World Blitz Championship: Magnus Carlsen slams table, this time after loss to Arjun Erigaisi

Arjun Erigaisi’s timing and move choices paid dividends as the 22-year-old defeated Magnus Carlsen in the 9th round of the World Blitz Championship in Doha on Monday, prompting the world No. 1 to slam the table in frustration.

The 45-move Sicilian Defence, French Variation, featured time scrambles and inaccuracies from both players. After Arjun’s 45th move, a piece slipped from Magnus’ fingers. Realising he had lost, he punched the table.

Arjun defeated coleader Nodirbek Abdusattorov to take the sole lead with 8.5 points. Arjun then split the points with Fabiano Caruana and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (MVL) in the next two rounds. In the last outing of the day, Arjun played out a quick 18-move draw with fourth seed Daniil Dubov. Magnus won the last round to remain in contention with just one point behind leaders — Arjun, Caruana and MVL at 10 points each.

Nagpur’s first Grandmaster Raunak Sadhwani won his 13th essay against Nils Grandelius to join Magnus. The Indian women players fared poorly. The best performer, Divya Deshmukh (6), was 2.5 points behind sole leader Eline Roebers (8.5), making a podium finish a steep ask.

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