Thirteen decisive outcomes mark the second Fast Classic day as Assaubayeva defeats Erigaisi.
Fabiano Caruana and Hans Moke Niemann each won both of their games on the second day of the Fast Classic group stage at the Total Chess World Championship Tour Pilot in Budapest, while Bibisara Assaubayeva recorded a standout victory over Arjun Erigaisi.
Rounds 3 and 4 produced 13 decisive results from 24 games, three more than on the first day. Each player faced the same opponent twice with colours reversed. With three points awarded for a win and one for a draw, these two double victories earned Caruana and Niemann six points apiece.
Alireza Firouzja now leads Group A outright on eight points, while Caruana heads Group B on ten. Ian Nepomniachtchi and Haik Martirosyan are level on six points at the top of Group C, and Niemann has joined Maxime Vachier-Lagrave on eight in Group D.
Firouzja moves clear in Group A
Alireza Firouzja played a long game with White and won over Jorden van Foreest and then drew the return encounter. The four-point haul takes him to eight overall, one point ahead of Jan-Krzysztof Duda.
Duda and Nodirbek Abdusattorov exchanged wins with the black pieces. Duda prevailed in a long opening encounter, the longest game of the day, before Abdusattorov responded with victory in the return. Their three points apiece leave Duda on seven and Abdusattorov on four.
Levon Aronian and Andrew Hong drew both games. Aronian moves to five points, with Hong on three. Van Foreest finishes the day on four.
Caruana wins twice to take control of Group B
Fabiano Caruana delivered one of the day’s strongest performances against Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu. With White, he sacrificed a piece to open the Black’s defences and won comfortably. He then added a with Black. The two victories put Caruana on ten points, two clear of Le Quang Liem.
Liem Le remained his closest challenger after a win and a draw against Vincent Keymer. After winning a tough battle with White, Le finished the day on eight points, while Keymer has three.
Richard Rapport and Vladislav Artemiev drew both encounters and move to three points each. Praggnanandhaa remains on two.
Martirosyan joins Nepomniachtchi at the top as Carlsen draws twice
Haik Martirosyan recovered from a first-game defeat against Anish Giri to win their return encounter. Giri’s attack brought him victory in as few as 26 moves with White, but Martirosyan stormed back in the return game. The three points lift Martirosyan to six, level with Ian Nepomniachtchi at the top of Group C, while Giri moves to five.
Nepomniachtchi drew both games with Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. The pair added two points each, leaving Mamedyarov on five.
Magnus Carlsen and Abhimanyu Mishra also drew twice. In the second game Mishra achieved a winning position but let his advantage slip away with one imprudent move in the opposite-colored bishops endgame. Carlsen has now drawn all four of his Fast Classic games and stands on four points, while Mishra has three.
Niemann catches up with Vachier-Lagrave as Assaubayeva strikes
Hans Moke Niemann collected the maximum six points against Vaishali Rameshbabu, winning both games. Niemann moved from two points to eight, while Vaishali remains on one.
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave added four points to his tally in his match against Wesley So. He won the first encounter with White before drawing the return game, taking his total to eight and leaving So on three.
Bibisara Assaubayeva scored one of the day’s most striking results by defeating Arjun Erigaisi with Black. Her advanced kingside pawns helped decide the first encounter, but Erigaisi responded with a Black win of his own. Both players finish the day on five points.
The Fast Classic round-robin stage continues in Budapest on November 13, as the players compete for positions in the knockout brackets.
Text: Total Chess
Photos: Maria Emelianova and Michal Walusza
Official website: www.totalchess.com
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