Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Nov 19: In the fifth round of the Meltwater Champions Tour Finals on Saturday, Dutch GM Anish Giri was defeated by Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi 2.5-1.5. Teenage GM R Praggnanandhaa and Poland’s Jan-Krzysztof Duda engaged in a tight duel that resulted in a match score of 3.5-3.5 after the players tied for first place in the four quick games, two blitz games, and an armageddon game.
With his second victory over Giri, Erigaisi has now equalled his 17-year-old counterpart Praggnanandhaa in points with six.
He won the first game with white pieces in 56 moves and the second with black pieces in 44 moves.
Erigaisi won his second match after defeating Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan 3-1 in a 36-move draw.
The match between Praggnanandhaa and Duda was thrilling. Prior to the teenage Indian star tying the score by winning the second game in 53 moves, the highly rated Pole had won the opening game.
The third and fourth games were won with black pieces by Duda and Praggu, respectively, continuing a similar pattern. The initial blitz tie-break game was won by the Indian, but his opponent quickly evened the score with a 41-move victory.
Duda and Praggu engaged in a 90-move fight in the Armageddon (sudden-death game) until an agreement was reached. Magnus Carlsen, the world’s top seed from Norway, beat Vietnam’s Quang Liem Le 4-3 in a dramatic tie-break after being on autopilot until round four.
After the four quick games, they were tied at 2-2. The victories in the blitz were split, and Carlsen won the Armageddon.
