Arjun Erigaisi made way for a resurgent Magnus Carlsen at the top after 12 rounds of the league stage in the $150,000 Julius Baer Generation Cup rapid online chess tournament on Tuesday.
Overnight leader by two points, Arjun gained from a blunder from veteran Vassily Ivanchuk in the day’s first round but lost to Jan-Krzysztof Duda in the next. After Boris Gelfand could not find the precise continuation in the middle game to let Arjun breathe easy for a draw, the Indian teenager defeated American youngster Christopher Yoo to tally 24 points from a maximum of 36.
Carlsen (25) displayed his class by scoring three wins in four unbeaten games to overtake Arjun. His victims included Ivan Saric, Duda and Gelfand. In fact, he let Ivanchuk off the hook in the 10th round. The top seed also became the first to qualify for the eight-player knockout phase. Three rounds remain.
R. Praggnanandhaa (19) was tied for the fourth spot with Vincent Keymer and Duda. He drew all four games of the day against teammate B. Adhiban, third-placed Le Quang Liem, David Navara and Hans Moke Niemann.
Adhiban (8) moved out of the cellar, ahead of Gelfand, after scoring his first win. After drawing with Praggnanandhaa, Adhiban defeated Saric, drew with Ivanchuk but lost to Duda.
Meanwhile, in the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix in Astana, Kazakhstan, R. Vaishali (1.5 points) held Chinese favourite Tan Zhongyi in 32 moves in the fourth round.
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