Carlsen and Goryachkina clear winners at Tata Steel India Rapid

Carlsen's ninth tournament victory in 2024

Out of the six editions of the Tata Steel India Rapid tournament, Magnus Carlsen has participated in two, first in 2019 and now in 2024. In his debut appearance, he claimed victory in both the rapid and blitz sections, and he has already secured the rapid title this year, finishing with an undefeated 7/9 score and clinching the event with a round to spare. Attention now turns to the weekend blitz section, where Carlsen will aim to repeat his double triumph from five years ago.

This victory marks Carlsen's ninth tournament win of 2024, as highlighted by Tarjei J. Svensen on X. Three of these wins came in online events, demonstrating Carlsen's dominance across multiple formats. Despite already being the highest-rated player in rapid chess, Carlsen gained an additional 12.5 rating points in Kolkata. His current lead of 62 points over second-placed Ding Liren in the live ratings reflects his unparalleled form in this category.

Magnus Carlsen | Photo: Lennart Ootes

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Carlsen began the final day of action with a narrow half-point lead over Nodirbek Abdusattorov but quickly extended his advantage with wins over Vincent Keymer and Daniil Dubov in the first two rounds. Meanwhile, Abdusattorov suffered back-to-back losses, effectively handing Carlsen the title before the final round. Curiously, in their last-round encounter, Abdusattorov obtained a winning position against Carlsen but blundered tactically, allowing the Norwegian to escape with a draw and preserve his undefeated record.

Abdusattorov’s struggles on the final day opened the door for Wesley So and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu to leapfrog him in the standings. So posted a solid performance with one win and two draws, while Pragg impressed with a remarkable 2½/3 on Friday. The two finished tied for second place with 5½/9 points, and while Pragg had the better tiebreak score, the prize money was shared between the two players.

A notable storyline of the day was Vincent Keymer's 20^th birthday, as he played a key role in shaping the fight for the title. Despite achieving a strong position against Carlsen in round 7, Keymer faltered and lost the game. However, he ended his birthday on a high note, scoring consecutive wins against Vidit Gujrathi and Daniil Dubov to finish the event with 4½/9 points, securing sole fifth place in the standings.

Vincent Keymer celebrated his 20th victory on Friday | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, here playing white against Arjun Erigaisi, climbed to shared second place in the standings | Photo: Lennart Ootes

A mating net and a missed chance

Wesley So quietly remained close to the leaders throughout, and he obtained what turned out to be a crucial victory over Nodirbek Abdusattorov in round 8. Playing black, he found a cool mating net to end the game after his opponent erred with 36.Rd6

Black does not need to defend the knight on c6, as 36...R8e4 threatens mate-in-one with ...g5-g4. Abdusattorov played 37.g4 himself, but then 37...Ne5+ is crushing, since the three black pieces (two rooks and one knight) set up a good-looking mate-in-six with the white king stuck on the third rank.

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White saw this line and resigned the game after playing his 37^th move.

Wesley So playing black against Nodirbek Abdusattorov | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Despite suffering two losses in a row, Abdusattorov then went on to get a winning position against Carlsen, who had already secured overall victory. However, the Uzbek GM faltered on move 38, allowing the former world champion to escape with a draw.

38.Qxe8 was the crucial mistake, as after 38...Qxe8 39.d7 Qd8, there is no way for Black to effectively prevent the black queen from infiltrating via h4.

A draw was agreed after 40.Bd4 Qh4, since 41.d8Q will be followed by a perpetual check to the white king from e1 and g3.

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In the first diagrammed position, White could have kept his advantage with 38.Qd4, which would have likely allowed Black to grab the d6-pawn, though White would have captured his opponent's a and c-pawns, and his queenside pawns should win the day.

