Russian GM Artemiev Stuns Magnus, Arjun to Take Sole Lead

Russian Grandmaster Vladislav Artemiev produced a sensational run on Day 2 of the FIDE World Rapid Chess Championships, defeating world No.1 Magnus Carlsen and India’s Arjun Erigaisi to surge into the sole lead after nine rounds of the prestigious tournament here on Saturday.

Artemiev topped the standings with 7.5 points , emerging as the standout performer of the day. His victory over Carlsen marked the Norwegian’s only loss of the competition so far, pushing the five-time world rapid champion down to seven points and joint third place .

Arjun Erigaisi , who fell to Artemiev in the opening round of the day, was placed joint seventh on 6.5 points. He is level with compatriot D Gukesh, with both Indians just one point adrift of the leader in a tightly packed field.

India’s D Gukesh continued to stay firmly in the title hunt, finishing the day joint seventh on 6.5 points alongside 12 other players. He showed remarkable resilience in the early rounds, holding Anish Giri to a draw and later escaping with a stalemate against Alexey Sarana, before defeating Spain’s David Anton. The teenage world champion’s steady run was halted later in the day, however, when he suffered his first defeat of the tournament after blundering on the 34th move against former world rapid champion Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan.

Among other Indians, R Praggnanandhaa and Nihal Sarin were joint 20th with six points each after nine rounds. The 13-round Open section will conclude with the final four rounds today, with the race for the title wide open.

In the women’s competition , defending champion Koneru Humpy climbed to the top of the leaderboard with six points after seven rounds. Harika Dronavalli and reigning Women’s World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh followed closely, sharing second place on 5.5 points.

With one round remaining in the 11-round women’s event , significant movement in the standings remains possible.