While the mind games will go on in the last two games and a potential tiebreaker, American Hikaru Nakamura and world number one Magnus Carlsen feel that the balance had tilted slightly in Ding Liren's favour.
Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi opened his campaign with four victories and a solitary defeat in the World Rapid Chess Championship and was tied fifth, even as defending champion Magnus Carlsen endured a frustrating day, managing to log just one victory in New York.
Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi believes the government's recent decision to stop cash rewards for attaining GM and International Master titles is 'not ideal' for the parents of chess players.
Five-time world champions Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen played out a draw in the top duel of the opening day as the second edition of the Global Chess League began with players from around the world squaring off in London on Thursday.
'If you compare the data from 2017 and 2023 of the US imports from the world and China, you will see that the US was a complete loser in the trade war, and China was a complete gainer.'
Arjun Erigaisi breathed a sigh of relief after receiving his US visa to compete in the upcoming World Rapid and Blitz Championships in New York
Erigaisi also requested External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and the All India Chess Federation (AICF) to help him get the visa.
Nakamura, who started off as the favourite in the blitz section, is in sixth spot on 13.5 points, ahead of tour leader and compatriot Fabiano Caruana who has 13 points.
Grandmaster D Gukesh will face his first major challenge since becoming world champion when he begins his campaign in the Tata Steel Chess tournament, which starts on Friday in Wijk Aan Zee, The Netherlands.
Anish Giri blundered a piece against Magnus Carlsen, losing in just 22 moves.
Having lost three and drawn three coming into the third and final day of rapid, Praggnanadhaa lost to Lenier Dominguez of the US in the seventh round.
'If Gukesh wins, he has to survive in Game 14.' 'But if Liren wins, then it will be game over for Gukesh.'
Praggnanandhaa did not have to sweat hard to hold Caruana under Classical but in the Armageddon the American was a transformed player as he took advantage of his white pieces.
After a scintillating victory over Fabiano Caruana of United States in the previous round, Anand yet again showed great intent against Nakamura, but the American was up to the task in a keenly contested game.
Nakamura secured four wins and five draws to stay as the sole leader after nine rounds.
Vaishali stretched her lead to 2.5 points following her second win under classical time control.
It was not the best of birthdays for five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand as he went down to Hikaru Nakamura of United States in the third round of London Chess Classic chess tournament.
In a surprising turn of events, Mumba Masters defeated tournament leaders PBG Alaskan Knights, denying them direct qualification to the finals of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League in London on Wednesday.
The triumph entitles Gukesh a clash against reigning world champion Ding Liren of China in the last quarter of the year.
After conceding a draw with white against Levon Aronian of Armenia, Anand got the favour returned although he had to work relatively harder to maintain parity against Nakamura, often termed his nemesis.
This is Anand's sixth loss to American in Classical chess and the Indian ace will now have to do a lot of hard work to catch up in the last five rounds.
The image of a smiling D Gukesh standing with outstretched hands will forever be embossed in the memory of a nation of billions.
Gukesh to clash with Alireza on what promises to be a photo finish
Carlsen and Praggnanandhaa had drawn their previous three encounters in this format.
Vaishali defeated Muzychuk for the second time in the event in the Armageddon. It was a finely played Classical game wherein neither players could reach an advantage but in the Armageddon Vaishali took advantage of her better placed rooks to call the shots.
Trump looks like he will be America's next president while yet again the country seems to have rejected a woman candidate...
Joining the elite 2,800 rated chess players club will get Arjun invites for top chess tournaments as well as better appearance fees.
India's D Gukesh bounced back with a finely crafted game to outwit compatriot Vidit Gujrathi and regain his joint lead with Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia after the eighth round in the Candidates chess tournament in Toronto on Friday.
Pragg, Gujrathi out of contention
A dream come true, a nice feeling. The maiden Chess Olympiad gold meant different things for the members of the five-strong Indian men's team, spearheaded stupendously by the youngest ever challenger to the world title -- D Gukesh.
D Gukesh played out a creditable draw against top seed Fabiano Caruana but slipped a rung to the joint second position.
Chess great Magnus Carlsen beat nemesis Hans Niemann 17.5-12.5 to advance to the Speed Chess Championship final on Friday, in their first face-off since the world number one accused his American rival of cheating two years ago.
Viswanathan Anand made another strong comeback, defeating Hikaru Nakamura of the United States in the fourth round of the Zurich Chess Classic on Wednesday.
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa lost to World Champion Ding Liren in the Armageddon tie-breaker after the two played out a draw under normal time control in the second round.
Viswanathan Anand went down to Hikaru Nakamura of United States in the Armageddon game and had to be content with a second place finish in the Zurich Chess Classic.
India's Pentala Harikrishna secured two wins on the last day but could only finish second, half a point behind Japanese-American wizard Hikaru Nakamura who lived up to his top billing to clinch the Tata Steel Chess India Rapid tournament, in Kolkata, on Sunday.
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa is still third on 9.5 points in the Norway Chess tournament.
American Hans Niemann filed a $100 million defamation lawsuit against Carlsen and Chess.com in October 2022 after the allegations that he had cheated.
Teenaged Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh shot into sole lead after defeating Firouzja Alireza of France in the 13th and penultimate round of Candidates' Chess tournament in Toronto on Saturday, his quest for the extraordinary placing him on the cusp of becoming the youngest ever World Championship contender.
India made history as both its men's and women's teams clinched their first-ever gold medals at the 45th Chess Olympiad. The men's team defeated Slovenia and the women's counterparts overcame Azerbaijan in the final round.
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