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The first 5 rounds (out of 13) of the open section in the World Rapid Championship took place on Thursday. The event was hosted at the stunning Cipriani Wall Street in New York, where 180 players began their campaigns. Among them were 32 US representatives and some of the world's strongest players, including Magnus Carlsen, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Alireza Firouzja. Carlsen, a 5-time champion, entered as the defending titleholder.
No player finished day one with a perfect 5/5 score, but four co-leaders emerged with 4½ points each. Of these, only Leinier Dominguez is among the top 20 rated players in the field. Representing the US, the Cuban-born grandmaster shares the lead with compatriot Daniel Naroditsky, Armenia's Shant Sargsyan and FIDE's Volodar Murzin. The 18-year-old Murzin stood out with a stunning performance, defeating three higher-rated opponents, including a win with the white pieces against Fabiano Caruana in round 2. He concluded the day with a hard-fought draw against Levon Aronian.
Caruana's loss to Murzin was a key moment on day 1. In an endgame featuring queens and minor pieces, Caruana faltered with 53...Qd4, a move inviting a queen exchange. The more accurate 53...Bd4 would have maintained the balance.
Navigating the Ruy Lopez Vol.1-3
The Ruy Lopez is one of the oldest openings which continues to enjoy high popularity from club level to the absolute world top. In this video series, American super GM Fabiano Caruana, talking to IM Oliver Reeh, presents a complete repertoire for White.
Murzin capitalised with 54.Qxd4 cxd4 55.Nd5, targeting Black's b4 pawn, which proved indefensible. After five moves, Caruana was forced to resign, marking a significant upset.
Volodar Murzin v. Fabiano Caruana | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes
Shant Sargsyan also delivered an impressive showing, ending the day as one of the co-leaders. The 22-year-old Armenian, currently the second-highest-rated player from his country, achieved notable back-to-back victories over Vasyl Ivanchuk and Anish Giri. He then held Leinier Dominguez to a draw with the black pieces.
In round 6, Sargsyan will face Naroditsky, who is enjoying the event in a more relaxed manner. "I feel like it's the first time in my life when I can play in a tournament for fun", Naroditsky remarked, reflecting his mindset.
Shant Sargsyan | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes
Maintaining the lead will not be easy for the frontrunners, as a group of 11 players stands just half a point behind. This chasing pack includes top contenders such as Hikaru Nakamura, Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Jan-Krzysztof Duda. Surprisingly, Magnus Carlsen is absent from this group after a subpar start. The world number one drew 3 of his first 4 games against much lower-rated opponents, including Awonder Liang (91st seed) and Gleb Dudin (125th seed). In the fifth round, he suffered a defeat to 18-year-old Denis Lazavik, an emerging star from the online chess scene.
From an Exchange Slav opening, Lazavik gained an extra pawn and demonstrated excellent composure and technique, slowly improving his position.
Understanding Middlegame Strategies Vol.10 - Caro-Kann Advance Variation
Instead of focusing on a rigid repertoire, the course presents key games, important strategic ideas, and opening knowledge to equip you with the essential tools to outmanoeuvre your opponents.
After 51 moves, Lazavik claimed a memorable win against the defending champion. With this result, Carlsen now trails the leaders by 2 full points, a challenging gap to close even for the strongest player in the world.
Magnus Carlsen resigns the game against Denis Lazavik | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes
The stunning playing hall | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes
| Rk. | Name | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM | Murzin, Volodar | 2588 | 4,5 | 13,5 | |
| 2 | GM | Sargsyan, Shant | 2601 | 4,5 | 13,5 | |
| 3 | GM | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2699 | 4,5 | 13 | |
| 4 | GM | Naroditsky, Daniel | 2638 | 4,5 | 12,5 | |
| 5 | GM | Sadhwani, Raunak | 2591 | 4 | 15 | |
| 6 | GM | Giri, Anish | 2678 | 4 | 14 | |
| 7 | GM | Sevian, Samuel | 2614 | 4 | 13,5 | |
| 8 | GM | Aronian, Levon | 2757 | 4 | 13 | |
| 9 | GM | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | 2740 | 4 | 12,5 | |
| 10 | GM | Robson, Ray | 2645 | 4 | 12,5 | |
| 11 | GM | Duda, Jan-Krzysztof | 2740 | 4 | 12 | |
| 12 | GM | Erigaisi, Arjun | 2694 | 4 | 12 | |
| 13 | GM | Nakamura, Hikaru | 2755 | 4 | 11,5 | |
| 14 | GM | Sindarov, Javokhir | 2655 | 4 | 11 | |
| 15 | GM | Nogerbek, Kazybek | 2526 | 4 | 11 | |
| 16 | GM | Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime | 2763 | 3,5 | 14 | |
| 17 | GM | Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar | 2711 | 3,5 | 14 | |
| 18 | GM | Jacobson, Brandon | 2459 | 3,5 | 14 | |
| 19 | GM | Lenderman, Aleksandr | 2621 | 3,5 | 14 | |
| 20 | GM | Lu, Shanglei | 2638 | 3,5 | 13,5 |
The women's section features 11 rounds in total, with the first 4 completed on Thursday. The competition is being held at 48 Wall Street, a venue as luxurious and elegantly decorated as its counterpart for the open section. This section sees the participation of 110 players, including the top-rated Chinese trio of Ju Wenjun, Lei Tingjie and Tan Zhongyi.
