14 November 2026, Budapest · Chess It UpAdd Chess It Up as a preferred source on Google
Day 5 of the Total Chess World Championship pilot in Budapest brought rounds 7 and 8 of the group stage, and 10 of the 24 games were decisive. Wesley So beat Rameshbabu Vaishali in both games, with a Brilliant 35.Rxg7+!! in the second. Andrew Hong and Jorden Van Foreest traded wins, and Hans Moke Niemann beat Bibisara Assaubayeva in round 7.
Firouzja leads Group A with 13 points, Caruana leads Group B with 16 points and Giri leads Group C with 13 points. Vachier-Lagrave, Erigaisi and Niemann share the lead in Group D with 13 points. Day 6 brings rounds 9 and 10, starting at 15:00 Budapest time on 15 November.
In the diagrams, red is the move played and green is the engine's choice.
Andrew Hong won round 7 with Black in 42 moves from a Neo-Grünfeld Defense, Classical Variation, Original Defense. Hong held a clear advantage from 22.Bxd4 to the end.
Jorden Van Foreest struck back in round 8, also with Black, winning in 50 moves from a Sicilian Najdorf, English Attack. Van Foreest had a clear advantage from 30...Qg6 onward. Each player made one mistake, and Hong resigned after 50...h2.
Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Levon Aronian drew both games. In round 7, an Italian Game, Two Knights Defense, Modern Bishop's Opening, Aronian held a clear advantage after 14.Kh1, but the game ended level after 42 moves. The round 8 Sicilian Najdorf, Zagreb Variation was drawn in 31 moves, and neither side gained a clear advantage.
Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Alireza Firouzja drew both games in 31 moves. In round 7, a Petrov's Defense, Damiano Variation, Kholmov Gambit, Firouzja held a clear advantage after 22...a4, but the game ended level. The round 8 French Defense, Rubinstein Variation, Kasparov Attack never gave either side a clear advantage.
Vincent Keymer took 4 points to Vladislav Artemiev's 1. After a 31-move draw in a Semi-Slav Meran, Lundin Variation, in which neither side gained a clear advantage, Keymer won round 8 with White in 60 moves.
That game was a Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defense, Anti-Berlin Variation. Keymer held a clear advantage from 26...Nd7 to the end. Artemiev made one mistake, and Keymer made none.
Richard Rapport won round 7 with White in 43 moves from a Sicilian Defense after the game turned on 42...Bc8. Before that move Praggnanandhaa was winning, and after it Rapport was winning. Praggnanandhaa had 39 seconds left on the clock after 42...Bc8, and Rapport finished with checkmate, 43.Qg7#.
Praggnanandhaa made one mistake in that game and Rapport made two. Round 8, a Sicilian Najdorf, was drawn in 60 moves with neither side gaining a clear advantage, so Rapport took 4 points to Praggnanandhaa's 1.
Round 7: Rapport won with White in 43 moves, by checkmate
Fabiano Caruana and Quang Liem Le drew both games by threefold repetition. Round 7, a Queen's Gambit Declined, Ragozin Defense, ended after 29 moves with neither side gaining a clear advantage. In round 8, a Queen's Gambit Declined, Harrwitz Attack, Caruana held a clear advantage after 13.Nxe5, but the game ended level after 50 moves.
Anish Giri won round 7 with White in 58 moves from an English Opening, Anglo-Indian Defense, Anglo-Grünfeld Variation. Giri held a clear advantage from 38...Rd8 to the end, and Mishra resigned after 58.Rxf7. Each player made one mistake.
Round 8, a Nimzo-Indian Defense, Kmoch Variation, was drawn in 32 moves. Mishra held a clear advantage after 26...Qc3, but the game ended level, and Giri took 4 points to Mishra's 1.
Ian Nepomniachtchi took 4 points to Haik M. Martirosyan's 1. Round 7, a Queen's Gambit Declined, Harrwitz Attack, Main Line, was drawn in 31 moves with neither side gaining a clear advantage.
Nepomniachtchi won round 8 with White in 42 moves from a Nimzo-Indian Defense, Three Knights Variation. Nepomniachtchi held a clear advantage from 34...hxg2 to the end. Martirosyan made one mistake and Nepomniachtchi made none, and Martirosyan resigned after 42.c6.
Magnus Carlsen and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov drew both games. In round 7, a Caro-Kann Defense, Panov Attack, Modern Defense, Carlsen held a clear advantage after 24...Qf5, but the game ended level after 44 moves. Round 8, a Queen's Gambit Declined, Three Knights Variation, was drawn in 52 moves with neither side gaining a clear advantage.
Wesley So won round 7 with Black in 31 moves from a French Defense, Exchange Variation. The game turned on 22.gxf5, which took So from a small edge to a clear advantage. Vaishali made two mistakes, and So made none.
So won again in round 8 with White in 53 moves from an Italian Game, Giuoco Pianissimo, Normal. So held a clear advantage from 22...Rb8 to the end and found the Brilliant 35.Rxg7+!! along the way. Vaishali resigned after 53.Qf4+.
Erigaisi Arjun took 4 points to Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's 1. Round 7, a Ruy Lopez, Classical Defense, Benelux Variation, was drawn in 30 moves with neither side gaining a clear advantage.
