Chess

Opera Euro Rapid: Magnus Carlsen cruises past Daniil Dubov

Carlsen brushed aside his Russian nemesis Dubov, 2.5-0.5 by winning twice with white pieces and led 1-0 in their quarterfinal showdown on Tuesday

Rakesh Rao Rakesh Rao
NEW DELHI 10 February, 2021 19:44 IST

Magnus Carlsen brushed aside his Russian nemesis Daniil Dubov in the Opera Euro Rapid quarterfinal on Tuesday.   -  RAJEEV BHATT

Rakesh Rao Rakesh Rao
NEW DELHI 10 February, 2021 19:44 IST

In search of his peak form, Magnus Carlsen brushed aside his Russian nemesis Daniil Dubov 2.5-0.5 by winning twice with white pieces and led 1-0 in their quarterfinal showdown of the $100,000 Opera Euro rapid online chess tournament on Tuesday.

Frenchman Maxime Vachier-Lagrave’s victory in the second game of the best-of-games set proved decisive in his 2.5-1.5 victory over Levon Aronian.

READ | Opera Euro Rapid Online Chess: Vidit Gujrathi falls short of qualifying

Wesley So bounced back from the loss of the second game to win the next two for a 2.5-1.5 victory over Jan-Krzysztof Duda.

Anish Giri rallied from a surprise loss in the third game to win the fourth and force a 2-2 deadlock against Teimour Radjabov.

Quarterfinals: Set One: Magnus Carlsen (Nor) bt Daniil Dubov (Rus)
2.5-0.5; Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra) bt Levon Aronian (Arm) 2.5-1.5;
Wesley So (USA) bt Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Pol) 2.5-1.5; Anish Giri (Ned)
drew with Teimour Radjabov (Aze) 2-2.