Magnus Carlsen secured his sixth FIDE Rapid World Open title, underscoring his rapid dominance as he finished ahead of the field. Carlsen, now a six-time World Rapid Champion with previous wins in 2014, 2015, 2019, 2022 and 2023, took the title by 10.5 points and secured a €70,000 bonus.
Carlsen’s road to victory was not without problems. After suffering a seventh round defeat by Vladislav ArtemievCarlsen rallied on the final day with three consecutive wins to secure a tie against Anish Giri in the final round. Artemiev finished second with 9.5 points, while India’s Arjun Erigaisi took the bronze medal after beating Aleksandr Shimanov and also scoring 9.5 points, edging out Hans Niemann and Leinier Domnguez on tie-breaks.
Erigaisi edged out several strong contenders in a fiercely competitive field. Among the other Indian participants, Nihal Sarin finished 19th with 8.5 points, D. Gukesh was also at 8.5 in 20th place and R. Praggnanandhaa finished 27th with the same score. Strong performances by Indian players signal continued depth and promise for the future of Indian chess on the world stage.
HEART FOR HUMPY
In the women’s section, the final order caused Konera Humpy’s heart to escape as the first woman to win three World Rapid titles. Humpy, Zhu Jiner and Aleksandra Goryachkina finished with 8.5 points, but the final ranking was determined by the FIDE tie-break system. Humpy’s score in the tie-break was not enough, relegating her to the bronze medal despite the joint top score.
Aleksandra Goryachkina and Zhu Jiner advanced to the play-off for the title on the basis of excellent tie-breaks. Goryachkina triumphed over Zhu 1.5–0.5 in a tie-break to claim her first World Rapid title and the €40,000 prize. Zhu finished as runner-up, while Humpy’s campaign ended in disappointment, despite her resilient play throughout the tournament.
The pivotal moment in the final round was Humpy holding out fellow Indian B Savitha Shri for a 64-stroke draw to deny her a clear lead. A win would give Humpy nine points and the title. The missing winning streak in that encounter proved costly as the draw opened the door for a tiebreaker and subsequent tie-break calculations that ultimately decided the medals.
Savitha Shri’s result not only played a decisive role in the final standings but also marked a career-best fourth place with 8 points. R. Vaishali placed fifth, also with 8 points, and Divya Deshmukh secured the eighth position with 7.5 points. D. Harika finished 19th with 7 points, reflecting India’s strong presence at the highest levels of the competition.
– The end
Published on:
December 28, 2025
