 "File image of Indian Chess Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi. Image: Michal Walusza/FIDE")
Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi opened his account in the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championship in New York City on Thursday with four wins and a defeat, ending the day tied fifth. The World No 4, who was part of the Indian contingent that completed a historic golden sweep at the Chess Olympiad in September, suffered his only defeat on Day 1 of the competition against 24-year-old American GM Samuel Sevian. Erigaisi’s performance on Thursday, however, was overshadowed by compatriot Raunak Sadhwani showcasing his ability to shine against the very best on the global stage by defeating Iranian-French GM Alireza Firouzja, a pre-tournament favourite.
It was, however, a frustrating day for world No 1 Magnus Carlsen, who could collect just one victory. The Norwegian chess icon, a five-time world champion, hardly got going as he collected three draws along with a late defeat against Russia’s Denis Lazavik.
Lazavik’s compatriot Murzin Volodar currently shares the lead with Armenia’s Shant Sargsyan as well as the American duo of Daniel Naroditsky and Lenier Dominguez Perez – all four of them currently on 4.5 points each.
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Arjun and Sadhwani, meanwhile, share the fifth spot with nine other players, all of whom have collected four points so far. That includes World No 3 Hikaru Nakamura of the United States, Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Dutch GM Anish Giri.
India’s Harika Dronavalli, meanwhile, shared the second spot with four others in the ‘Women’ section after collecting 3.5 points on the opening day.
USA’s Alice Lee sits at the top after a red-hot run on Day 1 that saw her register four wins in as many games, while world champion Wenjun Ju and fellow Chinese Grandmaster Zhongyi Tan, Azerbaijan’s Gunay Mammadzada, and Georgia’s Nino Batsiashvili share the second spot with Harika.
Among the other Indians in the fray are R Vaishali and former champion Koneru Humpy, who have collected 3 and 2.5 points respectively.