The 2nd 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.

Nodirbek Abdusattorov lost to Alireza one time and they drew once. Abdusattorov lost 5.4 Classical points. Magnus Carlsen and Anish Giri drew both of their games. Wesley So drew both games against Bibisara Assaubayeva and lost 6 points.

The current Group A standings are:

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

Group B:

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

Group C:

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

Group D:

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