World Blitz 2025 Day 1: Magnus Carlsen drops the queen and loses on time against Arjun Erigaisi

by Shahid Ahmed - 30/12/2025

Arjun Erigaisi, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) and Fabiano Caruana (USA) are the three leaders at 10/13 each after Round 13 of FIDE World Blitz Chess Championship 2025 Open. Arjun defeated the reigning World Blitz cochampion, Carlsen in Round 9 and then defeated the former World Rapid champion, Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB). Six players are trailing them by a half point. Then five Indians - GM Pranesh M, IM Goutham Krishna H, GM R Praggnanandhaa, GM Raunak Sadhwani and GM Naraynanan S L are at 9/13 each. Goutham is the only IM among the top 30 players at the moment. He had a fantastic day by defeating eight GMs. In the Women's event, the new FIDE World Under-20 Girls Blitz 2025 Gold medalist, IM Eline Roebers (NED) emerged sole leader 8.5/10. Round 14 Open and Round 11 Women starts tomorrow at 2 p.m. local time, 4:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Shahid Ahmed

Goutham Krishna beats eight GMs, scores an impressive 9/13, Women: Eline Roebers gains sole lead 8.5/10

World Blitz is indubitably the most exciting event of the year. I am glad to witness it in person for the second time since 2023. As they say, analysing Blitz games are not a good idea. So I will refrain from doing that. Nearly 200 games were played in each round, combining Open and Women. It is very easy to miss something spectacular/fantastic/amazing that might have happened on the first day of Blitz. Instead of viewing the games on the board, the best way to enjoy them is to watch the game videos.

Round 1 Women: Oro stuns Aronian, Wenjun Ju falls into stalemate trick

Argentine IM Faustino Oro (2503) who is on track to become World's youngest GM, started the event with a win over the only two-time FIDE World Cup champion, GM Levon Aronian (USA, 2774).

GM Levon Aronian (USA) - IM Faustino Oro (ARG): 0-1

Wenjun - Luong

Position after 74.Ng4??

The five-time Women's World Champion, GM Wenjun Ju (CHN, 2489) blundered 74.Ng4?? Her opponent, who became WGM recently, Luong Phuong Hanh (VIE, 2197) found the correct tactics 74...Nf6+! to salvage a half point. Whether White captures the knight or not, is irrelevant. Capturing the knight leads to a stalemate whereas not capturing means Black can take the knight and it is also a draw.

The legend, Vishy Anand made the ceremonial first move on GM Wenjun Ju and WGM Luong Phuong Hang's (VIE) board in presence of GM Mohd. Al-Mudahka, President, Qatar Chess Association and Lukasz Turlej (POL), FIDE General Secretary

Round 6 Open: Jorden beats Arjun to score a double hat-trick

Arjun Erigaisi (2749) blundered his rook by putting it on the path of bishop. GM Jorden van Foreest (NED, 2657) gobbled it up to score a double hat-trick and gain sole lead 6/6 at he conclusion of the round.

GM Jorden van Foreest (NED) gained sole lead 6/6 after his opponent, GM Arjun Erigaisi hung his rook

Round 9 Open: Carlsen's queen slip

I was spectating Magnus Carlsen (NOR, 2824) face Arjun Erigaisi (2749) which was undoubtedly one of the most anticipated matches of the event. We all know how amazing their Rapid game was. Arjun seemed to get a decisive advantage as he had connected passed pawns on a and b-files. However, he gave up one of the pawns as he played 45...Nd4. Well as it turned out giving up the pawn was a great practical decision. Carlsen ran out of time while trying to capture the a5-pawn as the queen flew off his hand.

Carlsen - Arjun

Position after 45...Nd4

Here Carlsen was running low on time, the queen slipped from his hand due to duress. Grischuk was passing by after finishing his game, suddenly he noticed the commotion and gave a Kramer-like reaction. Of course, none of it was Grischuk's fault. If Carlsen's head was at the right place, he could have picked up the extra queen and captured the a5-pawn which he intended. Could this be a sign of Carlsen's fall, not advancing to the Semifinals, ending the year with only one World title? We will know in a few hours.

