Junior international champion Goutham Krishna put in an outstanding performance on the opening day of the World Rapid Championship, scoring three consecutive wins to take the joint lead. alongside Magnus CarlsenArjun Erigaisi and Vladislav Artemiev. Just 15-year-old Goutham, who finished second at the national championships, showed strong form to beat Aleksandar Indjic, Aravind Chithambaram and Teimour Radjabov to close the first day on top of the rankings.
The young player from Kerala surprised many with his perfect score, sharing the top spot with world-renowned competitors after three rounds. In the same event, world champion D Gukesh ended the day with 2.5 points from two wins and a draw, while R Praggnanandhaa got two points from one win and two draws. Both remain within reach of the leaders throughout the tournament.
Goutham’s victory over Aleksandar Indjic with the black pieces set the tone for his day. He followed it up with wins over fellow Indian Aravindh Chithambaram and veteran Teimour Radjabov.
Nihal Sarin also started strongly, winning his first two games before suffering defeat by Iran’s Sin Movahed in the third round. The Indian contingent saw mixed fortunes overall, with some players remaining in contention for top spots after day one.
In the women’s section, R Vaishali caused quite a stir by defeating former world champion Tan Zhongyi to secure a perfect 3/3 score. Dronavalli Harika also won all three of her games, matching Vaishali’s flawless start. However, defending World Rapid Champion Koneru Humpy finished with two points after an opening win and two draws.
The World Rapid Championship has 13 laps in the open section and 11 laps in the women’s section, with a time control of 15 minutes plus a 10-second increment per move. The format tests both speed and consistency over several rounds and rewards those who can stay focused throughout.
The tournament also includes a blitz tournament, which is played in a Swiss format with 19 rounds for the open group and 15 for the women. The top four players in each section advance to the knockout stage to decide the champions.
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Published on:
December 26, 2025
