There were some thrilling matches at the start of the 7th Tata Steel Chess India Rapid event!

Viswanathan Anand, a five-time world champion and Tata Steel Chess India’s ambassador, has returned to the game after a six-year hiatus. In the first edition back in 2018, he took first place in the blitz section.

Anand methodically outplayed Wesley So in the beginning of his campaign, applying increasing pressure until the position crumbled. With the black pieces, Vidit Gujrathi made a powerful impression, controlling Arjun Erigaisi and winning with an uncommon knight and bishop checkmate. In his debut game, Hans Niemann defeated Volodar Murzin with a daring king walk.

After controlling both wings in the second round, Praggnanandhaa defeated Arjun by breaking through on the kingside. While Nihal Sarin used a flawless forcing combination to end Aravindh Chithambaram, Wesley So outplayed Volodar with a bold king march to h6.

Anand once again demonstrated his skill in Round 3, defeating Aravindh with black through deft rook play. Wesley So defeated Wei Yi, Arjun took advantage of Nihal’s mistake, and Hans Niemann quickly defeated Praggnanandhaa with a clever bishop sacrifice.

Carissa Yip was the only leader in the women’s division with a score of 2.5 out of 3. Vantika Agrawal is now the best-performing Indian player, having scored two out of three.

Harika Dronavalli and Divya Deshmukh engaged in a thrilling 114-move marathon draw to start the competition. In Round 1, Vantika demonstrated outstanding endgame strategy, leveraging a material advantage to defeat Vaishali.

Three pivotal games took place in Round 2, the most memorable of which was Stavroula Tsolakidou’s triumph over Divya in a difficult battle. In a knight vs bishop endgame, Kateryna Lagno outplayed Vantika, and Aleksandra Goryachkina defeated Vaishali for the first time by taking advantage of an exposed king.

Carissa Yip comfortably converted an early exchange advantage against Goryachkina to take the lead in Round 3. Vantika finished the day with an aggressive victory over Harika Dronavalli, while Nana Dzagnidze defeated Tsolakidou in a thrilling queen endgame. With three draws, Rakshitta Ravi is the only Indian player still undefeated.

STANDINGS – DAY 1

RAPID

OPEN CATEGORY

1. Viswanathan Anand – 2.5 points
2. Hans Niemann – 2.5 points
3. Wesley So – 2 points
4. Vidit Gujrathi – 2 points
5. Nihal Sarin – 1.5 points
6. R Praggnnanandhaa – 1.5 points
7. Wei Yi – 1 points
8. Arjun Erigaisi – 1 points
9. Aravindh Chithambaram – 0.5 points
10. Volodar Murzin – 0.5 points

WOMEN CATEGORY

1. Carissa Yip – 2.5 points
2. Nana Dzagnidze – 2 points
3. Kateryna Lagno – 2 points
4. Vantika Agarwal – 2 points
5. Aleksandra Goryachkina – 1.5 points
6. Rakshitta Ravi – 1.5 points
7. Harika Dronavalli – 1 points
8. Stavroula Tsolakidou – 1 points
9. Divya Deshmukh – 1 points

Priyanka Dutta