Grandmasters Magnus Carlsen, Gukesh Dommaraju, Arjun Erigaisi, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, and Vladislav Artemiev finished the opening day of the 2025 FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship as joint leaders in the Open section, each scoring 4.5 points from five rounds in Doha.
Carlsen was in imperious form on day one, winning his first four games with ease before being held to a draw in the fifth and final round by Arjun Erigaisi late on Friday. Their clash, arising from a Queen’s Gambit Declined, quickly transitioned into an equal queen-and-rook endgame. Carlsen pressed hard and reached a rook ending with two extra f- and h-pawns, but the position was theoretically drawn and Erigaisi defended with precision to deny the Norwegian a perfect score.
Gukesh Dommaraju, the reigning classical World Champion, also produced a superb recovery after starting his campaign with a draw in the opening round. The Indian star responded with four consecutive victories, displaying composure and attacking clarity to surge into the joint lead alongside Carlsen and the other frontrunners.
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Vladislav Artemiev maintained consistency throughout the day to remain unbeaten among the leaders, while several other elite players stayed within close reach after a fiercely contested opening phase.
R. Praggnanandhaa, who recently secured qualification for next year’s Candidates Tournament, endured a mixed start. The young Indian grandmaster won his first-round game and followed it up with two draws, but suffered a setback in round four when he lost with the black pieces to Georgia’s Levan Pantsulaia, rated more than 150 points below him, ending the day on a disappointing note.
The championship, being held in Doha for the first time since 2016, features a star-studded lineup including Fabiano Caruana, Anish Giri, Wesley So, Levon Aronian, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Vincent Keymer, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Alexander Grischuk, and veteran Ukrainian grandmaster Vassily Ivanchuk, the 2016 World Rapid Champion in Doha.
Harika joint-second as Zhu Jiner stays perfect
In the Women’s World Rapid Championship, China’s Zhu Jiner continued her flawless run to retain the sole lead after four rounds. The Chinese prodigy has won all her games so far, producing assured performances against experienced opponents such as Elina Danielian and Nana Dzagnidze, and is set to face former world championship challenger Aleksandra Goryachkina in Round 5.
India’s Harika Dronavalli emerged as the highest-ranked Indian in the women’s standings, sharing second place on 3.5 points with six other players. Harika won her opening games before drawing with Georgia’s Nino Batsiashvili to remain just half a point behind the leader.
Batsiashvili is joined in the joint-second group by former Women’s World Champions Mariya Muzychuk and Antoaneta Stefanova, former challenger Goryachkina, Song Yuxin, and Sara Khadem.
Defending Women’s Rapid Champion Koneru Humpy is placed joint-third on three points alongside classical world champion Ju Wenjun. Humpy, with two wins and two draws, will next face Mongolia’s Bat-Erdene Mungunzul.
Other Indian players, including R. Vaishali, Padmini Rout, Divya Deshmukh, Rakshitta Ravi, and Savitha Shri Baskar, are also on three points, keeping India well represented in the field.
With several rounds still remaining, both the Open and Women’s sections remain wide open as the World Rapid Chess Championship moves into a crucial phase in Doha.
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