Magnus Carlsen vs Arjun Erigaisi | Video: ChessBase India

Magnus Carlsen (NOR) had a cakewalk to start the final day

In the following round, as fate would have it, Carlsen was paired against Grischuk who witnessed the incident first-hand from a different perspective. It was Grischuk who had winning chances but in time trouble he misplayed and Carlsen had to play correctly to draw the game.

Interview with Arjun Erigaisi | Video: ChessBase India

The former three-time World Blitz champion, GM Alexander Grischuk could have handed GM Magnus Carlsen his second consecutive loss

Similar to Arjun, Magnus Carlsen blundered his rook in one move, only difference is Carlsen completely forgot that his rook is under attack.

Fabiano Caruana vs Magnus Carlsen | Video: ChessBase India

Fabiano Caruana (USA) handed Magnus Carlsen his second loss of the day

IM Goutham Krishna H (2336) ended the day by winning against GM Jorden van Foreest (NED, 2657), making it his eight win against a GM out of 13 games. What an outstanding day the teenager had.

In the Women's event, FIDE World Junior Blitz Girls 2025 champion, IM Eline Roebers (NED, 2377) defeated the newly crowned FIDE World Rapid Women 2025 and former FIDE Women's World Cup winner, GM Aleksandra Goryachkina (2439).

IM Eline Roebers vs GM Aleksandra Goryachkina | Video: ChessBase India

Interview with IM Eline Roebers | Video: ChessBase India

IM Eline Roebers (NED) en route her victory against GM Aleksandra Goryachkina

In the following round, Eline defeated former World Junior Girls champion, WGM Candela Be Francisco Guecamburu (ARG, 2298) to gain sole lead.

WIM Candela Be Francisco Guecamburu (ARG) - IM Eline Roebers (NED): 0-1

Nodirbek Abdusattorov vs Arjun Erigaisi, Round 10 | Video: ChessBase India

Magnus Carlsen vs Pranav Anand, Round 5 | Video: ChessBase India

For more photos, please click here.

Watch live stream

Replay Live Commentary of World Blitz 2025 Day 1 by IM Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal from 2 p.m. local time, 4:30 p.m. IST | Video: ChessBase India

Replay Round 1-15 Open games

Replay Round 1-10 Women games

Round 13 Open results

Bo.	No.		White	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Black	Rtg	No.
1	1	GM	Carlsen, Magnus *)	2881	8	1 - 0	8	GM	Radjabov, Teimour	2646	37
2	12	GM	Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime	2745	9½	½ - ½	9½	GM	Caruana, Fabiano	2751	8
3	4	GM	Dubov, Daniil	2795	9	½ - ½	9½	GM	Erigaisi, Arjun	2749	10
4	19	GM	Yu, Yangyi	2704	9	½ - ½	9	GM	Grischuk, Alexander	2665	28
5	30	GM	Lu, Shanglei	2657	8½	1 - 0	9	GM	Narayanan, S L	2619	52
6	196	GM	Mamedov, Edgar	2388	8½	0 - 1	8½	GM	So, Wesley	2790	5
7	34	GM	Jobava, Baadur	2649	8½	1 - 0	8½	GM	Duda, Jan-Krzysztof	2750	9
8	20	GM	Praggnanandhaa, R	2703	8½	½ - ½	8½	GM	Bu, Xiangzhi	2719	15
9	2	GM	Firouzja, Alireza	2813	8	½ - ½	8	GM	Sindarov, Javokhir	2632	40
10	3	GM	Nepomniachtchi, Ian	2801	8	1 - 0	8	GM	Moussard, Jules	2629	44
11	53	GM	Lazavik, Denis	2617	8	½ - ½	8	GM	Aronian, Levon	2774	6
12	59	GM	Makarian, Rudik	2601	8	0 - 1	8	GM	Abdusattorov, Nodirbek	2768	7
13	14	GM	Artemiev, Vladislav	2733	8	½ - ½	8	GM	Keymer, Vincent	2599	62
14	18	GM	Sarana, Alexey	2704	8	1 - 0	8	IM	Stribuk, Artiom	2385	197
15	74	GM	Hakobyan, Aram	2581	8	½ - ½	8	GM	Nihal, Sarin	2681	25
16	26	GM	Martirosyan, Haik M.	2679	8	1 - 0	8	GM	Pranav, V	2606	57
17	31	GM	Van Foreest, Jorden	2657	8	0 - 1	8	IM	Goutham, Krishna H	2336	208
18	77	GM	Grandelius, Nils	2573	8	0 - 1	8	GM	Sadhwani, Raunak	2649	35
19	95	GM	Pranesh, M	2553	8	1 - 0	8	GM	Murzin, Volodar	2647	36
20	56	GM	Amar, Elham	2610	7½	1 - 0	7½	GM	Giri, Anish	2701	21

