By Leon Watson

World number-one Magnus Carlsen has a mountain to climb as the 2024 FIDE World Rapid Championship kicked off with a series of shock results.

Norway’s defending champion, chasing a record sixth World Rapid title, had just one win to show for his efforts in the Open. He ended the first day in New York’s iconic Wall Street in 83rd place on 2.5/5.

Carlsen was stunned by a round 5 loss with the black pieces to the 18-year-old talent Denis Lazavik, rated 300 points below him. Carlsen later admitted by his standards it was a “very, very poor performance.”

Carlsen was not the only big gun to struggle. Wesley So is left languishing in 65th place, and Fabiano Caruana down in 23rd. Their absence at the top of the leaderboard has blown the famously unpredictable tournament wide open. Going into day two, the lead is currently shared four ways between Volodar Murzin, Shant Sargsyan, Leinier Dominguez, and Daniel Naroditsky on 4.5/5.

The performance of 18-year-old Murzin particularly caught the eye. Caruana was one of his victims in round 2 and the teenager finished the day with a draw as Black with Levon Aronian.

With eight rounds to go, the tournament is anyone’s game. “It is simply an incredible change from what anybody could have predicted,” FIDE commentator Maurice Ashley said afterward.

In the Women’s championship, 15-year-old Alice Lee had a tremendous start. In her last game of the day, the teenage American—sponsored by the ICC before the event—downed 2023 Women's World Blitz Champion Valentina Gunina to finish on 4/4.

“She’s got to be pinching herself,” Ashley said. “Sitting pretty at the top of this leaderboard with a monster list behind her!”

Check out this nice video from ChessBase India

The chasing pack includes Ju Wenjun, China’s Women’s world champion in classical chess and the top seed. Seven rounds are left in the Women’s event before a winner is crowned. Round 5 on Friday will see Lee take on second-placed Ju.

More than 300 players are battling it out in the two sections that comprise the World Rapid Championship. The event takes place over three days and is followed after a rest day by the World Blitz Championship.

The ICC, the original home of online chess, is following the progress of several players sponsored for the event. Apart from the leader in the Women’s Rapid, Alice Lee, another ICC-sponsored player, Anna Muzychuk, is in 8th place with 3/4, while Priyanka Nutakki, the 22-year-old Woman Grandmaster from India, ended day one in 61st place on 2/4.

Faustino Oro, the 11-year-old Argentinian sensation, had a disappointing start losing to three strong grandmasters in Mikhail Antipov, the Dane Jonas Buhl Bjerre and Jorden van Foreest. But Oro bounced back to win his final two games and finish on 2/5.

Jose Carlos Ibarra, the 2023 Spanish blitz champion, also scored 2/5 and sits in 117th place. Priyanka Nutakki, the 22-year-old Woman Grandmaster from India, finished day one in 61st place on 2/4.

Check out this short video from GM Ibarra

The 2024 FIDE World Rapid Championship continues on Friday from 2pm ET / 8pm CET. You can watch the official stream on FIDE’s YouTube channel.