Samarkand (Uzbekistan): Five-time World Champion GM Magnus Carlsen added one more achievement to his illustrious career winning the World Blitz title here on Sunday. The Indian pair of Nihal Sarin and Arjun Erigasi were also amongst the joint leaders after the first round, but they were unable to carry forward the momentum into the final of the competition.
Carlsen amassed 16 points from 21 rounds cruising ahead of Russian Grand Master's Daniil Dubov (15.5 points) and Vladislav Artemiev (15). With the title, Norwegian secured the 17th World Championships title overall adding to his tally of 5 classical titles, 5 rapid and 7 blitz. Carlsen had a bad start to the final day suffering a loss against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in Round 13 of the tournament. However, he scripted a comeback later winning six games in a row.
"I felt like I was running on adrenaline the whole day. But everybody is struggling at the end, and nobody plays their best. It was about surviving one game at a time, and I am happy I made it," Carlsen was quoted as saying by FIDE.
Erigasi and Sarin finished in the sixth and 43rd positions respectively. GM Aravindh Chithambaram (14th, 13.5 points) was the second-best Indian in the tournament while GM R Praggnanandhaa occupied the 28th position with 12.5 points to his name.
The tournament also involved a disputed game between Russians Ian Nepomniachtchi and Dubov. Half of the point was deducted from the tally of both the players. They appealed to challenge the decision but it was rejected by the Appeal Committee.
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