Carlsen beats Grischuk in Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge opener

Magnus Carlsen began his Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge campaign with a 46-move win over Russia’s Alexander Grischuk.

Magnus Carlsen is due to face his close rivals Levon Aronian, Ding Liren and Hikaru Nakamura during the course of the Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge.

World champion Magnus Carlsen began his campaign in the Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge with a 46-move win over Russia’s Alexander Grischuk on Tuesday.

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In the select 12-player field, Carlsen was due to face his close rivals Levon Aronian, Ding Liren and Hikaru Nakamura - all first-round winners with white pieces - in the remaining rounds of the day. The opening round also witnessed Wesley So winning with black pieces against Yu Yangyi. This is the second leg of the million-dollar Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour.

First round results: Magnus Carlsen (Nor) bt Alexander Grischuk (Rus); Levon Aronian bt Alireza Firouzja (FIDE); Ding Liren (Chn) bt Daniil Dubov (Rus); Hikaru Nakamura (USA) bt Sergey Karjakin (Rus); Yu Yangyi (Chn) lost to Wesley So (USA); Wei Yi (Chn) drew with Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Pol).