Erigaisi and Praggnanandhaa Struggle at Total Chess Tour

Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi suffered a surprise defeat against Bibisara Assaubayeva in the opening Fast Classical fixture of the Total Chess World Championship Tour Pilot in Budapest, but he recovered to win the reverse game. According to ThePrint, Erigaisi, ranked 12th globally with a rating of 2746, lost the first encounter to the seventh-ranked women’s player, whose advancing pawns proved decisive. He responded by securing a win with the black pieces in the second game, ending the day with five points in Group D. ThePrint reported that Erigaisi is currently third in the group, trailing Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Hans Niemann, who both hold eight points.

ThePrint also reported that the sibling duo of R Praggnanandhaa and R Vaishali endured a difficult day, with both losing their respective games. Praggnanandhaa, competing in Group B, lost both matches to Fabiano Caruana. ThePrint noted that Caruana produced one of the day’s strongest performances, sacrificing a piece in the first game to break Praggnanandhaa’s defenses. These twin victories lifted Caruana to 10 points, placing him two ahead of Liem Le, who sits on eight points after a win and a draw. Praggnanandhaa slipped to the last spot in his group with two points.

In Group D, Vaishali lost to Hans Niemann, leaving her at the bottom of the standings with one draw and three losses. ThePrint reported that Niemann and Vachier-Lagrave are the only players in Group D with eight points, while Erigaisi and Assaubayeva share five points. Assaubayeva described her first win as one of the best of her career, citing Erigaisi’s mistakes in a difficult position. ThePrint quoted her saying, “It was one of the best wins with the Kings Indian structure in my career probably.”

World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen’s winless run in the Fast Classical format continued as he was held to two draws by 17-year-old American Grandmaster Abhimanyu Mishra in Group C. ThePrint reported that Mishra pressed for a win in the second game but could not convert his advantage. Carlsen remains on four points, while Mishra has three. In other Group C action, Haik Martirosyan recovered from a first-game loss to Anish Giri to win the reverse fixture. ThePrint reported that Martirosyan is now level with Ian Nepomniachtchi at six points, while Giri sits on five. Nepomniachtchi drew both his games against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.