FIDE World Rapid Championship: D Gukesh Among Frontrunners After Nine Rounds

India’s reigning classical world champion D Gukesh has emerged as one of the frontrunners at the FIDE World Rapid Championship 2025, despite heading into the season-ending event with modest expectations.

Two days into the tournament, the teenage prodigy proved himself wrong by remaining firmly in contention after nine rounds, sitting joint seventh on 6.5 points alongside 12 other players.

At the top of the standings, Vladislav Artemiev surged into joint leadership on 7.5 points with Hans Niemann, after inflicting a rare defeat on world No.1 and five-time world rapid champion Magnus Carlsen, who slipped to joint third on seven points with three others.

Gukesh Shows Grit

Gukesh’s fighting spirit was evident throughout Saturday’s play, as he and Arjun Erigaisi (both on 6.5 points) stayed within touching distance of the leaders. R Praggnanandhaa, however, slipped to joint 20th, alongside Nihal Sarin, with both players on six points.

Playing with the black pieces in the sixth round, Gukesh absorbed sustained pressure from Dutch Grandmaster Anish Giri, who appeared to have cornered the Indian’s king with a superior rook setup. Demonstrating resilience, Gukesh held firm to secure a draw in 57 moves.

He followed that with a hard-fought stalemate against former European champion Alexey Sarana, before registering a crucial victory over Spain’s David Anton in the penultimate round of the day.

Gukesh’s only setback of the tournament so far came when he blundered on the 34th move while playing white against former world rapid champion Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan, resulting in his sole defeat across nine rounds.

Artemiev Stuns Carlsen

Artemiev enjoyed a remarkable day, first defeating Arjun Erigaisi in the opening round, with the Indian trailing by a pawn and a bishop. The 27-year-old then delivered the standout result of the tournament by handing Magnus Carlsen his only loss of the event so far, vaulting himself to the top of the leaderboard.

The final four rounds of the 13-round Open section are scheduled to be played on Sunday, setting the stage for a dramatic finish.

Women’s Title Race Heats Up

In the women’s competition, defending champion Koneru Humpy climbed to the top of the standings with six points after seven rounds. With just one round remaining in the 11-round women’s event, the title race remains wide open.

Harika Dronavalli and reigning Women’s World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh were placed joint second on 5.5 points, part of a crowded group of 12 players. Meanwhile, R Vaishali, after suffering her second defeat of the tournament, dropped to joint 22nd on 4.5 points.

(With PTI Inputs)