Caruana extends his lead and Vachier-Lagrave moves clear
Budapest, Hungary | November 13, 2026
Haik Martirosyan defeated Magnus Carlsen and took the outright lead in Group C on the third day of the Fast Classic group stage at the Total Chess World Championship Tour Pilot in Budapest. Andrew Hong also caused an upset by handing Group A leader Alireza Firouzja his first defeat of the group stage.
Games 5 and 6 produced 10 decisive results from 24 games. Each player again faced the same opponent twice with colours reversed, with three points awarded for a win and one for a draw.
After six games per player, all four groups have outright leaders. Firouzja heads Group A on eleven points, Fabiano Caruana leads Group B on fourteen, Martirosyan tops Group C on ten and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave leads Group D on twelve.
Firouzja responds after Hong claims his first win
Andrew Hong recorded his first Fast Classic victory of the event by defeating Alireza Firouzja with White in a complicated battle. Firouzja responded with a White win in the return game, creating an advantage and forcing favourable exchanges before converting the win. The three points apiece leave Firouzja on eleven and Hong on six.
Jorden van Foreest collected four points against Nodirbek Abdusattorov, winning their first encounter before drawing the return. Van Foreest moves to eight points, while Abdusattorov has five.
Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Levon Aronian drew both games. Duda remains second on nine points, two behind Firouzja, with Aronian on seven.
Caruana stretches his lead to four points
Fabiano Caruana continued his unbeaten run by defeating Vincent Keymer with Black in their first game. Caruana gained the upper hand in the endgame and successfully converted his advantage. A draw in the return takes Caruana to fourteen points from four wins and two draws, while Keymer finishes the day on four.
Liem Le drew both games with Richard Rapport to reach ten points, four behind Caruana. Rapport moves to five.
Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Vladislav Artemiev also drew twice. Their first encounter lasted 89 moves. Artemiev has five points and Praggnanandhaa four.
Martirosyan beats Carlsen to take the Group C lead
Haik Martirosyan produced the day’s standout result by inflicting Magnus Carlsen’s first Fast Classic defeat after four consecutive draws. Playing with White, Martirosyan built a dangerous attack and eventually broke through to secure the victory. A draw in the return gives Martirosyan four points from the pair and the outright Group C lead on ten. Carlsen has five.
Anish Giri moved into second place on nine points after drawing his first game with Ian Nepomniachtchi and winning the return with White. Giri prevailed after a long battle, leaving Nepomniachtchi on seven.
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Abhimanyu Mishra drew both encounters, taking them to seven and five points respectively.
Vachier-Lagrave moves clear as Vaishali strikes back
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave won the direct encounter between the Group D leaders. After drawing his first game with Hans Moke Niemann, he built up sustained pressure with White in the return and converted the advantage. Vachier-Lagrave reaches twelve points, three clear of Niemann.
Arjun Erigaisi joined Niemann on nine points after a win and a draw against Wesley So. Erigaisi came under pressure in the first game but turned the tables to secure the victory. The return was drawn, leaving So on four.
Bibisara Assaubayeva and Vaishali Rameshbabu exchanged wins with White. Assaubayeva struck first, but Vaishali responded with an attacking victory of her own to claim her first Fast Classic win of the event. Assaubayeva moves to eight points and Vaishali to four.
The Fast Classic group stage continues on Saturday, November 14, with Games 7 and 8. Four games remain for each player before the group standings determine places in the six knockout brackets.
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