World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen recorded a flawless performance, securing victories against S L Narayanan, Wesley So and Arjun Erigaisi, to take the sole lead at the Tata Steel Chess India Rapid Tournament in Kolkata on Thursday. Starting the day just half a point behind overnight leader Nodirbek Abdusattorov, the Norwegian’s masterful play elevated him to the top of the leaderboard with a commanding five points out of a possible six in the ‘Open’ section. Russia’s Aleksandra Goryachkina too came up with an equally impressive performance in the women’s section to secure the sole lead following three victories on day two.

Her back-to-back wins against India’s Vantika Agrawal and R. Vaishali was followed by a victory over Kateryna Lagno, which took her tally to five points.

Close on Carlsen’s heels is former World Rapid champion Abdusattorov with 4.5 points. The Uzbek prodigy held his own with draws against Nihal Sarin and Vidit Gujrathi in rounds 4 and 5, and ended the day with a win over Narayanan, positioning himself as Carlsen’s primary challenger heading into the final day.

In the women’s section, Georgian Grandmaster Nana Dzagnidze is closely trailing Aleksandra with four points. Dzagnidze’s successful day included wins over Vaishali and Koneru Humpy as well as a hard-fought draw with Kateryna Lagno.

India’s D. Harika and Vantika Agrawal, and Valentina Gunina share the third spot with 3.5 points each.

Standings: (Open) Magnus Carlsen 5; Nodirbek Abdusattorov 4.5; Wesley So 3.5; Daniel Dubov and R. Praggnanandhaa 3; SL Narayanan and Vincent Keymer 2.5; Arjun Erigaisi, Nihal Sarin and Vidit Gujrathi 2.

Women: Aleksandra Goryachkina 5; Nana Dzagnidze 4; Vantika Agarwal, D Harika, Valentina Gunina 3.5; Kateryna Lagno 3; Divya Deshmukh 2.5; Koneru Humpy, Alexandra Kosteniuk 2; R Vaishali 1.

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