Three players share the Group D lead with two Fast Classic games remaining
Budapest, Hungary | November 14, 2026
Wesley So won both games against Vaishali Rameshbabu and Anish Giri took the outright lead in Group C on the fourth day of the Fast Classic group stage at the Total Chess World Championship Tour Pilot in Budapest. Arjun Erigaisi defeated Maxime Vachier-Lagrave to help create a three-way tie at the top of Group D.
Games 7 and 8 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. So was the only player to collect the maximum six points.
Alireza Firouzja leads Group A on thirteen points, while Fabiano Caruana remains four points clear in Group B on sixteen. Giri heads Group C on thirteen, and Vachier-Lagrave, Hans Moke Niemann and Erigaisi are level on thirteen at the top of Group D.
Firouzja retains his lead as Van Foreest draws level with Duda
Alireza Firouzja and Jan-Krzysztof Duda drew both of their games, leaving Firouzja on thirteen points and Duda on eleven.
Jorden van Foreest joined Duda on eleven after exchanging wins with Andrew Hong. Hong struck first with Black, but Van Foreest answered with a Black victory of his own in the return. The three points apiece leave Hong on nine.
Levon Aronian and Nodirbek Abdusattorov also drew twice. Aronian reaches nine points, level with Hong, while Abdusattorov has seven. Firouzja takes a two-point lead into the final pair of group games.
Caruana stays four points clear as Rapport and Keymer strike
Fabiano Caruana and Liem Le drew both games, keeping the gap between Group B’s top two at four points. Caruana has sixteen from four wins and four draws, while Le remains unbeaten on twelve.
Richard Rapport claimed his first Fast Classic win of the event in a dramatic finish against Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu. A late mistake by Praggnanandhaa allowed Rapport to turn a difficult position into victory with checkmate. A draw in the return takes Rapport to nine points and Praggnanandhaa to five.
Vincent Keymer also recorded his first Fast Classic victory after drawing his opening encounter with Vladislav Artemiev. Keymer won the return with White, reaching eight points, while Artemiev has six.
Giri moves ahead as Nepomniachtchi defeats Martirosyan
Anish Giri took the Group C lead with a win and a draw against Abhimanyu Mishra. Giri won an endgame with White in their first encounter, then drew the return to reach thirteen points, two ahead of his closest challengers. Mishra has six.
Ian Nepomniachtchi defeated the day’s leader Haik Martirosyan in the return after a first-game draw. Both players finish the day on eleven points.
Magnus Carlsen and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov drew both games. Mamedyarov moves to nine points and Carlsen to seven. Carlsen remains without a Fast Classic win after seven draws and one defeat.
Three share the lead as So wins twice
Arjun Erigaisi ended Maxime Vachier-Lagrave’s unbeaten Fast Classic run. Following a draw in their first game, Erigaisi won the return with White in an endgame to join Vachier-Lagrave on thirteen points.
Hans Moke Niemann also reached thirteen after a win and a draw against Bibisara Assaubayeva. Niemann won the first game with White, but Assaubayeva held the return in the day’s longest game. She finishes on nine points.
Wesley So secured his first two Fast Classic victories of the event against Vaishali Rameshbabu. The six-point return moves So to ten points, three behind the leaders, while Vaishali remains on four.
Two games remain for each player in the Fast Classic round-robin stage before the final standings determine places in the six knockout brackets.
About Total Chess
Total Chess is a global championship platform established to redefine elite competitive chess for the modern era. Developed by Norway Chess and approved by FIDE, the Total Chess World Championship Tour introduces a unified format that crowns the world’s ultimate champion by testing excellence across three disciplines: Fast Classical, Rapid and Blitz. The Tour will bring together the world’s top 24 men and women players to compete across four premier international events hosted in leading global cities. Designed to elevate the sport’s commercial appeal and fan engagement, Total Chess combines world-class competition with innovation, technology and immersive spectator experiences to create a new benchmark for professional chess.
With a vision to make chess one of the world’s most engaging and commercially sustainable sports, Total Chess aims to expand the game’s global footprint, inspire the next generation of players, and connect millions of fans through a dynamic championship that celebrates intelligence, strategy and sporting excellence.