World Rapid: Niemann and Artemiev share the lead

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
12/28/2025 – Day two of the World Rapid Championship in Doha reshaped both title races as the standings tightened near the top. In the Open section, Vladislav Artemiev (pictured) and Hans Niemann moved into a shared lead after nine rounds, closely followed by a strong chasing group. The women's event saw Humpy Koneru draw level with Zhu Jiner at the top, with several players still within striking distance ahead of the final day. | Photo: FIDE / Anna Shtourman
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Open: Niemann and Artemiev remain undefeated

After the second day of play in Doha, the open section of the World Rapid Championship has a new leading duo. Following nine rounds of the thirteen-round Swiss, Vladislav Artemiev and Hans Niemann sit at the top of the standings with 7½ points, both remaining unbeaten.

Artemiev's rise to joint first has been one of the defining stories so far. The 27-year-old Russian grandmaster, who did not take part in last year's edition and finished 23rd the year before, has been remarkably effective under pressure. Early on Saturday, severe time trouble worked in his favour: against both Arjun Erigaisi and Magnus Carlsen, Artemiev found resourceful defences while his opponents faltered. He then opted for a more controlled approach, securing draws against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Alexey Sarana to preserve his lead going into Sunday.

Niemann began the day on 4/5 and needed a strong run to join Artemiev at the top. He delivered exactly that. After defeating IM Goutham Krishna - who had been one of the sensations on the first day of action - Niemann drew with Ray Robson before closing the day with victories over Le Quang Liem and Aleksandr Shimanov. In both of those games, he won the exchange and converted cleanly, bringing him level with Artemiev.

Hans Niemann

Hans Niemann | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes

A half point behind, on 7/9, are four players.

  • Magnus Carlsen recovered well after losing to Artemiev in round seven, scoring wins against Shant Sargsyan and Ray Robson in the final rounds of the day.
  • Alexey Sarana remains undefeated, continuing his steady tournament with a series of solid results.
  • Fourteen-year-old Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus also joined the chasing group, underlining that his modest rapid rating does not reflect his strength. The Turkish prodigy defeated Lu Shanglei, Jorden van Foreest and Nihal Sarin, conceding just one draw, and continues to justify his already exceptional classical rating for his age.
  • Nodirbek Abdusattorov completed the quartet of pursuers after a strong finish to the day. Following a draw with Daniel Dardha in his first game on Saturday, he went on a three-game winning streak against Andrew Hong, Maksim Chigaev - who had earlier beaten Ian Nepomniachtchi - and finally world champion Gukesh Dommaraju.

Sunday's opening round will see the two leaders, Artemiev and Niemann, face each other on the top board, while the four players on 7 points are paired against one another on the next boards, setting up a decisive final stretch.

Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus

Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes

Carlsen beats Robson

Magnus Carlsen, Ray Robson

Magnus Carlsen playing black against Ray Robson | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes

Standings after round 9

Rk. Name Pts. TB1
1 Artemiev, Vladislav 7,5 50
2 Niemann, Hans Moke 7,5 44
3 Carlsen, Magnus 7 48
4 Sarana, Alexey 7 42,5
5 Erdogmus, Yagiz Kaan 7 41,5
6 Abdusattorov, Nodirbek 7 40,5
7 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 6,5 50
8 Erigaisi, Arjun 6,5 47,5
9 Henriquez Villagra, Cristobal 6,5 46,5
10 Mamedov, Rauf 6,5 46,5
11 Gukesh, D 6,5 45,5
12 Sindarov, Javokhir 6,5 44,5
13 Lazavik, Denis 6,5 44
14 So, Wesley 6,5 43
15 Shimanov, Aleksandr 6,5 42,5
16 Sevian, Samuel 6,5 42
17 Dominguez Perez, Leinier 6,5 41,5
18 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 6,5 39,5
19 Maghsoodloo, Parham 6,5 39,5
20 Robson, Ray 6 47,5
21 Kosakowski, Jakub 6 46
22 Nihal, Sarin 6 45
23 Caruana, Fabiano 6 45
24 Meng, Yihan 6 44,5
25 Yu, Yangyi 6 44

...247 players

All available games - Open

Women's: Humpy catches Zhu

The women's tournament also produced a change at the top on day two. Reigning champion Koneru Humpy caught Zhu Jiner in first place, with both players now leading on 6½ points after eight rounds. While Zhu maintained her position with a steadier day, Humpy's more aggressive scoring allowed her to close the gap.

