CHESSFORKIDS · RESULTS & LEARNING · 13 NOVEMBER 2026 Carlsen wins the blitz. Vaishali beats Niemann and So. One second on the clock...
CHESSFORKIDS · RESULTS & LEARNING · 13 NOVEMBER 2026
Carlsen wins the blitz. Vaishali beats Niemann and So.
One second on the clock, two wins with Black, and a rook move worth replaying.
At one point in her opening-round game against Hans Niemann, Rameshbabu Vaishali had one second on the clock. She kept playing on the two-second increment and eventually won the endgame with Black. Two rounds later, she beat Wesley So with Black as well. Magnus Carlsen took first place in the opening blitz, while Vaishali’s two wins gave young players a pair of positions worth studying. ChessBase India’s blitz report
Budapest 2026 at a glance
- 24 players
- Four groups of six
- 9 opening rounds
- 3+2 Blitz Swiss
- 45+30
- Fast Classic group games
- 10–20 November
- Budapest pilot schedule
The Total Chess World Championship Tour Pilot is being played at the Anantara New York Palace Hotel in Budapest, Hungary. The opening Blitz Swiss took place on 10 November. In 3+2, each player starts with three minutes and gets two seconds added after each move. The blitz standings are used for group-stage tiebreaks and knockout seeding. Official tournament schedule
The 11–15 November group stage pairs players twice against each opponent, once with each colour. Each Fast Classic game starts with 45 minutes per player and adds 30 seconds per move. A win earns three group points and a draw earns one. Each group winner advances to the title bracket. The 17–20 November knockouts combine blitz, rapid and Fast Classic. Organizer’s format and dates
Who won the opening blitz?
| Place | Player | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magnus Carlsen | 7/9 |
| 2 | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | 6½/9 |
| 3 | Levon Aronian | 6/9 |
Carlsen finished unbeaten with five wins and four draws. He and Vachier-Lagrave were level on 6/8 entering the last round. Carlsen beat Haik Martirosyan with Black, while Vachier-Lagrave drew with Niemann. The overall Budapest pilot title is decided in the November 19–20 finals. Official opening-night report · Finals schedule
Vaishali’s two blitz wins with Black
Round 1 · Hans Niemann — 46…Be7!
White had passed pawns on d7 and e6. The d7-pawn was one step from promotion. After 46.Ke2, Vaishali played 46…Be7!. The bishop on e7 interrupted the white rook’s defence of e6. Her king then took the e6-pawn and the d7-pawn. Replay the finish: 47.a4 Kxe6 48.a5 Kxd7, and Black won. Replay the official game
Round 3 · Wesley So — 48…Rf2!
After 48.Rg1, White’s queen was the only defender of the rook on e4. Vaishali played 48…Rf2!, attacking the queen. So captured on f2 with his queen, and Vaishali’s other rook took on e4. ChessBase India reported that she found the move with six seconds left. See the position and analysis · Official game page
Vaishali finished 17th with 4/9, scoring two wins, four draws and three losses. She drew with Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Richard Rapport, Anish Giri and Bibisara Assaubayeva. Blitz standings and round recap
Vaishali’s Fast Classic update
Snapshot through the games of 12 November. Vaishali lost the first game against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave on 11 November, then drew the return game with Black. On 12 November she faced Niemann again, this time in Fast Classic. He won both games. After four games, Vaishali had one Group D point from her draw with Vachier-Lagrave. FIDE’s Fast Classic report · Official Group D results
| Player | Points |
|---|---|
| Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | 8 |
| Hans Niemann | 8 |
| Arjun Erigaisi | 5 |
| Bibisara Assaubayeva | 5 |
| Wesley So | 3 |
| Rameshbabu Vaishali | 1 |
Vaishali’s remaining group pairings are Bibisara Assaubayeva on 13 November, Wesley So on 14 November and Arjun Erigaisi on 15 November. Each pairing is two games. The scheduled daily starts are 15:00 and 18:30 in Budapest, or 7:30 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. IST. Group D pairings · Live results
Why Vaishali’s year matters
In April, Vaishali won the 2026 FIDE Women’s Candidates with 8½/14, beating Kateryna Lagno in the final round. That victory earned her the right to challenge reigning Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun. FIDE’s Candidates report
Try it on your board
Replay the Wesley So game to 48.Rg1 and pause before Black moves. Which white piece protects the rook on e4? Can you attack that defender?
Reveal Vaishali’s move
48…Rf2! The white queen is doing two jobs. If it takes on f2, it stops guarding e4. A piece with more defensive jobs than it can handle is called an overloaded defender.
Which idea would you spot first under blitz pressure: blocking the rook with the bishop, or attacking the queen that guards another piece? Share your answer in the comments. More chess stories from Chess for Kids
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