Julius Baer Cup: Erigaisi in 2nd spot; Praggnanandhaa in fourth place

PTI

New York, September 21

India’s teenaged Grandmasters Arjun Erigaisi and R Praggnanandhaa are placed second and joint fourth respectively after 12 rounds in the preliminary phase of Julius Baer Generation Cup online rapid chess tournament here.

World champion Magnus Carlsen is on top of the standings with 25 points, one ahead of Erigiasi, while Quang Liem Le (China) is third on 20 points.

The 19-year-old Erigaisi started day three with a win over veteran Ukrainian Vasyl Ivanchuk. However, he suffered a reversal against Poland’s Jan-Krzystof Duda in round 10. After a draw against Boris Gelfand (Israel) in the 11th round, he ended the day with a victory over teenager Christopher Yoo (USA).

The 17-year-old Praggnanandhaa, who started very well on day one with three wins, could only manage four draws on the third day.

Beginning with a draw against compatriot B Adhiban, he had to share points with Quang Liem Li, David Navara (Czech Republic) and Hans Niemann (USA) in rounds 10, 11 and 12 respectively.

Carlsen won three of his four matches on the day to move one point clear of the field. He beat Ivan Saric, Duda and Gelfand to underline his supremacy.

Adhiban won his first match of the tournament, beating Saric but continues to languish in 15th place with eight points.

Three more rounds remain to be played in the preliminary phase after which the top eight will battle it out in the knockout quarter-finals.

The event features 16 players spanning three generations and is being held on a round-robin-cum-knockout format.

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