It was a mixed day for India to start the World Blitz Championship as Rameshbabu Vaishali dominated the women's section to lead the standings after day 1 but no Indian man qualified for the knockout stages on Monday night in New York.
The Open section is all set for a spectacular finish after a top 8 comprising of heavyweights Ian Nepomniachtchi, Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Alireza Firouzja, Hans Niemann, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Volodar Murzin, the newly-crowned rapid world champion. Magnus Carlsen is also back, after withdrawing from the Rapid Worlds last week over a dress code violation as he wore jeans, and will have a point to prove.
In the Women's Section, on the final day of a stunning year for Indian chess, there's chance for more glory as Vaishali can become India's third world champion in 2024 (after D Gukesh and Koneru Humpy). The 23-year-old was undefeated in her 11 rounds, scoring 9.5/11 and being the sole leader. She will play Zhu Jiner in the quarterfinals and has a potentially challenging semifinal against Ju Wenjun, the reigning classical world champion.
In Blitz, the top 8 after the first day of 11 rounds go to stage 2, which is a traditional knockout format to determine the champion. This means that Vaishali will start from scratch again but the confidence she has gained by the manner of her victories in stage 1 could prove to be crucial.
The Indian Grandmaster began on a terrific note, winning her first four games. Her first draw came against former World Blitz Champion Kateryna Lagno before she went on to win three more games, including over reigning champion Valentina Gunina. In round nine, Vaishali she shared points with Lei Tingjie before beating veteran Polina Shuvalova, which sealed her top spot. She then went for a nine-move draw against Carissa Yip. All the time, Vaishali seemed to be completely in control and came out of the few tough situations with considerable smarts.
"I don't think I'm a great Blitz player, honestly. There are many more strong players who are playing here. I think today I was just lucky in many games, and it just worked out" - ���� Vaishali Rameshbabu, after being ranked first in Stage 1 of the 2024 FIDE Women's World Blitz... pic.twitter.com/XiAM2Xjkv9
- International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) December 31, 2024
However, it was heartbreak for every other Indian in action.
The hardest blow was perhaps for Humpy Koneru, who won the World Rapid Championships two days ago. She was shocked in the first round by Bulgaria's Nadya Toncheva but recovered to finish with eight points. But tiebreaks placed her ninth, just outside the qualification zone.
In the Open section for India, Praggnanandhaa was the best Indian performer, finishing 23rd place with 8.5/13 points. At one point after five rounds, Arjun Erigaisi was on top undefeated with 5/5 points but he fell off in subsequent rounds.
The race to top 8 in Open section was wide open right until the final round where eight players had nine points each and tiebreaks were required to determine the final list. The one notable miss was Hikaru Nakamura, who is among the best Blitz players in the world. His early loss to India's Chithambaram Aravindh hurt his chances and he missed out on the top 8.
🇮🇳 Aravindh Chithambaram (2618) prevails against World #3 🇺🇸 Hikaru Nakamura (2860) in Round 3 of the FIDE World Blitz Championship. #RapidBlitz pic.twitter.com/3wqsy52JYE
- International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) December 30, 2024
The players to emerge from this tussle though, with Ian Nepomniachtchi leading the pack, are among the best of the lot and will make for a grand finale on the last day of the year.
Schedule - Blitz
January 1
• 12.30 AM: Quarterfinals
• 2.00 AM: Semifinals
• 3.30 AM: Final
Livestream
The tournament will be livestreamed on the official FIDE YouTube channel.