World Rapid Championship: Artemiev stuns Magnus Carlsen; Gukesh, Erigaini joint-second after Round 9
World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen was stunned by Vladislav Artemiev, while Indian stars D. Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi remained in the hunt after nine rounds on Day 2 of the FIDE World Rapid Championship here.
Gukesh and Erigaisi are placed comfortably on 6.5 points in a cluster of 13 players, with just a point separating the Indian duo from joint leaders Artemiev and Hans Niemann (7.5 points each).
Starting with two draws, against Dutch GM Anish Giri and Alexey Sarana, Gukesh prevailed over Spain’s David Anton in a topsy-turvy Round 8 game.
In the following round, he was decimated by Nodirbek Abdusattorov in the King’s Indian attack, the Indian’s only defeat so far in the competition.
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However, it was 27-year-old Russian GM Artemiev who held centre-stage after inflicting a rare defeat on five-time world rapid champion Carlsen, and Erigaisi.
Artemiev and Niemann are chased by four players half a point behind — Carlsen, Alexey Sarana, Yagiz Erdogmus and Nodirbek Abdusattorov.
Giant-killer Artemiev was in great form as he opened with a victory as black against Erigaisi, coming back from a lost position and playing much of the game on increment.
In Round 7, Artemiev defeated Carlsen in a game where the world’s top-rated player made a grave mistake on move 15, which cost him dearly. This win put Artemiev on 6.5 points, a full point ahead of the field.
Artemiev concluded the day with two calm draws with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Alexey Sarana.
“I am pleased with my performance, and everything is feeling good,” Artemiev told FIDE.
After a 4.5/5 on day one, Carlsen’s performance dipped on day 2 with the Norwegian playing the Sicilian against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in round 6.
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The World No. 1 soon found himself with triple pawns on the e-file and spent more time looking for the moves. After testing Carlsen for a few moves, Vachier-Lagrave agreed to split a point.
The big defeat came in round seven, when, after surrendering on move 30, the Norwegian stormed out of the playing hall, visibly unhappy.
Carlsen bounced back in round 8, with a win against Armenian GM Shant Sargsyan, and in the final round of the day, he was better on time against US GM Ray Robson.
With two straight victories, Carlsen joined the group of four players on seven points.
Published on Dec 28, 2025