Details

Final standings

Rk.	SNo		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3	Rp
1	10	GM	Erigaisi, Arjun	IND	2749	10	101	107	2692	2888
2	12	GM	Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime	FRA	2745	10	101	106	2638	2828
3	8	GM	Caruana, Fabiano	USA	2751	10	98	104	2643	2843
4	4	GM	Dubov, Daniil	FID	2795	9,5	101	108	2643	2807
5	30	GM	Lu, Shanglei	CHN	2657	9,5	97,5	103	2652	2813
6	19	GM	Yu, Yangyi	CHN	2704	9,5	95,5	101	2593	2752
7	34	GM	Jobava, Baadur	GEO	2649	9,5	93	98,5	2583	2739
8	5	GM	So, Wesley	USA	2790	9,5	92,5	97,5	2572	2728
9	28	GM	Grischuk, Alexander	FID	2665	9,5	92,5	97	2629	2786
10	7	GM	Abdusattorov, Nodirbek	UZB	2768	9	100	106	2637	2763
11	1	GM	Carlsen, Magnus	NOR	2881	9	97	101,5	2651	2772
12	15	GM	Bu, Xiangzhi	CHN	2719	9	96	101,5	2613	2737
13	95	GM	Pranesh, M	IND	2553	9	96	101	2583	2698
14	208	IM	Goutham, Krishna H	IND	2336	9	95	101,5	2645	2779
15	20	GM	Praggnanandhaa, R	IND	2703	9	95	100,5	2612	2737
16	35	GM	Sadhwani, Raunak	IND	2649	9	93	98,5	2584	2710
17	3	GM	Nepomniachtchi, Ian	FID	2801	9	92,5	98,5	2587	2713
18	52	GM	Narayanan, S L	IND	2619	9	92	96,5	2597	2723
19	26	GM	Martirosyan, Haik M.	ARM	2679	9	89	95	2535	2666
20	18	GM	Sarana, Alexey	SRB	2704	9	87,5	92,5	2539	2668

Details

Round 11 Women results

Bo.	No.		White	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Black	Rtg	No.
1	5	GM	Goryachkina, Aleksandra	2439	7½	½ - ½	7½	GM	Stefanova, Antoaneta	2367	21
2	37	WGM	Francisco Guecamburu, Candela Be	2298	7	0 - 1	7½	IM	Roebers, Eline	2377	17
3	43	WIM	Omonova, Umida	2278	7	1 - 0	7	WIM	Nurgaliyeva, Zarina	2209	64
4	26	IM	Salimova, Nurgyul	2336	6½	0 - 1	6½	GM	Assaubayeva, Bibisara	2428	7
5	120	WFM	Khafizova, Diana	2033	6½	½ - ½	6½	GM	Muzychuk, Anna	2397	13
6	30	WGM	Nurman, Alua	2324	6½	½ - ½	6½	GM	Muzychuk, Mariya	2373	19
7	20	IM	Song, Yuxin	2371	6½	1 - 0	6½	WIM	Mungunzul, Bat-Erdene	2329	28
8	2	GM	Lei, Tingjie	2478	6	0 - 1	6	GM	Gunina, Valentina	2314	33
9	34	IM	Yip, Carissa	2313	6	1 - 0	6	GM	Zhu, Jiner	2425	9
10	10	IM	Garifullina, Leya	2407	6	1 - 0	6	WGM	Toncheva, Nadya	2210	63
11	38	WIM	Wang, Chuqiao	2297	6	1 - 0	6	GM	Divya, Deshmukh	2388	15
12	18	GM	Danielian, Elina	2373	6	1 - 0	6	WGM	Vo, Thi Kim Phung	2122	98
13	22	IM	Arabidze, Meri	2356	6	½ - ½	6	WGM	Shukhman, Anna	2204	66
14	4	GM	Lagno, Kateryna	2448	5½	1 - 0	5½	IM	Padmini, Rout	2239	55
15	12	IM	Shuvalova, Polina	2399	5½	1 - 0	5½	IM	Kiolbasa, Oliwia	2229	58
16	89	WIM	Kaliakhmet, Elnaz	2144	5½	1 - 0	5½	IM	Khademalsharieh, Sarasadat	2352	23
17	91	WCM	Khalilova, Madinabonu	2140	5½	0 - 1	5½	IM	Injac, Teodora	2323	31
18	32	IM	Maltsevskaya, Aleksandra	2323	5½	0 - 1	5½	IM	Badelka, Olga	2208	65
19	40	IM	Kamalidenova, Meruert	2295	5½	1 - 0	5½		Jiang, Tianyu	2183	76
20	42	IM	Buksa, Nataliya	2281	5½	1 - 0	5½	WFM	Yakimova, Mariya	2153	86

