Doha [Qatar], December 30 : Indian chess grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi continued his fine run in global chess, securing the bronze medal in the International Chess Federation (FIDE) World Blitz Championships in Doha on Tuesday.
After stunning performances in the league stage, Erigaisi could not managed to replicate the same in the semifinal against Nodirbek Abdusattorov, losing the match. But nonetheless, a bronze medal for India was sealed, as per ESPN.
Arjun made it to the four-player knockouts, with his spot sealed in the second-last round, winning 14.5 points in the first 18 rounds, with 12 wins, five draws and a loss.
The 2025 FIDE World Rapid Championship, held in Doha before this, saw a 13-round Swiss system with a 15-minute plus 10-second increment time control. India's Arjun clinched his maiden bronze medal at the event, with a score of 9.5, a couple of days back.
Additonally, Arjun became only the second Indian male player, after legendary Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand, to achieve a podium finish at the event. Magnus Carlsen clinched his sixth World Rapid title in the men's event, with an unbeaten score of 10.5 out of 13.
The women's title came down to a blitz playoff after Zhu Jiner, Aleksandra Goryachkina, and defending champion Humpy Koneru all were tied on 8/10 points. In Round 11, Zhu and Goryachkina drew their games.
Koneru had a winning endgame against her opponent, B. Savitha, but she misplayed in time trouble, resulting in a draw. According to the regulations, in the event of a tie for first place, only the top two players (based on tiebreaks) advanced to the playoff finals. This means Goryachkina and Zhu contested two blitz games, with Humpy taking home the bronze medal. Goryachkina quickly won the first and drew the second to secure the title.
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