Indian GM Arjun Erigaisi shocks Magnus Carlsen in Aimchess Rapid tournament

Arjun emerged as the best performer of the day, scoring three wins and a draw, to be tied fourth with Poland’s Jan Krzysztof Duda.

FILE PHOTO - Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi.

Showing guts when it mattered, Arjun Erigaisi added to his growing reputation among the chess elite by stunning World champion Magnus Carlsen for his first victory over the World No. 1 and staying in the hunt for a place in the knockout phase of the $150,000 Aimchess Rapid online chess tournament on Saturday.

Overnight leader Uzbek-lad Nodirbek Abdusattorov retained his lead to reach 17 points from a maximum of 24 in the league, where three points are awarded for a win and one for a draw. He started the day with a loss to Vidit Gujrathi but recovered. Seven rounds remain in the league.

Arjun emerged as the best performer of the day, scoring three wins and a draw, to be tied fourth with Poland’s Jan Krzysztof Duda.

After beating Sweden’s Nils Grandelius and USA’s Daniel Naroditsky, Arjun completed a hat-trick of wins by nailing Carlsen in 54 moves with a brilliant counter-attack.

Arjun’s choice of a queen-check - on the 27th turn - that launched a kingside counter-attack, made the decisive difference. Till that point, Carlsen had cornered Arjun’s king on the queen’s side. Thereafter, Arjun’s timely exchange of pieces enlarged his advantage and eventually an exasperated Carlsen gave up.

“That felt really good, I was really happy with the game,” was how Arjun chose to describe his feelings. It was a big consolation for Arjun after he lost, without a serious fight, to the world champion in a two-set final of the Generation Cup last month.

D. Gukesh, who let Abdusattorov off the hook and lost their seventh-round clash, scored over the last-two placed players - compatriot P. Harikrishna and Nils Grandelius - before ending the day with a loss to USA’s Daniel Naroditsky.

Standings (after eight rounds): 1. Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 17/24), 2-3. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Aze), Magnus Carlsen (Nor) (16 each); 4-5. Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Pol), Arjun Erigaisi (15 each); 6-8. D. Gukesh, Vincent Keymer (Ger), Anish Giri (Ned) (12 each); 9-10. Richard Rapport (Rom), Vidit Gujrathi (10 each); 11-12. Aditya Mittal, Daniel Noroditsky (USA) (9 each); 13. David Anton (Esp, 5); 14. Eric Hansen (Can, 4). 15-16. P. Harikrishna, Nils Grandelius (Swe) (3 each).