Total Chess Pilot: Vaishali pulls off upset wins over Niemann and So; Carlsen wins blitz event

R. Vaishali defeated Hans Niemann and Wesley So with black pieces to produce two major upsets in the opening blitz competition of the Total Chess World Championship Tour pilot here on Tuesday. The Indian Grandmaster finished 17th with four points from nine rounds, recording two wins, four draws and three defeats in the 24-player field at the Anantara New York Palace Hotel.

Vaishali, the lowest-rated blitz player, recovered from a difficult position against Niemann in the first round, capitalising on his end-game error to turn the game in her favour. After losing to Vladislav Artemiev, she bounced back to beat So in the third round.

She also held Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Richard Rapport, Anish Giri and Bibisara Assaubayeva. She will meet Niemann and So again in the Fast Classic group stage, beginning on Wednesday. Group D also includes Arjun Erigaisi, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Assaubayeva.

Each player faces the other five twice, with only the group winner remaining in title contention. World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen won the blitz, remaining unbeaten. He scored seven points on the back of five victories and four draws.

He defeated Haik Martirosyan with black in the final round, finishing ahead of Vachier-Lagrave (6.5) and Levon Aronian (six). Arjun placed sixth on tie-break with 5.5 points after a final-round loss to Aronian. R. Praggnanandhaa finished 14th with 4.5 after beating Andrew Hong.

Assaubayeva finished last with half-a-point, drawing with Vaishali after eight defeats. The blitz standings will break group-stage ties and determine knockout semifinal pairings. Fast Classic games allow 45 minutes per player, with a 30-second increment per move.

Two games will be played daily through Sunday, with three points for a win and one for a draw. (The writer is in Budapest at the invitation of Total Chess).