FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships: MGD1 stays ahead in tight race for Rapid Team Title

Team MGD1, led by Indian superstar Arjun Erigaisi on board one, was the only team to win all four matches on the first day of the World Rapid Team Championship, making them the overnight leaders. They were followed closely by WR Chess, Freedom, and Malcolm’s Mates, who each scored three wins and one draw.

In the first round of day two — round five overall — MGD1 dropped its first team point, drawing their match against Freedom. On the top board, Erigaisi lost to Anand after a failed mating attack.

In the duel between amateurs—players rated under 2000 Elo on board six—Anand’s young teammate Mani Sarbartho lost, resulting in a drawn match overall.

Before the round, 9-year-old Mani Sarbartho had greeted his idol and teammate. In India, Anand is regarded as something of a chess god, and the young chess fan’s approach reflected that admiration. The chess god couldn’t help but smile.

In the other top match of the round, WR Chess edged out Malcolm’s Mates with a narrow 3.5–2.5 victory.

Round six saw a clash between MGD1 and WR Chess, which ended in a clear 4–2 win for MGD1. Meanwhile, the German top team, Germany & Friends, continued their climb up the standings with a victory over Duobeniajan Costa Calida ESJ in round five, and then faced Anand’s team, Freedom. The Germans came out on top, thanks in part to Vincent Keymer’s win on board one against Rauf Mamedov. Anand sat out the round.

A notable success came from the Turkish Airlines team, which had placed the young prodigy Faustino Oro on board one. The 11-year-old scored a victory over Nihal Sarin, helping his team secure a 3–3 draw against Ashdod.

In the next round, the 11-year-old Argentinian faced an even stronger opponent in Levon Aronian. He played an impressive game but ultimately had to concede defeat.

Faustino Oro has to stand to reach all pieces

In the top match of round 7, MGD1 faced Germany & Friends. The encounter was extremely close. Vincent Keymer defeated Arjun Erigaisi, and Rasmus Svane scored a win against David Anton.

Meanwhile, Matthias Blübaum lost to Harikrishna, and Alexander Donchenko was defeated by Leon Luke Mendonca. The deciding point for MGD1 came on the amateur board, where Atharvaa P Tayade beat Bohdan Lobkin, sealing a 3.5–2.5 victory for MGD1 over Germany & Friends.

On the second table, WR Chess suffered a clear 2–4 defeat against the Hexamid team.

On board three, Malcolm’s Mates and Uzbekistan played a 3–3 draw. 

How are things?

And so, Team MGD1 entered round eight—the final round of the second day—with 13 points and a two-point lead. Their opponent was the Hexamid team, which played with Vidit and Giri on the middle boards. On board one, Volodar Murzin played. Aside from Hexamid, there were five other teams going into round eight with two draws and one loss—three points dropped in total.

Germany & Friends, with two losses, led the group of teams with four points dropped and were paired up for the final round of the day against Malcolm’s Mates. The match ended 4.5–1.5 in favor of the German team, though the score didn’t reflect how close the contest really was. Only Bohdan Lobkin won convincingly. Frederik Svane secured a hard-fought victory against Nikita Vitiugov, and Vincent Keymer was on the verge of losing after an incautious move against Luke McShane. But things turned out differently:

At the top table, MGD1 suffered its first defeat, falling to Hexamid. Meanwhile, Anand’s Freedom team scored a dominant 5–1 win over Kazchess, Uzbekistan defeated the Global Ramblers, and WR Chess secured a clear victory against Barys.kz.

Well dressed: Vidit Gujrathi from Team Hexamid

The Danish Futures, by the way, have gone beyond the tournament’s requirement of fielding one women’s board and are competing with a balanced gender lineup: three men, three women, plus female support staff. The Danish Futures have won two of their matches so far.

Danis Futures

Standings after 8 rounds

Games

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