Erigaisi won round 8 with White in 52 moves from a Tarrasch Defense, Prague Variation. The game turned on 40...g5, which took a level position to a clear advantage for Erigaisi, and Vachier-Lagrave had 41 seconds left on the clock after that move. Each player made one mistake, and Vachier-Lagrave resigned after 52.Rg5.
Round 8: Erigaisi won with White in 52 moves, by resignation
Hans Moke Niemann won round 7 with White in 38 moves from a King's Indian Defense, Orthodox Variation, Glek Defense. Niemann held a clear advantage from 11.a3 to the end, and Assaubayeva resigned after 38.Qxf8.
Round 8, a Queen's Gambit Declined, Three Knights Variation, went 96 moves and was drawn. Niemann held a clear advantage after 50.Bd7, but the game ended level, and Niemann took 4 points to Assaubayeva's 1.
| Player | Games | W–D–L | Points | Bracket |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alireza Firouzja | 8 | 3–4–1 | 13 | 1 |
| Jan-Krzysztof Duda | 8 | 2–5–1 | 11 | 2 |
| Jorden Van Foreest | 8 | 3–2–3 | 11 | 3 |
| Levon Aronian | 8 | 1–6–1 | 9 | 4 |
| Andrew Hong | 8 | 2–3–3 | 9 | 5 |
| Nodirbek Abdusattorov | 8 | 1–4–3 | 7 | 6 |
| Player | Games | W–D–L | Points | Bracket |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fabiano Caruana | 8 | 4–4–0 | 16 | 1 |
| Quang Liem Le | 8 | 2–6–0 | 12 | 2 |
| Richard Rapport | 8 | 1–6–1 | 9 | 3 |
| Vincent Keymer | 8 | 1–5–2 | 8 | 4 |
| Vladislav Artemiev | 8 | 0–6–2 | 6 | 5 |
| Praggnanandhaa R | 8 | 0–5–3 | 5 | 6 |
| Player | Games | W–D–L | Points | Bracket |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anish Giri | 8 | 3–4–1 | 13 | 1 |
| Ian Nepomniachtchi | 8 | 2–5–1 | 11 | 2 |
| Haik M. Martirosyan | 8 | 3–2–3 | 11 | 3 |
| Shakhriyar Mamedyarov | 8 | 1–6–1 | 9 | 4 |
| Magnus Carlsen | 8 | 0–7–1 | 7 | 5 |
| Abhimanyu Mishra | 8 | 0–6–2 | 6 | 6 |
| Player | Games | W–D–L | Points | Bracket |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | 8 | 3–4–1 | 13 | 1 |
| Erigaisi Arjun | 8 | 3–4–1 | 13 | 2 |
| Hans Moke Niemann | 8 | 3–4–1 | 13 | 3 |
| Wesley So | 8 | 2–4–2 | 10 | 4 |
| Bibisara Assaubayeva | 8 | 2–3–3 | 9 | 5 |
| Rameshbabu Vaishali | 8 | 1–1–6 | 4 | 6 |
The bracket column shows where each place leads: the four group winners play bracket 1 for the title.
The games are shown live on six channels. The official broadcast is presented by Anna Rudolf, Fiona Steil-Antoni, David Howell and Jovanka Houska, with Anna Rudolf reporting from the venue. Levy Rozman (GothamChess) hosts a daily highlights show with player interviews and the key moments.
On this page you can follow every board as it is played and replay each game with every move graded by Stockfish.
Photos from Wikimedia Commons: Nodirbek Abdusattorov by Frans Peeters from Roosendaal, The Netherlands, CC BY-SA 2.0; Levon Aronian by Stefan64, CC BY-SA 3.0; Alireza Firouzja by Frans Peeters, CC BY-SA 2.0; Jan-Krzysztof Duda by Danuta Matloch / Ministerstwo Kultury, Dziedzictwa Narodowego i Sportu, CC BY 3.0 pl; Jorden Van Foreest by Frans Peeters, CC BY-SA 2.0; Andrew Hong by Stefan64, CC BY-SA 3.0; Quang Liem Le by Andreas Kontokanis from Piraeus, Greece, CC BY-SA 2.0; Fabiano Caruana by Frans Peeters, CC BY-SA 2.0; Vladislav Artemiev by Министерство спорта Республики Татарстан, CC BY 4.0; Vincent Keymer by Frans Peeters, CC BY-SA 2.0; Richard Rapport by Frans Peeters, CC BY-SA 2.0; Praggnanandhaa R by Frans Peeters, CC BY-SA 2.0; Magnus Carlsen by Miroslav.vajdic, CC BY 4.0; Shakhriyar Mamedyarov by Etery Kublashvili, CC BY-SA 3.0; Anish Giri by Frans Peeters, CC BY-SA 2.0; Abhimanyu Mishra by Stefan64, CC BY-SA 3.0; Haik M. Martirosyan by Stefan64, CC BY-SA 3.0; Ian Nepomniachtchi by Frans Peeters, CC BY-SA 2.0; Maxime Vachier-Lagrave by Lennart Ootes, CC BY-SA 4.0; Erigaisi Arjun by Frans Peeters, CC BY-SA 2.0; Rameshbabu Vaishali by Frans Peeters, CC BY-SA 2.0; Wesley So by Frans Peeters, CC BY-SA 2.0; Hans Moke Niemann by TheBoburshokh, CC0; Bibisara Assaubayeva by Unknown author, CC0.
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