At the end of another exciting day of chess, Magnus Carlsen was crowned the winner of the 2019 Tata Steel Chess India Rapid and Blitz, the last leg before the Finals of the 2019 Grand Chess Tour. Despite starting the day under the weather, he scored 5.5 points in the final 9 blitz games, netting an impressive 27 total points. This surpassed his 26.5 point record from the Cote D’Ivoire Rapid & Blitz earlier this year.
For World Champion Magnus Carlsen and India #1 Viswanathan Anand, day two began not on the chess board, but at Eden Gardens for the Cricket Test Match between India and Bangladesh. They partook in the ceremonial bell ringing to kick off day two of the test match, which has an audience of approximately one billion viewers. Back on the chess board, many decisive and exciting games were seen in the second day of Tata Steel Chess India Rapid & Blitz. After a strong performance yesterday, Carlsen continued to steal the show today with dominating play.
The final leg of the 2019 Grand Chess Tour regular season kicked off today at the National Library in Kolkata, India. Over five days (November 22-26), ten of the world’s top chess players, including the reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen, will compete in rapid and blitz chess for a prize fund of $150,000. The first day featured three rounds of rapid chess in which players each receive 25 minutes plus a 10-second delay. After an eventful first day, Magnus Carlsen emerged as the sole leader by scoring two impressive victories.
