Day 2 of the Tata Steel Chess India Rapid saw top-class battles in Rounds 4 to 6, with the Indian players making a strong statement in the Open section. Multiple lead changes, decisive endgames, and tactical moments defined an action-packed day.
Open section: Anand and Nihal take joint lead
Round four has started with a significant upset as Arjun Erigaisi defeated Viswanathan Anand. Anand seemed in control in the middlegame, but then blundered a rook. Arjun calmly defended and, when presented with an endgame error, converted the full point. Nihal Sarin made full use of a knight blunder by Hans Niemann to secure a clean win. Wei Yi’s ambitious early g4 paid dividend as he transposed into a winning endgame against Aravindh Chithambaram, and R Praggnanandhaa secured a queenside squeeze win over Volodar Murzin.
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In Round five, Anand reacted well against Niemann. After opposite-side castling in the Italian, Anand defended precisely and converted his advantage with active rook play and a better pawn structure. Arjun won a subtle rook endgame by initiating a pawn race from a symmetrical position. Nihal kept his momentum going with a neat back-rank combination against Murzin, while Wesley So punished an endgame pawn mistake by Aravindh. Vidit Gujrathi and Praggnanandhaa quickly agreed to a draw.
Round six brought further clarity to the top. Nihal handled a knight endgame with finesse to beat Vidit, and Anand produced a positional display in an opposite-coloured bishop middlegame against Murzin. After six rounds, Anand and Nihal lead on 4.5 points, with one more day of rapid remaining.
Women’s section: Lagno moves into sole lead
The women's section also saw some crucial clashes. In Round four, Rakshitta Ravi won a sharp opposite-side castling battle against Nana Dzagnidze. Kateryna Lagno managed to convert an endgame advantage against Divya Deshmukh, while Stavroula Tsolakidou outplayed Vantika Agrawal.
Round five also saw Aleksandra Goryachkina defeat Divya after withstanding some strong early pressure from the Indian player. Dzagnidze took advantage of an opening error from Carissa Yip, while Vantika ensured Rakshitta suffered her first defeat in the event.
In Round six, Vaishali Rameshbabu had strong central pawns and pushed through against Rakshitta. Lagno defeated Tsolakidou to move into the sole lead with 4.5 points out of 6.
Standings after Day 2
Open: Viswanathan Anand - 4.5, Nihal Sarin - 4.5
Women: Kateryna Lagno - 4.5
