Giri Takes Group C Lead as So Wins Twice on Day 4 in Budapest

Giri Surges Into Group C Lead

Anish Giri captured the sole lead in Group C on the fourth day of the Fast Classic group stage at the Total Chess World Championship Tour Pilot in Budapest. He won with White against Abhimanyu Mishra, then drew the return fixture to finish on thirteen points, two clear of his nearest rival.

Mishra completed the day on six points.

So Collects Maximum Points

Wesley So was the only player to secure the full six points available on Day 4. He recorded consecutive victories over Vaishali Rameshbabu and Anish Giri, remaining the sole perfect scorer of the round.

Three-Way Tie at Top of Group D

Arjun Erigaisi ended Maxime Vachier-Lagrave’s unbeaten Fast Classic run with a white-piece endgame win after a draw in their first encounter. Both players rose to thirteen points.

Hans Moke Niemann also reached thirteen after defeating Bibisara Assaubayeva with White and holding the return as Black in the tournament’s longest game of the day.

Firouzja Leads Group A

Alireza Firouzja preserved his two-point advantage at the summit of Group A with thirteen points after drawing both games. Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Jorden van Foreest both moved to eleven points following their mutual double split and a pair of wins exchanged against Andrew Hong, who also finishes on nine.

Levon Aronian and Nodirbek Abdusattorov drew their encounters twice, reaching nine and seven points respectively.

Caruana Extends Group B Advantage

Fabiano Caruana remained four points clear at the top of Group B with sixteen points from four wins and four draws. Le Quang Liem Le stayed unbeaten on twelve after trading draws with Caruana in both games.

Richard Rapport earned his first Fast Classic victory of the event with a dramatic checkmate against Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, who blundered late; the return game was drawn, taking Rapport to nine and Praggnanandhaa to five. Vincent Keymer claimed his maiden win with White against Vladislav Artemiev, moving to eight points after an earlier draw.

Carlsen Remains Winless

Magnus Carlsen shared points in both games alongside Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, who reached nine. Carlsen’s tally stands at seven from seven draws and one defeat, leaving him without a Fast Classic victory so far. Ian Nepomniachtchi defeated Haik Martirosyan in their return game after a first-game draw, with both exiting on eleven points.

Source

This report is based on information published by FIDE — International Chess Federation.

Official source: https://www.fide.com/giri-takes-group-c-lead-as-so-wins-twice-on-day-4-in-budapest/