Indian Grandmaster R Vaishali won bronze medal in the women’s section of the 2024 World Blitz Chess Championship in New York on Tuesday. Vaishali got the better of China’s Zhu Jiner 2.5-1.
5 in the quarter-finals , but went down to Ju Wenjun of China 0.5-2.5 in the semi-finals.
Later, in an all-Chinese final, Ju Wenjun defeated Lei Tingjie 3.5-2.5.
Vaishali had qualified for the quarter-finals by topping the standings with 9.5 out of a possible 11 points. With the rest of the Indian contingent, including Koneru Humpy, Arjun Erigaisi and R Praggnanandhaa being knocked out, Vaishali was the only player in contention for a medal as far as Indians were concerned.
In a historic outcome in the open section, World No 1 Magnus Carlsen shared the World Blitz Championship title with Ian Nepomniachtchi. Carlsen and Ian locked horns in the final of the open section. It was after three consecutive draws in the sudden death that the two agreed to share the title.
Carlsen began the final with two victories, and only needed a draw to secure the title. However, Ian fought back with two wins to level the scores 2-2 and enforce a sudden death. It was Carlsen’s suggestion that both the players share the title after three consecutive draws in the sudden death.
After a few discussions, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) and both the players decided to share the title, marking the first-ever time that two players were jointly declared winners of the competition. History has been written.
