Meltwater Champions Tour: Indian GMs Praggnanandhaa, Erigaisi lose in opening round

By PTI

SAN FRANCISCO: Indian Grandmasters R Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi suffered defeats in the opening round of the Meltwater Champions Tour Finals early on Tuesday.

While the 17-year-old Praggnanandhaa went down 1.5-2.5 to Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan, Erigasi lost to Poland’s Jan-Krzysztof Duda 0.5-2.5.

World No.1 Magnus Carlsen began his campaign with a 2.5-1.5 win over American Wesley So and Dutch GM Anish Giri edged out Vietnam’s Liem Quang Le 3.5-2.5 via the tie-breaks after four straight draws.

The Praggnanandhaa-Mamedyarov tie saw the Azerbaijan player take the lead, winning the opening game in 46 moves. A draw followed in the next, before the Indian levelled the match with a 37-move victory.

Mamedyarov, however, turned the tables on the teenaged GM, who has been in good form in 2022, by winning the fourth game to seal the tie 2.5-1.5.

Meanwhile, Duda dominated against Erigiasi, winning the first and third games to go with a draw in the second to secure a 2.5-0.5 victory.

Carlsen plays Erigaisi on the second day (Wednesday), Liem faces So, Mamedyarov is up against Duda and Praggnanandhaa takes on Giri.

The eight players will play a round-robin tournament. The winner will be the player who accrues the most points and cash overall.

Eight players qualified for the Finals after a series of events in the Meltwater Champions Tour. The total prize fund for the Tour finals is USD 210,000. Each win in the round-robin earns the player USD 7,500. 

<br /> SAN FRANCISCO: Indian Grandmasters R Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi suffered defeats in the opening round of the Meltwater Champions Tour Finals early on Tuesday.</p> <p>While the 17-year-old Praggnanandhaa went down 1.5-2.5 to Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan, Erigasi lost to Poland’s Jan-Krzysztof Duda 0.5-2.5.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad200503 " id="quads-ad200503" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="1823845571"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>World No.1 Magnus Carlsen began his campaign with a 2.5-1.5 win over American Wesley So and Dutch GM Anish Giri edged out Vietnam’s Liem Quang Le 3.5-2.5 via the tie-breaks after four straight draws.</p> <p>The Praggnanandhaa-Mamedyarov tie saw the Azerbaijan player take the lead, winning the opening game in 46 moves. A draw followed in the next, before the Indian levelled the match with a 37-move victory.</p> <p>Mamedyarov, however, turned the tables on the teenaged GM, who has been in good form in 2022, by winning the fourth game to seal the tie 2.5-1.5.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad200503 " id="quads-ad200503" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="1823845571"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>Meanwhile, Duda dominated against Erigiasi, winning the first and third games to go with a draw in the second to secure a 2.5-0.5 victory.</p> <p>Carlsen plays Erigaisi on the second day (Wednesday), Liem faces So, Mamedyarov is up against Duda and Praggnanandhaa takes on Giri.</p> <p>The eight players will play a round-robin tournament. The winner will be the player who accrues the most points and cash overall.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad200503 " id="quads-ad200503" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="1823845571"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>Eight players qualified for the Finals after a series of events in the Meltwater Champions Tour. The total prize fund for the Tour finals is USD 210,000. Each win in the round-robin earns the player USD 7,500. <br />