After the first day of action, 15-year-old American sensation Alice Lee emerged as the sole leader, achieving a flawless 4/4 score. The prodigy secured crucial victories against compatriots Jennifer Yu and Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova before facing reigning women's world blitz champion Valentina Gunina. Their fourth-round encounter was intensely competitive and appeared to be heading toward a draw, but Gunina ran out of time at a crucial moment, handing Lee the full point.
Master Class Vol.16 - Judit Polgar
In this video course, experts (Pelletier, Marin, Müller and Reeh) examine the games of Judit Polgar. Let them show you which openings Polgar chose to play, where her strength in middlegames were, or how she outplayed her opponents in the endgame.
Alice Lee | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
The chasing group, just half a point behind Lee, consists of five strong contenders: Ju Wenjun (China), Tan Zhongyi (China), Harika Dronavalli (India), Nino Batsiashvili (Georgia) and Gunay Mammadzada (Azerbaijan). Lee faces her toughest test yet in round 5, where she will play against Ju, the top seed and current women's world champion, with the challenging task of handling the black pieces.
J's journey through the first 4 rounds was marked by 3 victories and a single draw. It was Indonesian IM Irine Sukandar who managed to hold the top seed to a half point. Sukandar even had a winning opportunity in a critical position, but missed the powerful continuation 49.Qg6+ - e.g., 49...Kf8 50.Qxh6+ Ke8 51.Qh8+ Kd7 52.Qa1, seizing control of the passed pawn.
Instead, after Ju's 48...a2, Sukandar opted for 49.Qa5, immediately capturing the pawn but allowing Ju to counterattack effectively with 49...Re3 50.Qxa2 Rxf3+ 51.Ke2 Rf7. The resulting position allowed Ju to maintain the balance and keep her undefeated score.
Ju Wenjun | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
How to Avoid Mistakes and Boost Your Winning Rate
Doesn’t every chess game get decided by mistakes? Absolutely. But most players never truly comprehend that they are making the same kind of mistakes over and over again.
In the chasing pack - Harika Dronavalli | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
| Rk. | Name | RtgI | Pts. | TB1 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IM | Lee, Alice | 2415 | 4 | 8 | |
| 2 | GM | Ju, Wenjun | 2536 | 3,5 | 7,5 | |
| 3 | GM | Tan, Zhongyi | 2502 | 3,5 | 7 | |
| 4 | GM | Dronavalli, Harika | 2416 | 3,5 | 6,5 | |
| 5 | GM | Batsiashvili, Nino | 2333 | 3,5 | 6,5 | |
| 6 | IM | Mammadzada, Gunay | 2319 | 3,5 | 6 | |
| 7 | GM | Gunina, Valentina | 2388 | 3 | 10 | |
| 8 | GM | Muzychuk, Anna | 2408 | 3 | 8 | |
| 9 | WGM | Uuriintuya, Uurtsaikh | 2188 | 3 | 7,5 | |
| 10 | IM | Munguntuul, Batkhuyag | 2299 | 3 | 7,5 | |
| 11 | WIM | Khamdamova, Afruza | 2188 | 3 | 7,5 | |
| 12 | IM | Shuvalova, Polina | 2355 | 3 | 7,5 | |
| 13 | GM | Lagno, Kateryna | 2433 | 3 | 7,5 | |
| 14 | IM | Garifullina, Leya | 2336 | 3 | 7,5 | |
| 15 | GM | Vaishali, Rameshbabu | 2355 | 3 | 7,5 | |
| 16 | WGM | Munkhzul, Turmunkh | 2333 | 3 | 7 | |
| 17 | GM | Paehtz, Elisabeth | 2406 | 3 | 6,5 | |
| 18 | IM | Maltsevskaya, Aleksandra | 2269 | 3 | 6,5 | |
| 19 | IM | Bulmaga, Irina | 2378 | 3 | 6,5 | |
| 20 | IM | Assaubayeva, Bibisara | 2444 | 3 | 6 |
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