Nodirbek Abdusattorov | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Final standings

Rk.		Name	Rtg.	Nt.	Pts.	n	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	TB	Perf.
1		Carlsen,M	2831		7.5	9		½	1	½	1	½	1	1	1	1	30.25	3001
2		Praggnanandhaa R	2737		5.5	9	½		½	0	½	1	½	1	1	½	22.50	2818
3		So,W	2747		5.5	9	0	½		1	½	½	½	1	½	1	21.75	2817
4		Abdusattorov,N	2777		5.0	9	½	1	0		1	½	½	0	1	½	22.00	2777
5		Keymer,V	2733		4.5	9	0	½	½	0		1	1	½	0	1	17.75	2738
6		Nihal Sarin	2676		4.0	9	½	0	½	½	0		½	½	½	1	17.00	2702
7		Dubov,D	2693		3.5	9	0	½	½	½	0	½		½	½	½	14.75	2663
8		Erigaisi Arjun	2799		3.5	9	0	0	0	1	½	½	½		½	½	14.00	2651
9		Narayanan S L	2647		3.0	9	0	0	½	0	1	½	½	½		0	12.75	2623
10		Vidit,S	2739		3.0	9	0	½	0	½	0	0	½	½	1		11.75	2613
TBs: Sonneborn-Berger

All games

Women's: Goryachkina wins with a round to spare

Aleksandra Goryachkina mirrored Magnus Carlsen's success in the open section by dominating the women's tournament at the Tata Steel India Rapid. Entering the final day as the sole leader, Goryachkina secured overall victory and remained undefeated throughout the event. Finishing with an impressive 7/9 score, she ended the rapid section 1½ points ahead of her nearest rival, Nana Dzagnidze.

Starting the day with a 1-point lead, Goryachkina appeared content with a quick draw against Humpy Koneru in just 12 moves in round 7. Dzagnidze capitalised on this opportunity, beating defending champion Divya Deshmukh with the black pieces to narrow the gap to half a point. However, any hopes of a dramatic chase for the title were dashed in round 8, as Goryachkina convincingly defeated Divya while Dzagnidze suffered a loss against Valentina Gunina. This combination of results clinched the title for Goryachkina with a round to spare.

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Dzagnidze still managed to secure sole second place, finishing with a strong 5½/9. Meanwhile, Vantika Agrawal, the lowest-rated player in the field, outperformed expectations to claim sole third place with 5/9.

Aleksandra Goryachkina | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Nana Dzagnidze | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Vantika Agrawal | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Final standings

Rk.		Name	Rtg.	Nt.	Pts.	n	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	TB	Perf.
1		Goryachkina,A	2528		7.5	9		½	1	½	1	1	1	1	1	½	31.00	2757
2		Dzagnidze,N	2518		5.5	9	½		½	½	½	0	½	1	1	1	22.50	2565
3		Vantika Agrawal	2392		5.0	9	0	½		½	½	1	½	0	1	1	20.00	2542
4		Dronavalli,H	2493		4.5	9	½	½	½		0	½	1	1	0	½	19.75	2488
5		Lagno,K	2527		4.5	9	0	½	½	1		1	½	½	0	½	19.25	2484
6		Gunina,V	2425		4.5	9	0	1	0	½	0		0	1	1	1	17.75	2495
7		Kosteniuk,A	2487		3.5	9	0	½	½	0	½	1		0	½	½	15.25	2408
8		Divya Deshmukh	2493		3.5	9	0	0	1	0	½	0	1		½	½	14.00	2408
9		Vaishali,R	2490		3.5	9	0	0	0	1	1	0	½	½		½	14.00	2408
10		Koneru,H	2530		3.0	9	½	0	0	½	½	0	½	½	½		13.50	2359
TBs: Sonneborn-Berger

All games

Links

• Official site
• Alexander Grischuk wins Tata Steel Chess India Blitz (2023)
• MVL wins Tata Steel India Rapid with a round to spare (2023)
• Ju Wenjun claims victory at Tata Steel India Blitz (2023)
• Divya wins Tata Steel Rapid with splendid performance (2023)
• Nihal and Ushenina win Tata Steel India Rapid tournaments (2022)
• Tata Steel Blitz: Arjun and Vaishali make India proud (2022)
• Arjun Erigaisi wins Tata Steel India Rapid 2021
• Levon Aronian wins Tata Steel Blitz 2021 in Armageddon playoffs