Carlsen remains winless, Arjun defeats Vaishali

Bengaluru: Magnus Carlsen’s game and world no 1 spot hung in the balance for a good part of Round 9 on Sunday. Against his 2021 World Championship opponent Ian Nepomniachtchi, Carlsen went from losing to winning to missing a chance and agreeing to a draw by repetition in a chaotic game at the Total Chess Pilot in Budapest. His underwhelming results so far have put him out of contention of winning the tournament

The man who is looking to step in as the new world no 1, American grandmaster Fabiano Caruana – unbeaten so far in fast classic – missed a win against Vladislav Artimiev. His draw though was enough for him to top Group B with a round to spare. Asked if dislodging Carlsen from the world no 1 spot was on his mind during the game, Caruana said: “If I had won this game it would have been very close…I had this thought at some point but then you know you have to focus on the game you’re playing rather than thinking about rating.”

Carlsen, in time trouble for the most part, was on the ropes just eight moves into the game and had his opponent to thank for blundering along the way. Towards the close, Carlsen despite having material advantage, a rook for a knight as well as an extra pawn, let a win slip.

In the all-Indian battle, Arjun Erigaisi defeated Women’s World Championship challenger Vaishali Rameshbabu to lead Group D.