Zhu recorded three draws - against Aleksandra Goryachkina, Nino Batsiashvili and Mariya Muzychuk - before ending the day with a win over Divya Deshmukh.

Humpy, who had begun the championship with 3/4 on Friday, enjoyed a stronger second day, scoring 3½/4. She defeated Bat-Erdene Mungunzul, who had earlier defeated Ju Wenjun and Sara Khadem. Her run was halted only by a draw against Goryachkina, who escaped from a difficult position to split the point.

Humpy Koneru, Aleksandra Goryachkina

Humpy Koneru facing Aleksandra Goryachkina | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes

Behind the joint leaders, no fewer than ten players are clustered closely together. Among them, 16-year-old FM Yining Chen has drawn particular attention. With a performance rating of 2553 so far, she defeated Alexandra Kosteniuk in round seven and has firmly outperformed her rapid rating.

IM Meri Arabidze also recovered impressively after losing her first game to FM Hong Nhung Nguyen, responding with four consecutive wins, including a victory over Ju Wenjun. The Chinese world champion endured a difficult day, finishing on 4½/8, two points off the lead.

Kateryna Lagno, the 2014 women's world rapid champion, also moved back into contention. After a modest 2½/4 on the opening day, she reached 6/8 points overall - coinciding with her 36th birthday.

As in the open section, the two leaders in the women's event will meet in the first round on Sunday, while the next five boards feature players separated by just half a point, leaving the title race wide open going into the final rounds.

Yining Chen

16-year-old FM Yining Chen | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes

Kateryna Lagno

Kateryna Lagno turned 36 on Saturday | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes

Standings after round 8

Rk. Name Pts. TB1
1 Zhu, Jiner 6,5 37,5
2 Koneru, Humpy 6,5 36
3 Goryachkina, Aleksandra 6 39
4 Batsiashvili, Nino 6 39
5 Lei, Tingjie 6 37
6 Dronavalli, Harika 6 37
7 Chen, Yining 6 35,5
8 Muzychuk, Mariya 6 35,5
9 Mungunzul, Bat-Erdene 6 35,5
10 Lagno, Kateryna 6 35
11 Arabidze, Meri 6 32,5
12 Khamdamova, Afruza 6 32
13 Divya, Deshmukh 5,5 37
14 Tan, Zhongyi 5,5 35,5
15 Stefanova, Antoaneta 5,5 35,5
16 Khademalsharieh, Sarasadat 5,5 35
17 Kosteniuk, Alexandra 5,5 34,5
18 Tokhirjonova, Gulrukhbegim 5,5 34,5
19 Dzagnidze, Nana 5,5 34,5
20 Savitha, Shri B 5,5 33
21 Mammadzada, Gunay 5,5 32,5
22 Muzychuk, Anna 5,5 32
23 Rudzinska, Michalina 5,5 32
24 Atalik, Ekaterina 5,5 28,5
25 Vaishali, Rameshbabu 5 35,5

...141 players

All available games - Women's

About the event

The FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championships 2025 will take place in Doha, Qatar from 25 to 30 December, bringing together the world's elite chess talent for a thrilling end-of-year showdown. Held at the Sports and Events Complex, Qatar University, this edition features both Open and Women's events in Rapid and Blitz formats, with a total prize fund of €1,000,000. Doha returns as host after nine years, underscoring Qatar's growing stature in the chess world.

The full list of registered players can be found here:

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Topics: FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships 2025
Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.
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Video

60m English New ideas in the Najdorf_E

‘New ideas in the Najdorf – a Power Play 18 Update’ aims to complement Daniel King’s popular DVD from last year ‘The Sicilian Najdorf - a repertoire for Black’. Such a dynamic and popular opening as the Najdorf is developing the whole time. On this download, Daniel King updates lines that were included on his DVD but also responds to viewers’ requests, considering lines that he omitted from his original repertoire. The lines examined on this update are: • 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6 6 h3 e5 7 Nde2 • 5….a6 6 Bc4 in combination with the English Attack (Be3, f3 etc) • 5…a6 6 Be3 and the …a5 variation • 5…a6 6 Be2 and 9 Re1 • 5 f3 (instead of 5 Nc3) It isn’t necessary to have seen the original Najdorf DVD to understand the lines examined here – but it would help as they form part of a complete repertoire.