Carlsen, in 18th place, is far from second at the moment, and the main reason is Praggnanandhaa, who now often beats the world leader in the faster version of the game.
However, Praggnanandhaa is missing the leaders with 14.5 points, making it literally a two-horse race for the title.
Arjun Erigaisi takes fourth place with 14 points, followed by Duda Jan-Krzysztof from Poland with 13 points. Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan is sixth with 12.5, a full point ahead of Vincent Keymer of Germany, while eighth place is now occupied by early leader Kirill Shevchenko of Romania with 11 points.
Anish Giri of the Netherlands improved slightly to ninth with a score of 10.5, while a lightning attack remained a concern for world title challenger D. Gukesh, who remains in third place with 9.5 points in the $1,75,000 tournament. last place with 9.5 points.
Carlsen specifically mentioned that his nervous system broke down after his second-round defeat to Praggnanandhaa. The world number one finished with six points out of nine, a decent result by any standard, but after losing to the Indian he made another mistake and fell to Abdusattorov from the winning position. Wei Yi started the day with a loss to Gukesh, but quickly recovered and drew against Carlsen, winning the remaining seven matches. It was a tough day for Gukesh despite a great start against the tournament leaders, as the Indian only managed 2.5 points in total.
Victories over Praggnanandhaa and Gukesh Arjun kept him in the fight for a place on the podium.
Having lost to Wei Yi and Carlsen, Arjun had five wins and two draws in the remaining matches, so he will be bullish on the final day of the event.
Quick final results: 1. Wei Yi 20.5; 2. Magnus Carlsen 18; 3. R. Praggnanandhaa 14.5; 4. Arjun Erigaisi 14; 5. Duda Jana-Krzysztof 13; 6. Nodirbek Abdusattorov 12.5; 7.Vincent Keymer 11.5; 8. Cyril Shevchenko 11; 9. Anish Giri 10.5; 10. D.Gukesh 9.5.
