Sports
Vaishali, the lowest-rated of 24 players, beats Wesley So and Hans Niemann as Carlsen wins the Total Chess blitz opener
Magnus Carlsen went unbeaten on 7/9 in Budapest; Arjun Erigaisi was the best-placed Indian.
In short
7/9Carlsen's unbeaten blitz score
- Prize fund: $650,000
- Vaishali's rating: 2345, score 4/9
- Arjun Erigaisi: 5.5/9
The opener
The Total Chess World Championship Tour Pilot, a new $650,000 event mixing fast classical, rapid and blitz, opened in Budapest on 10 November with a nine-round blitz. Magnus Carlsen won with 7 out of 9 and no losses, ahead of Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Levon Aronian.
India's day
R Vaishali, who qualified by winning the Women's Candidates, was the lowest-rated player at 2345 but beat both Wesley So and Hans Niemann on her way to 4 points. Arjun Erigaisi tied for fourth on 5.5 and R Praggnanandhaa scored 4.5. The blitz sets pairings for the group stage that follows.
