‘I was looking forward to being in Magnus Carlsen’s group’: Vaishali after winning two blitz matches against super GM

Vaishali and Magnus Carlsen NEW DELHI: Indian Grandmaster Vaishali Rameshbabu got off to an impressive start at the inaugural Total Chess World Championship Tour Pilot in Budapest, defeating two established grandmasters, Hans Niemann and Wesley So, in the opening blitz.Her victories were particularly significant as she is one of only two women to compete in a field of 24 players with some of the world’s best chess players.Vaishali defeated Niemann in the first round before defeating So in the third. Her win against So was particularly impressive as the American recently won her fourth US title.She ended up finishing the nine-round blitz tournament with four points out of nine.“I was looking forward to be in Magnus’ group. It’s a very strong group like Arjun, Wesley, MVL. I mean what a group it is. Yeah, it’s going to be a big challenge. I’m looking forward,” Vaishali told ChessBase India.

Carlsen takes the lead in lightning action

Meanwhile, five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen dominated the opening event, finishing unbeaten with seven points from nine rounds. France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave secured second place with 6.5 points, while Levon Aronian finished third with six points.Carlsen’s final round victory over Haik Martirosyan helped him secure the top spot. His strong finish also gives him an advantage in later stages, as tournament rules allow higher-ranked players to gain better positions in tiebreaks and certain advantages in knockout matches.Indian Arjun Erigaisi also got off to a promising start, beating Vachier-Lagrave and Fabian Caruana. However, a final round loss to Aronian meant he finished with 5.5 points.

The group stage presents a greater challenge

The tournament will now move to the Fast Classic format, where 24 players will be divided into four groups of six. Each game will have 45 minutes and an additional 30 seconds per turn. A win gets three points, while a draw gives each player one point.Vaishali and Bibisara Assaubayeva will compete in Group D along with Vachier-Lagrave, Erigaisi, Niemann and So. Only the winners of the four groups qualify for the main knockout phase.The $650,000 tournament is being organized as a pilot project for a proposed world chess tour that will combine classic, rapid and blitz formats.