Tata Steel Chess 2024: Arjun squanders lead as Carlsen completes clean sweep; Lagno wins blitz in women’s section
While Carlsen ended on a high, clinching his second title in five days — and his 10th major title of the year — after claiming the rapid event in a similar fashion, things ended in a completely different way for Arjun.
Published : Nov 17, 2024 16:48 IST , Chennai - 3 MINS READ
Magnus Carlsen wins both rapid & Blitz at the 6th edition of Tata Steel Chess India. | Photo Credit: DEBASISH BHADURI/The Hindu
When Viswanathan Anand remarked, “Arjun Erigaisi has been testing the boundaries of chess in almost every game,” it was an attestation to Arjun’s bold and innovative style.
However, Anand’s follow-up — “This high-risk, high-reward approach has been tried before, yet when it goes wrong, it can go quite badly wrong”— had more merit and proved prophetic at the same time during the sixth edition of Tata Steel Chess tournament.
It indeed went quite badly wrong for Arjun on Sunday, who led the tournament with just three rounds remaining, seeing his campaign unravel spectacularly as Magnus Carlsen stormed to yet another title, completing a clean sweep after his rapid triumph earlier in the week.
At a packed Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium, where hundreds of fans clamoured for seats, Carlsen showcased his typical brilliance. The Norwegian sealed the blitz title with a round to spare, finishing 1.5 points ahead of second-placed Wesley So even after trailing by 0.5 points after 15 rounds.
Arjun’s Collapse, Carlsen’s Ascendancy
Carlsen, the overnight leader, began the day strong with a win over S.L. Narayanan but was held to five consecutive draws, allowing Arjun to momentarily leapfrog him on the leaderboard. However, Carlsen surged back with decisive wins when it mattered the most, including a critical victory over Arjun in the penultimate round — a virtual final for the title.
While Carlsen ended on a high, clinching his second title in five days — and his 10th major title of the year — after claiming the rapid event in a similar fashion, things ended in a completely different way for Arjun.
Over-ambition cost him dearly against Vidit Gujrathi in the 16th round, triggering a downward spiral. He lost his last three games, dashing his title hopes and leaving him off the podium.
Wesley So capitalised on the chaos, scoring an incredible 8.0/9 on the final day to finish second. R. Praggnanandhaa, who was running second ahead of the day, faltered with just 3.5 points from nine rounds, finishing outside the top three.
Vidit Gujrathi and Daniil Dubov tied with nine points each, taking fifth and sixth spots. Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Nihal Sarin, Narayanan, and Vincent Keymer rounded out the bottom four.
Kateryna Lagno, takes a lead with seven points after winning against Valentina Gunina on the 9th round of Tata Steel Chess India Blitz. | Photo Credit: DEBASISH BHADURI/The Hindu
The same prepotency was shown in the women’s section where the overnight leader and three-time World Blitz Champion Kateryna Lagno clinched the title with one round to go.
Even while the quartet of Aleksandra Goryachkina, Valentina Gunina, Vantika Agrawal and Koneru Humpy chased down Lagno, constantly cutting down her lead, the composed Russian kept herself away from the chasing pack.
The Russians swept the podium with Gunina and rapid winner Goryachkina finishing second and third, respectively.
Among Indians, Vantika had a strong showing in both the time formats. She finished third in the rapid event while just missing out on a podium finish with an inferior tiebreak with third-placed Goryachkina.
Alexandra Kosteniuk and Humpy ended with nine points each. Nana Dzagnidze finished last behind three Indians — Harika Dronavalli, Divya Deshmukh and R. Vaishali.