Total Chess 2026: Arjun Erigaisi goes joint top in Group D
(Courtesy : Michal Walusza/Total Chess)
Three players share the Group D lead with two Fast Classic games remaining
Wesley So won both games against Vaishali Rameshbabu and Anish Giri took the outright lead in Group C on the fourth day of the Fast Classic group stage at the Total Chess World Championship Tour Pilot in Budapest.
Arjun Erigaisi defeated Maxime Vachier-Lagrave to help create a three-way tie at the top of Group D.
Games 7 and 8 produced 10 decisive results from 24 games. Each player again faced the same opponent twice with colours reversed, with three points awarded for a win and one for a draw. So was the only player to collect the maximum six points.
Alireza Firouzja leads Group A on thirteen points, while Fabiano Caruana remains four points clear in Group B on sixteen. Giri heads Group C on thirteen, and Vachier-Lagrave, Hans Moke Niemann and Erigaisi are level on thirteen at the top of Group D.
Alireza Firouzja retains his lead as Van Foreest draws level with Duda
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Alireza Firouzja and Jan-Krzysztof Duda drew both of their games, leaving Firouzja on thirteen points and Duda on eleven.
Jorden van Foreest joined Duda on eleven after exchanging wins with Andrew Hong. Hong struck first with Black, but Van Foreest answered with a Black victory of his own in the return. The three points apiece leave Hong on nine.
Levon Aronian and Nodirbek Abdusattorov also drew twice. Aronian reaches nine points, level with Hong, while Abdusattorov has seven. Firouzja takes a two-point lead into the final pair of group games.
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Fabiano Caruana stays four points clear as Rapport and Keymer strike
Fabiano Caruana and Liem Le drew both games, keeping the gap between Group B’s top two at four points. Caruana has sixteen from four wins and four draws, while Le remains unbeaten on twelve.
Richard Rapport claimed his first Fast Classic win of the event in a dramatic finish against Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu.
A late mistake by Praggnanandhaa allowed Rapport to turn a difficult position into victory with checkmate. A draw in the return takes Rapport to nine points and Praggnanandhaa to five.
Vincent Keymer also recorded his first Fast Classic victory after drawing his opening encounter with Vladislav Artemiev. Keymer won the return with White, reaching eight points, while Artemiev has six.
Anish Giri moves ahead as Nepomniachtchi defeats Martirosyan
Anish Giri took the Group C lead with a win and a draw against Abhimanyu Mishra. Giri won an endgame with White in their first encounter, then drew the return to reach thirteen points, two ahead of his closest challengers. Mishra has six.
Ian Nepomniachtchi defeated the day’s leader Haik Martirosyan in the return after a first-game draw. Both players finish the day on eleven points.
Magnus Carlsen and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov drew both games. Mamedyarov moves to nine points and Carlsen to seven. Carlsen remains without a Fast Classic win after seven draws and one defeat.
Three share the lead as Wasley So wins twice
Arjun Erigaisi ended Maxime Vachier-Lagrave’s unbeaten Fast Classic run. Following a draw in their first game, Erigaisi won the return with White in an endgame to join Vachier-Lagrave on thirteen points.
Hans Moke Niemann also reached thirteen after a win and a draw against Bibisara Assaubayeva. Niemann won the first game with White, but Assaubayeva held the return in the day’s longest game. She finishes on nine points.
Wesley So secured his first two Fast Classic victories of the event against Vaishali Rameshbabu. The six-point return moves So to ten points, three behind the leaders, while Vaishali remains on four.
Two games remain for each player in the Fast Classic round-robin stage before the final standings determine places in the six knockout brackets.
How did Indians perform in Round 4 of Total Chess 2026?
Arjun Erigaisi drew the first game and then won the second against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave to go joint top of Group D, while Vaishali Rameshbabu lost both of her matches against Wesley So. The other Indian in the competition, Praggnanandhaa, lost the first game against Richard Rapport but drew the second.
Where are the Indian players ranked after Round in Total Chess 2026?
Arun Erigaisi shares the top spot in Group D with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Hans Niemann. All three are on 13 points each. Sibling duo Vaishali and Praggnanandhaa are bottom of Group D and B respectively.
How does each group look after round 4 action in Total Chess 2026?
Alireza Firouzja leads Group A on thirteen points, while Fabiano Caruana remains four points clear in Group B on sixteen. Giri heads Group C on thirteen, and Vachier-Lagrave, Hans Moke Niemann and Erigaisi are level on thirteen at the top of Group D.
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