The 3rd day of the Total Chess World Championship Tour Pilot in Budapest has concluded. Alireza Firouzja, Fabiano Caruana, Ian Nepomniachtchi, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave lead groups A, B, C, and D respectively.

Bibisara Assaubayeva defeated Arjun Erigaisi in the first game of the day. The victory over 2744-rated Arjun Erigaisi became a record for 2538-rated Bibisara. Fabiano Caruana defeated Praggnanandhaa R in both games. Caruana became World’s No. 2 with a Classical rating of 2795.6.

The current Group A standings are:

Place Player Score TB
1. 🇫🇷 GM Alireza Firouzja 8 21.0
2. 🇵🇱 GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda 7 13.0
3. 🇺🇸 GM Levon Aronian 5 22.0
4. 🇺🇿 GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov 4 3.0
5. 🇳🇱 GM Jorden van Foreest 4 2.0
6. 🇺🇸 GM Andrew Z Hong 3 4.0

Group B:

Place Player Score TB
1. 🇺🇸 GM Fabiano Caruana 10 17.0
2. 🇻🇳 GM Liem Le 8 6.0
3. 🇭🇺 GM Richard Rapport 3 18.0
4. 🇩🇪 GM Vincent Keymer 3 14.0
5. 🇷🇺 GM Vladislav Artemiev 3 9.0
6. 🇮🇳 GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu 2 11.0

Group C:

Place Player Score TB
1. 🇷🇺 GM Ian Nepomniachtchi 6 16.0
2. 🇦🇲 GM Haik Martirosyan 6 12.0
3. 🇳🇱 GM Anish Giri 5 15.0
4. 🇦🇿 GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 5 5.0
5. 🇳🇴 GM Magnus Carlsen 4 24.0
6. 🇺🇸 GM Abhimanyu Mishra 3 7.0

Group D:

Place Player Score TB
1. 🇫🇷 GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 8 23.0
2. 🇺🇸 GM Hans Moke Niemann 8 20.0
3. 🇮🇳 GM Arjun Erigaisi 5 19.0
4. 🇰🇿 GM Bibisara Assaubayeva 5 1.0
5. 🇺🇸 GM Wesley So 3 10.0
6. 🇮🇳 GM Vaishali Rameshbabu 1 8.0

The event features a 5-day Group stage and a 4-day Knockout. In the Group stage, each player will play everyone else twice. The time control for every match is the Fast Classic 45+30. The top scorer from each group advances to the Knockout.

The Knockout will last 4 days. The Semifinals will be played in the first 2 days. The third-place match and the Final will take place on the last 2 days. The Knockout features 3 formats for every match. Players will play 4 Blitz 3+2 games, then 2 Rapid 15+10 games, and will finish with 1 Fast Classic 45+30 game.

The Total Chess World Championship Tour Pilot takes place from November 10 to 20, at the Anantara New York Palace Hotel in Budapest, Hungary. The tournament serves as the pilot event for the new Total Chess World Championship Tour. The top 2 players from the overall tour standings will qualify for the 2028 Candidates Tournament.

Credit: Lennart Ootes