Carlsen Struggles to Find Form at World Rapid & Blitz Championship

Norwegian Chess Sensation Magnus Carlsen struggled to make an impact in the first day of the World Rapid & Blitz Championship held in New York, failing to register a convincing performance.

At 80th position with just 2.5 points out of five rounds, Carlsen's underwhelming start raises concerns about his ability to retain his title as the reigning rapid champion. The world number one (Elo rating: 2838) was held to draws by three lower-ranked players - Awonder Liang (2519), Gleb Dudin (2436), and Aleksandr Shimanov (2578). Despite a second-round victory over Denis Kadric (2513), Carlsen suffered an upset loss to Belarusian Denis Lazavik (2553) in the fifth round.

In stark contrast, Russia's Volodar Murzin is leading the pack with impressive 4.5 points after five rounds. Another Indian hopeful, Raunak Sadhwani, narrowly sneaked into the top 10 with four points and an unbeaten record featuring three wins and two draws.

Amongst the Indians, Arjun Erigaisi emerged as one of the most consistent performers, securing four points with a balance of four wins and a single loss in round three. Despite that setback, his overall position is solid, with four wins and just one drawback.

The event also produced thrilling performances by Indian players R Praggnanandhaa and Sadhwani's fellow opponent Alireza Firouzja. India No. 1 Arjun Erigaisi, meanwhile, remains unbeaten so far in the rapid format.

In this fast-paced Rapid championship game with a time control of just 15 minutes per game for both players, followed by an increment of 10 seconds on each move, will it be business as usual for Carlsen? Or can he salvage something in the 8 remaining rounds to retain his title?