Details

Final standings

Rk.	SNo		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3	Rp
1	17	IM	Roebers, Eline	NED	2377	8,5	55,5	59	2237	2512
2	5	GM	Goryachkina, Aleksandra	FID	2439	8	60	65	2293	2522
3	43	WIM	Omonova, Umida	UZB	2278	8	59	62,5	2327	2518
4	21	GM	Stefanova, Antoaneta	BUL	2367	8	55	58,5	2283	2508
5	7	GM	Assaubayeva, Bibisara	KAZ	2428	7,5	56	60	2288	2470
6	20	IM	Song, Yuxin	CHN	2371	7,5	52,5	57,5	2190	2374
7	64	WIM	Nurgaliyeva, Zarina	KAZ	2209	7	61,5	62,5	2354	2450
8	34	IM	Yip, Carissa	USA	2313	7	58	62	2242	2373
9	19	GM	Muzychuk, Mariya	UKR	2373	7	57,5	61,5	2338	2459
10	37	WGM	Francisco Guecamburu, Candela Be	ARG	2298	7	56,5	59,5	2306	2432
11	18	GM	Danielian, Elina	ARM	2373	7	56	59	2269	2403
12	13	GM	Muzychuk, Anna	UKR	2397	7	55	59	2203	2335
13	30	WGM	Nurman, Alua	KAZ	2324	7	54,5	58,5	2216	2351
14	120	WFM	Khafizova, Diana	FID	2033	7	54	59	2313	2450
15	10	IM	Garifullina, Leya	FID	2407	7	53	57	2222	2366
16	38	WIM	Wang, Chuqiao	CHN	2297	7	50	53	2240	2372
17	33	GM	Gunina, Valentina	FID	2314	7	46	50	2234	2364
18	66	WGM	Shukhman, Anna	FID	2204	6,5	59	61	2390	2435
19	28	WIM	Mungunzul, Bat-Erdene	MGL	2329	6,5	57,5	62	2238	2327
20	42	IM	Buksa, Nataliya	UKR	2281	6,5	56,5	60,5	2352	2431

Details

Prize fund

The total prize fund combining Rapid and Blitz is €1000000, €700000 in Open and €300000 in Women. The top three prizes in Blitz Open are €70000, €50000 and €28000, for Women, they are €40000, €25000 and €15000.

Links

Official site

Tournament Regulations: Open and Women

NEW ARRIVALS

World Blitz 2025 Day 1: Magnus Carlsen drops the queen and loses on time against Arjun Erigaisi

Goutham Krishna beats eight GMs, scores an impressive 9/13, Women: Eline Roebers gains sole lead 8.5/10

Round 1 Women: Oro stuns Aronian, Wenjun Ju falls into stalemate trick

Wenjun - Luong

Round 6 Open: Jorden beats Arjun to score a double hat-trick

Round 9 Open: Carlsen's queen slip

Carlsen - Arjun

Watch live stream

Replay Round 1-15 Open games

Replay Round 1-10 Women games

Round 13 Open results

Final standings

Round 11 Women results

Final standings

Prize fund

Links

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