Tata Steel Rapid & Blitz Begins
This is not THE Tata Steel tournament we all love, better known as "Wijk aan Zee" for its long-time home. This is instead the third edition of an annual rapid & blitz event taking place in Kolkata, India. It's a strong field, with five of the 10 players enjoying a classical rating north of 2700.
After day 1, Levon Aronian leads with a perfect 3-0 score, a full point ahead of Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, and Santosh Vidit Gujrathi. I tend not to annotate many rapid games for this site, but Erigaisi won an amusing miniature in round 3 that merits a look - enjoy.
It's a rest day for the contestants in the European Team Championship, so we'll have to wait another day to see if Alireza Firouzja can continue his progress to 2800. France will play Greece, which means his next (potential) meal is probably Dimitrios Mastrovasilis, rated 2619. If Firouzja wins, he gains 2.9 rating points. Not a huge number, but it would bring him to 2796.2.
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