King Salman World Rapid Championship Day 2: Ju Wenjun and Fedoseev leading

The King Salman World Rapid Championship continued today at the iconic Apex Convention Centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Five more rounds were played in both Open and Women's sections.

The overnight leader in the Women's section, Ju Wenjun of China, continued the campaign with four straight draws, but then when it mattered the most she closed the day with a win against IM Pham Le Thao Nguyen, once again singling out on the top of the standings with 8,0/10 points.

Half a point behind the leader are WGM Aleksandra Goryachkina (Russia), GM Elina Danielian (Armenia) and GM Nana Dzagnidze (Georgia) on 7,5 points each.

In the Open section Vladimir Fedoseev from Russia started with a win against the overnight co-leader Baadur Jobava and next he defeated Yuriy Kuzubov. There followed three draws in a row, but this was sufficient to retain a clear first place with 8,0/10 points.

On the shared second place with 7,5 points are Peter Svidler from Russia, Wang Hao from China and Viswanathan Anand of India, who has notably beaten the World classical champion Magnus Carlsen.

Of memorable games, the 15-years old Russian star Andrey Esipenko crushed the reigning World blitz chess champion and World championship challenger in classical chess Sergey Karjakin with a beautiful queen sacrifice.



Vladimir Fedoseev won against Baadur Jobava


The King Salman World Rapid Championship has five more rounds to be played and will end tomorrow.

Players from 55 countries, among them 10 men out of the World Top-15 as well as 11 out the World Top-15 women, are competing in this prestigious event.

Official website / Photo gallery / Results, Standings, Pairings



The stage with top four games



Her Excellency Princess Ilama Al-Sudairi, Ambassador of Mind Games in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Al Nehyan, Continental President for Asia, inaugurating the 8th round



GM Ahmed Adly interviewing Her Excellency Princess Ilama Al-Sudairi, Ambassador of Mind Games in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia



Irene Sukandar missed the connecting flight, but still managed to arrive on time to participate in the championship



Jorden Van Foreest vs Pentala Harikrishna



Yuriy Kuzubov defeated the higher rated Alexander Grischuk






FIDE Vice President Martha Fierro in action



On the way to the playing venue







Checking into the KAPSARC






Relaxed walking to the playing hall


Peter Svidler and Alexander Grischuk












Players enjoying dinner after a tough day in the arena



International Arbiter Effie Andrikopoulou



Grandmaster Laurent Fressinet



Peter Svidler and Magnus Carlsen about to start the game



FIDE CEO Geoffrey Borg with the distinguished guests



Viktor Laznicka showing the moves to local chess fan



Young chess fans posing for photos



Players socializing with locals in between the games



Traditional setting combined with modern technology

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Day 1, 26th December


The King Salman World Rapid Championship started today at the iconic Apex Convention Centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Players from 55 countries, among them 10 men out of the World Top-15 as well as 11 out the World Top-15 women, are competing in this prestigious event.

The honorary first move in the round 1 game Carlsen-Bu was made by Mr Kosay A.Alfawaz, Advisor to H.E. The Chairman of General Sports Authority of Saudi Arabia.

In the very same game Bu Xiangzhi stunned the world's top rated player Magnus Carlsen by inflicting him yet another loss. Only few months ago Bu eliminated Carlsen from the FIDE World Cup in Tbilisi.

Also on the main stage, the second-seeded Maxime Vachier-Lagrave lost to Levan Pantsulaia. Likewise, in the women's championship the top seed Kateryna Lagno started with a loss against Jolanta Zawadzka. The reigning World Blitz champion Sergey Karjakin also slipped in the first round, losing to Pavel Eljanov.

As if these introductory games set the tone for the rest of the rounds, we witnessed some exciting battles and many surprises throughout the day.



Zawadzka defeated Lagno in round 1


At the end of the first day of the competition, world championship challenger in classical chess Ju Wenjun is leading in the women's section with the perfect 5/5 score.

In the Open section Baadur Jobava and Vladimir Fedoseev are on the top with 4,5/5 points each.

Vachier-Lagrave is down on 2,0 points, while third-seed Levon Aronian is on 2,5. Among the women, the top seed and former World Rpid champion Kateryna Lagno is on 50% score.

The King Salman World Rapid Championship has ten more rounds to be played and continues until 28th December.

Official website / Photo gallery / Results, Standings, Pairings



Vladimir Fedoseev, co-leader in Open section


The key game of the day in the women's championship: Ju Wenjun vs Bela Khotenashvili



Pantsulaia won against Vachier-Lagrave



The ceremonial first move



Mr Kosay A.Alfawaz, Advisor to H.E. The Chairman of General Sports Authority of Saudi Arabia




The overview of the women's section: The players dressed according to the FIDE Regulations










FIDE Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos and President of the Saudi Arabia Chess Federation Al Sulaiman Mottaz Abdulrahman with young chess players




Jorge Vega, President of Confederation of Chess for Americas, and Liana Hakim, mother of Russian prodigy Bibisara Assaubayeva, who is clearly enjoying the outfit



Grandmaster Luke McShane and Member of the Appeals Committee Malcolm Pein during the break between the rounds



Magnus Carlsen started out with a loss but later improved his position with two wins to close the day



Ian Nepomniachtchi and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave



Elina Danielian



FIDE CEO Geoffrey Borg talking to the organizers



Natalia Buksa and Salome Melia