World Blitz: Arjun, Caruana and MVL lead in the open, Roebers shines among the women

Three co-leaders, six chasers

The FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championships moved into the blitz phase on Monday in Doha, with the open section beginning its demanding Swiss stage. A total of 13 rounds, out of the scheduled 19, were played on the first day, as players competed for one of the four qualifying places that lead to the knockout phase. The revised format introduced by FIDE reduces the number of qualifiers compared to last year, when eight players advanced after a shorter Swiss phase, a structure that had encouraged cautious play at the end of the first stage.

After day one, three players share the lead: Fabiano Caruana, Arjun Erigaisi and 2021 world blitz champion Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. All three scored 8 wins, 4 draws and 1 loss, finishing on 10 points.

Arjun Erigaisi following the action alongside Kirill Alekseenko and other participants | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes

None of the leaders remained undefeated. Caruana’s sole loss came in round four against the experienced Azerbaijani grandmaster Rauf Mamedov, Erigaisi was beaten by Dutch grandmaster Jorden van Foreest in round six, while Vachier-Lagrave suffered an early upset in round two against Chilean grandmaster Pablo Salinas. Each recovered well afterwards to remain at the top of the standings.

A further six players trail the leaders by just half a point. This chasing group features several established blitz specialists: Daniil Dubov, Wesley So, Yu Yangyi, two-time world blitz champion Alexander Grischuk, Lu Shanglei and Baadur Jobava. Of these, Dubov and Yu stand out for having completed the entire first day without a single defeat.

Alexander Grischuk | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes

Yu Yangyi | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes

With six rounds still to be played in the Swiss phase, the qualification battle remains wide open. No fewer than eleven players sit only one point behind the leaders and remain well placed to challenge for a top-four finish. This group includes the co-champions of the 2024 World Blitz Championship, Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi, as well as Uzbek star Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Also among them is 15-year-old Indian IM Goutham Krishna (seeded 208^th in the blitz), who continued his strong showing from the Rapid Championship by scoring notable wins against Leinier Dominguez and Hans Niemann, among others.

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Carlsen’s opening day was uneven by his standards. The eight-time world blitz champion finished Monday with 7 wins, 4 draws and 2 painful losses. One defeat came in round nine against Erigaisi after Carlsen dropped his queen and failed to place it on the board in time, losing on the clock. In round twelve, he blundered a rook in a superior position against Caruana. Despite these setbacks, his position in the standings leaves ample scope for a comeback. Carlsen is scheduled to begin Tuesday’s play with the black pieces against Haik Martirosyan, and a late surge remains a realistic possibility.

Eight-time world blitz champion Magnus Carlsen | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes

Carlsen slams the table, again

Facing Erigaisi in round nine, Carlsen was temporarily two pawns down. However, a mistaken move by his opponent – i.e. 45…Nd4 – allowed him to restore the balance with 46.Qxa5. Carlsen found the move, played it – but dropped his queen and failed to hit the clock before his time had run out.

Much like in the game he had lost against Gukesh Dommaraju at the Norway Chess earlier this year, Carlsen reacted vigorously, slamming the table.

Van Foreest gets lucky twice

Jorden van Foreest had a strong start in the event, winning his first six games to enter the seventh round as the sole leader, a full-point ahead of the field. From that point on, he only managed four draws and lost three games and is now a full two points behind the co-leaders.

In rounds five and six, the 2021 Tata Steel Masters saw two strong opponents blundering decisively in rather simple positions. First, Alireza Firouzja faltered by trading knights and entering a lost king and pawn endgame.

Any knight move (other than the trade) here keeps the balance, while Firouzja’s 55.Nxd5 allows 55…Kxd5 56.Kf3 Ke5 57.h4 Kf5, gaining the opposition and getting a completely winning position.

In the next round, Erigaisi simply hung his rook.

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The Indian star resigned after 30…Rf1+ 31.Bxf1. Granted, Van Foreest had an edge in the position, but the setup was complicated enough for Erigaisi to get chances to either hold a draw or even turn the tables.

Jorden van Foreest | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes

Ponkratov stuns Abdusattorov in hard-fought encounter

Analysis by GM Karsten Müller

Nodirbek Abdusattorov | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes

Standings after round 13

…252 players

All available games – Open

Roebers wins six games in a row

The Women’s World Blitz Championship follows the same two-stage concept, with a four-player knockout to determine the champion. However, the Swiss phase is shorter, consisting of 15 rounds, of which 10 were played on Monday.

A clear leader emerged after the first day. Eline Roebers, the 2023 Dutch women’s champion, leads the standings outright with 8½ points out of 10. The day of the 19-year-old began steadily, with one win and three draws, before she found momentum and strung together six consecutive victories to move into sole first place.

Sole leader Eline Roebers | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes

One of Roebers’ most significant results came in round nine, when she defeated Aleksandra Goryachkina, the newly crowned women’s world rapid champion. Goryachkina had entered that game in outstanding form, having won seven games in a row.

Goryachkina ended the day in a group tied for second place on 8 points, alongside former women’s world champion Antoaneta Stefanova and Uzbek WIM Umida Omonova.

Omonova, seeded 43^rd, has been one of the most striking performers so far, as she has yet to record a draw in the event. After six straight wins, she was the sole leader with a perfect score going into round seven, where she lost to US women’s champion Carissa Yip. Omonova responded with two further victories and a loss to Stefanova.

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Another half point back, on 7½/10, are two young players who have been producing strong results in recent events: 21-year-old Bibisara Assaubayeva of Kazakhstan and 20-year-old Song Yuxin of China. Both remain firmly in contention for a place in the knockout stage.

Umida Omonova | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes

Aleksandra Goryachkina and Antoaneta Stefanova signed a draw in their round-ten encounter | Photos: FIDE / Lennart Ootes

Standings after round 10

…140 players

All available games – Women’s

About the event

The FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championships 2025 will take place in Doha, Qatar from 25 to 30 December, bringing together the world’s elite chess talent for a thrilling end-of-year showdown. Held at the Sports and Events Complex, Qatar University, this edition features both Open and Women’s events in Rapid and Blitz formats, with a total prize fund of €1,000,000. Doha returns as host after nine years, underscoring Qatar’s growing stature in the chess world.

The full list of registered players can be found here: