Carlsen Goes Unbeaten in the Total Chess Blitz Opener
By Cameron W. · Tue, 10 Nov 2026
Magnus Carlsen did not need a trophy to make a point on the opening day in Budapest. He played nine blitz games, won five, drew four and lost none.
Magnus Carlsen did not need a trophy to make a point on the opening day in Budapest. He played nine blitz games, won five, drew four and lost none, finishing on 7/9 at the top of the unofficial table. It is a rehearsal result with no prize attached, but it also happens to decide who wins the tiebreaks when the slow games begin on November 11.
The top of the table
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave was a half-point back on 6.5, and Levon Aronian took third on 6. Five players followed on 5.5: Alireza Firouzja, Arjun Erigaisi, Fabiano Caruana, Hans Niemann and Richard Rapport. Anish Giri and Ian Nepomniachtchi had 5, Haik Martirosyan, R. Praggnanandhaa, Vincent Keymer and Wesley So 4.5, and Abhimanyu Mishra, Liem Le, Vaishali Rameshbabu and Vladislav Artemiev 4. Andrew Hong, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov scored 3.5, with Jorden van Foreest on 2.5 and Bibisara Assaubayeva on 0.5. The table is unofficial until the arbiters apply tiebreaks, which are Buchholz first, then performance rating, then a draw of lots.
The surprises
On the listed blitz ratings, Abdusattorov was the second-highest name in the field, so 3.5/9 will be one of the days he would like to forget. Niemann lost only one game all day, and that was to Vaishali, who also beat So and finished on 4 after a rollercoaster of two wins, four draws and three losses. Assaubayeva scored a single half-point, in a last-round draw against Vaishali.
Why the ranking matters now
The blitz order carries no points or money, but it does two jobs. In the group stage, players level on points are separated by their blitz finish. In the knockouts, each bracket is seeded by blitz rank, with the best against the lowest and the second against the third in the semifinals, and the higher-ranked player picks colours for the first blitz game of day one. Remember that tiebreaks only count when players are level, so many of these placings may never matter.
What it means for each group
Group C looks the most one-sided on paper. Carlsen, with 7, holds the blitz tiebreak over Giri and Nepomniachtchi (5 each), Martirosyan (4.5), Mishra (4) and Mamedyarov (3.5).
Group D is the most interesting. Vachier-Lagrave (6.5) leads Niemann and Erigaisi (5.5 each), So (4.5), Vaishali (4) and Assaubayeva (0.5). Any points tie in that group goes against Vaishali except one with Assaubayeva.
In Group A, Aronian (6) and Firouzja (5.5) hold the edge over Duda, Abdusattorov and Hong (3.5 each) and van Foreest (2.5). In Group B, Caruana and Rapport (5.5 each) lead Praggnanandhaa and Keymer (4.5 each), then Artemiev and Liem Le (4 each).
What starts tomorrow
Each group plays a double round-robin of ten fast classical games at 45 minutes plus 30 seconds per move, two a day through November 15, with three points for a win and one for a draw. A rest day follows on November 16, then the two-day knockouts. Group winners go to the top bracket, where they are paired by blitz rank, so the order set tonight will matter again if the groups finish tightly.
Sources
- Total Chess, Budapest 2026 Blitz Swiss (results and unofficial standings)
- Total Chess, Budapest 2026 overview (groups, format)
- ChessBase India, Total Chess in Budapest: the format explained
- World Chess, Total Chess 2026: everything you need to know
- Wikipedia, Total Chess World Championship 2026 (blitz ratings)
