Alexander Grischuk, Alireza Firouzja, Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Wei Yi have all been knocked out of the Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge after a dramatic last day of the preliminary stage saw World Champion Magnus Carlsen also on the brink of an exit. Magnus lost to Daniil Dubov and would have been knocked out if he’d lost with Black to Firouzja in the final round, but there was no Banter Blitz Cup final repeat – he won in style to reach a 1/4-final against Wesley So. Hikaru Nakamura finished top and faces Levon Aronian.
Round 9: A tense start
Thursday’s final day of the preliminary stage was where things got serious. With just three rounds to go 10 of the players were still unsure if they’d survive. The only players who could feel secure were leaders Hikaru Nakamura and Sergey Karjakin, with Sergey perhaps exploiting that situation to have some fun by playing the hyper-aggressive Keres Attack against Magnus. He got pressure that lasted long into the endgame, but eventually Magnus held.
