The first day of the FIDE World Blitz Championship in Doha has concluded. After 13 rounds, three players share the lead with 10 points each, with Arjun Erigaisi leading on tiebreaks.

12-year-old IM Faustino Oro won against World No. 20 Levon Aronian in the first round and finished the day with 7 points, placing 88th. 12-year-old FM Sergey Sklokin won a game against World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju.

The current standings are:

1. GM Arjun Erigaisi – 10 points (TB: 101)
2. GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave – 10 points (TB: 101)
3. GM Fabiano Caruana – 10 points (TB: 98)
4. GM Daniil Dubov – 9.5 points (TB: 101)
5. GM Lu Shanglei – 9.5 points (TB: 97.5)

The FIDE World Blitz Championship 2025 takes place in Doha, Qatar from December 29 to 30. The event features a €500,000 prize pool, with the Open and Women’s tournaments using a 3+2 time control over 19 and 15 rounds respectively. Final standings are determined after a knockout playoff following the Swiss rounds.

Credit: FIDE/Lennart Ootes