It's an exciting time in the chess world, with the World Championship match starting in about a week and a new superstar really exploding on the scene.
First, a quick update on the interesting individual event going on in Kolkota, India, the Tata Steel Rapid & Blitz. The rapid event has ended with a surprise victory by the third-lowest rated player in the field, Arjun Erigaisi. A strong day 2 made the difference, as he went 3-0 to take the lead, and his three draws on the last day were enough to secure the victory. The last draw was especially important, as he held off Levon Aronian, who would have caught him with a win. Erigaisi finished with 6.5/9, a point better than Aronian, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa (who defeated Erigaisi in round 2), and Santosh Vidit; Murali Karthikeyan and Sam Shankland were a further half a point behind.
Now to the European Team Championship. As far as the team aspect goes, I believe that Ukraine and Azerbaijian are tied for the lead with two rounds to go, but my interest and focus have been on the individual performances. In particular, the ascents of Alireza Firouzja and Alexei Shirov have grabbed my attention: Shirov, because it's nice to see him return to something like his old form; Firouzja, because his results are so ridiculously good, especially for someone who is just 18 years old.
A couple of days ago, I wondered which player would reach the next century mark faster: Firouzja to 2800, or Shirov to 2700? If we round up, then Shirov already managed it yesterday with a messy win over rapidly rising youngster Bogdan-Daniel Deac, which brought him to 2699.7. He drew with Gabriel Sargissian today, costing him a tenth of a point, so his rating will still flip over to 2700 at the end of the month, if he stays where he is. As for Firouzja, he defeated Dimitrios Mastrovasilis and then Baadur Jobava, and that brings him to 2798.9, a point shy of 2800 and into a virtual tie with Ding Liren for second on the live rating list. He has gained an insane 28.9 ratings point this month--a normal event for an 18-year-old, perhaps, but not when that 18-year-old is in the top 10. A win and a draw in the last two games, and he'll break 2800 and hit #2 in the world. If he can keep building on this in the coming year, he'll have a very good shot of earning a world championship match against the winner of the Magnus Carlsen - Ian Nepomniachtchi match.