Vaishali defeats Erigaisi as Artemiev ends Caruana’s unbeaten Fast Classic run
Alireza Firouzja, Fabiano Caruana, Anish Giri and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave secured the four places in the championship knockout bracket as the Fast Classic group stage of the Total Chess World Championship Tour Pilot concluded in Budapest. Vaishali Rameshbabu defeated Arjun Erigaisi in the return game, while Vladislav Artemiev handed Caruana his first defeat of the group stage.
Games 9 and 10 produced eight decisive results from 24 encounters, all won by White. Each player faced the same opponent twice with colours reversed, with three points awarded for a win and one for a draw.
Firouzja holds on as Duda and Van Foreest exchange wins
Alireza Firouzja secured Group A with two draws against Levon Aronian. Firouzja finishes on fifteen points, one ahead of Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Jorden van Foreest.
Duda won their first encounter with White, but Van Foreest answered with a White victory in the return game. Both finish on fourteen points, with Duda taking second place and Van Foreest third on the Blitz tiebreak.
Andrew Hong and Nodirbek Abdusattorov also drew twice. Hong finished on eleven points, level with Aronian, who took fourth place on the tiebreak. Hong is fifth and Abdusattorov sixth on nine.
Caruana wins Group B despite final-round defeat
Fabiano Caruana finished three points clear of the runner-up in Group B despite losing his final game to Vladislav Artemiev. After a draw in their opening encounter, Artemiev won the return with White to end Caruana’s unbeaten Fast Classic run. Caruana closes on seventeen points from four wins, five draws and one defeat.
Le Quang Liem Le drew twice with Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu to finish second on fourteen points. Le completed all ten games unbeaten, with two wins and eight draws. Praggnanandhaa finishes sixth on seven.
Richard Rapport and Vincent Keymer also drew both games. Rapport takes third place on eleven points, while Keymer finishes fourth on ten, ahead of Artemiev on the Blitz tiebreak.
Giri seals first place as all six games are drawn
Anish Giri’s two draws with Shakhriyar Mamedyarov were enough to secure first place in Group C on fifteen points. All six games in the group were drawn, leaving the standings unchanged. Mamedyarov finishes fourth on eleven.
Ian Nepomniachtchi drew twice with Magnus Carlsen, while Haik Martirosyan and Abhimanyu Mishra also split points in both games. Nepomniachtchi and Martirosyan finished on thirteen, with the Blitz tiebreak placing Nepomniachtchi second and Martirosyan third.
Carlsen ended up fifth on nine points after nine draws and one defeat, without a Fast Classic victory in the group stage. Mishra is sixth on eight.
Vachier-Lagrave claims top spot as Vaishali defeats Erigaisi
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave broke the three-way tie at the top of Group D with a win and a draw against Bibisara Assaubayeva. After drawing the opening game, he won the return with White in an endgame. His seventeen points secure first place, while Assaubayeva finished fifth on ten.
Hans Moke Niemann recovered from a first-game loss to Wesley So by winning their return encounter with White. Niemann finished second on sixteen points, ahead of Erigaisi on the Blitz tiebreak, while So is fourth on thirteen.
Vaishali Rameshbabu produced one of the day’s standout results by beating Arjun Erigaisi after losing their opening game. The return encounter swung both ways before Vaishali eventually secured the win. The split result leaves Erigaisi third with sixteen points and Vaishali sixth with seven.
The players have a rest day on Monday, November 16, before the knockout semifinals begin on Tuesday, November 17. The Blitz seeding pairs Vachier-Lagrave with Giri and Firouzja with Caruana in the championship bracket. All 24 players continue in six knockout brackets, with matches combining Blitz, Rapid and Fast Classic.
Text: Total Chess
Photos: Maria Emelianova and Michal Walusza
Official website: www.totalchess.com
About Total Chess
Total Chess is a global championship platform established to redefine elite competitive chess for the modern era. Developed by Norway Chess and approved by FIDE, the Total Chess World Championship Tour introduces a unified format that crowns the world’s ultimate champion by testing excellence across three disciplines: Fast Classical, Rapid and Blitz. The Tour will bring together the world’s top 24 men and women players to compete across four premier international events hosted in leading global cities. Designed to elevate the sport’s commercial appeal and fan engagement, Total Chess combines world-class competition with innovation, technology and immersive spectator experiences to create a new benchmark for professional chess.
With a vision to make chess one of the world’s most engaging and commercially sustainable sports, Total Chess aims to expand the game’s global footprint, inspire the next generation of players, and connect millions of fans through a dynamic championship that celebrates intelligence, strategy and sporting excellence.