth, respectively, in the 10-player field.
It was similar in the women’s section. Vantika Agarwal was fourth with 9.5 points, behind Goryachkina on tie-break score. Koneru Humpy, D Harika, R Vaishali and Divya Deshmukh took the spots from sixth to ninth, in that order. Overall, it wasn’t a great tournament for the Indians, who came in with big expectations.
The tournament concluded with a grand closing ceremony graced by Shri Chanakya Chaudhary, Vice President of Tata Steel, and the legendary Viswanathan Anand, alongside Grandmaster Dibyendu Barua, who is also a Vice President of the All India Chess Federation. Tournament Director Jeroen Van den Berg was also present.
Blitz standings
Men: Magnus Carlsen (13); Wesley So (11.5); Arjun Erigaisi (10.5); R Praggnanandhaa(9.5); Vidit Gujrathi (9); Daniil Dubov (9); Abdusattorov Nodirbek (8); Nihal Sarin (7) Narayanan S L (6.5); Keymer Vincent (6).
Women: Kateryna Lagno (11.5); Valentina Gunina (11); Aleksandra Goryachkina (9.5); Vantika Agrawal (9.5); Alexandra Kosteniuk (9); Koneru Humpy (9); Harika Dronavalli(8.5); Vaishali R (8) Divya Deshmukh (7.5); Nana Dzagnidze (6.5).