Vaishali wins World Blitz finals qualifier

Indian GM R Vaishali shines in World Blitz Championship, securing top spot in women's section and advancing to quarterfinals.

Indian Grandmaster R Vaishali showcased her skill by winning the women’s qualifier to advance to the quarterfinals of the World Blitz Championship here.

Following Koneru Humpy’s stellar performance, which earned her the gold medal and a prize of $60,000, it was Vaishali’s turn to impress her fans. She triumphed in the women’s section, scoring 9.5 points, with three draws on her way to a 9.5/11 performance.

Russian Kateryna Lagno came closest to Vaishali, scoring 8.5 points, while the remaining six qualifiers finished with an identical 8 points. Despite meeting the points criteria, Humpy was eliminated due to the worst tiebreaker, finishing ninth.

In the open section, ten players tied for first place, including world number one Magnus Carlsen. Carlsen scored when needed and drew six of his 13 games, finishing among the co-leaders at the end of the qualifiers.

Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi won the qualifier with 9.5 points, benefiting from the best tiebreak, while Fabiano Caruana of the United States finished second, ahead of Carlsen, who placed third.

Surprisingly, none of the Indians made the top eight, despite some early promising performances.

Erigaisi Arjun played brilliantly at the start, securing victories in the first five rounds but faded to finish with a subpar seven points. R Praggnanandhaa was the best-placed Indian, with 8.5 points, but a last-round loss to Russian Daniil Dubov cost him a spot in the quarterfinals.