Teimour Radjabov, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Vincent Keymer and Gukesh lead on 2/3 at the end of an intense first day of the Tata Steel Chess India Open Rapid being held in Kolkata, India. Praggnanandhaa, Alexander Grischuk and Nodirbek Abdusattorov follow the leaders on 1.5 points. 60% of the 15 games ended decisively, which showed the level of fight displayed by the players.

Tania Sachdev and Robert Hess commentated on the day's action.

Replay all the Tata Steel Chess Indian Open Rapid games.

A very interesting aspect of the live broadcast of the event is the presence of the ambassador of the tournament and former world champion Viswanathan Anand. Commentating on the games on the live broadcast, he remarked:

True to his prediction, the tournament started explosively from the very beginning, producing so many high-voltage games on the very first day.

Anand with Hess and Tania, producing very enjoyable commentary | photo: Vivek Sohani, Tata Steel Chess India

Anand enjoyed himself in the commentary box, enthralling audiences with his customary sense of humor, deep knowledge of the game, and inside stories. For example, when asked if he gave any advice to Praggnanandhaa before the game, Anand chuckled:

Praggnanandhaa—no special advice from Anand | photo: Maria Emelianova, Chess.com

Asked about Praggnanandhaa reaching the Candidates and Gukesh overtaking him in the rankings and thus displacing him as the highest-rated player of India after 37 long years, he came up with a witty quip.

By format, the tournament pits five of the best Indian players against five of the best quick-play specialists in the world. A familiar narrative of current times is also the experienced hands facing young talents, both from India and abroad. For example, three-time World Blitz Champion Grischuk became champion for the first time in 2006, the same year that Gukesh was born!

Round 1

The very first round brought together youngsters Gukesh and Abdusattorov, who have their history of an important penultimate-round encounter from the 2022 Chess Olympiad. Abdusattorov held the upper hand almost throughout the whole game and Gukesh managed to escape by the skin of his teeth.

Anand also revealed a hilarious detail about the first-round encounter between Vachier-Lagrave and Grischuk:

Grischuk vs. Vachier-Lagrave, the game after the games | photo: Maria Emelianova, Chess.com

The game between Arjun Erigaisi and Vincent Keymer featured an elegant breakthrough.

35...Rxa3+! 36.Qxa3 Qxd4+ 37.Kb1 Qe4+.

Round 2

Abdusattorov played his best game of the day, squeezing out a win with impressive play in an ending with rooks and opposite-colored bishops.

Abdusattorov's play was impressive | photo: Maria Emelianova, Chess.com

In the best-played game of the day, Gukesh sacrificed his queen against Pentala Harikrishna, resulting in fascinating play, which is our Game Of The Day, annotated by GM Rafael Leitao.

Gukesh sacrificed his queen against Harikrishna | photo: Maria Emelianova, Chess.com

Round 3

This was the most combative round of the day, producing four decisive results and a 97-move draw. It also produced one of the most interesting games of the day for the spectators, between Vidit and Vachier-Lagrave. The following opening setup of the Yugoslav Attack of the Sicilian Defense, transposing from a Najdorf, invited Anand's comment:

Vachier-Lagrave's queen penetrated deep inside Vidit's queenside, only to find itself blocked from returning. This is when MVL started weaving his swindling designs.

Radjabov created one of the most flawless and imaginative games of the day, outwitting Abdusattorov in a short and sweet attack.

Watch the Tata Steel Chess India Open Rapid games.