Magnus Carlsen continues to lead

Magnus Carlsen. Pic/AFP

World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen and three-time World Women's Blitz champion Kateryna Lagno occupied the top spot while India's R Praggnanandhaa took second place at the halfway mark of the Tata Steel Chess India Blitz here on Saturday.

Carlsen concluded the first nine rounds with an impressive 6.5 points out of a possible 9. The Norwegian maestro had a dominant start, but his momentum was halted in round eight by Arjun Erigaisi, who defeated him in spectacular fashion in just 20 moves.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever