NEW YORK, Dec 31: Indian Grandmaster R Vaishali displayed her exceptional talents by winning the women’s qualifier, securing her spot in the quarterfinals of the World Blitz Championship held here.
Following the remarkable achievement of Koneru Humpy, who claimed the gold medal along with a prize of USD 60,000, it was Vaishali’s moment to shine. She dominated the women’s section, achieving a score of 9.5 points with three draws, culminating in a stellar 9.5/11 performance.
Russian player Kateryna Lagno trailed closely behind Vaishali, finishing with 8.5 points, while the other six qualifiers ended with an equal score of 8 points. Although Humpy met the required points, she was unfortunately eliminated, placing ninth due to unfavorable tiebreakers.
In the open section, ten players, including world number one Magnus Carlsen, ended in a tie for first place. Carlsen performed when it mattered, drawing six out of his 13 games, and ultimately finished among the co-leaders at the conclusion of the qualifiers.
Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi emerged victorious in the qualifier with 9.5 points, benefitting from superior tiebreaks, while Fabiano Caruana of the United States secured second place, surpassing Carlsen, who landed in third.
Unexpectedly, none of the Indian players reached the top eight, despite some encouraging early rounds.
Erigaisi Arjun began strongly with five consecutive wins but stumbled later, finishing with a disappointing seven points. R Praggnanandhaa was the highest-placed Indian with 8.5 points; however, a loss in the final round to Russian Daniil Dubov cost him a pathway to the quarterfinals.
In the quarterfinals, Vaishali will compete against Chinese Grandmaster Zhu Jiner.
Vaishali’s consecutive victories over GMs Nana Dzagnidze from Georgia and Valentina Gunina from Russia during rounds 7-8 provided a significant boost, allowing her to comfortably top the standings.
Indian standings open: R Praggnanandhaa (8.5) – 23; Raunak Sadhwani (8) 46; Arjun Erigaisi (7) 64; Aravindh Chithambaram (7) 68; V Pranav (7) 67;
Women: R Vaishali (9.5) 1; K Humpy (8) 9; Divya Deshmukh (7) 18; Vantika Agarwal (7) 19; D Harika (7) 22.
The Qualifiers: Open: 1-8; Ian Nepomniachtchi, Volodar Murzin (Both Fide); Fabiano Caruana, Hans Niemann Moke, Wesley So (all USA); Magnus Carlsen (Nor); Duda Jan-Kryzsztof (Pol); Alireza Firoujza (Fra).
Women 1-8: R Vaishali (Ind); Lei Tingjie, Wenjun Ju, Zhu Jiner (all Chn); Kateryna Lagno, Valentina Gunina (Both Fide); Carissa Yip (USA); Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kaz). (Agencies)
