World No.2 Hikaru Nakamura faced a surprising defeat on the first day of the 2025 World Blitz Team Championship, falling to 13-year-old International Master Khagan Ahmad. Despite Nakamura’s strong showing—winning six of his games and helping top-seeded WR Chess win all 12 matches—Ahmad delivered the only upset in the American Grandmaster’s otherwise flawless day.
Ahmad, representing Turkish Airlines Sports Club and holding a FIDE rating of 2232, completed a hat-trick with his win over Nakamura and finished the day with an impressive streak of nine consecutive victories.
Fans react to Nakamura’s shocking defeat
The upset quickly gained traction on social media, particularly after FIDE shared the clip on X (formerly Twitter). Fans expressed a mix of amazement and humour at the result. One chess enthusiast remarked, “Chess humbles us all,” while another commented, “Hikaru will soon start commenting about the quality of Blitz and why it doesn’t make sense to play it anymore.”
Another user wrote, “Yess! Hikaru has such a bloated ego and is a cheap braggart. So glad a kid put a checkmate to it.”
WR Chess dominates with Duda leading the charge
Despite Nakamura’s solitary loss, WR Chess remained dominant. Grandmaster Jan-Krzysztof Duda emerged as the day’s top performer across all 53 teams, finishing with a staggering score of 11.5/12. Other standout performances included Sarbartho Mani from Team Freedom, GM Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus of Generation XYZA, and India’s GM Arjun Erigaisi from MGD1—each registering unbeaten 11/12 scores.
Additionally, KazChess duo GM Andrey Esipenko and Islam Alten also recorded strong performances, scoring 11/12 each, though both dropped one game.
MGD1 and Erigaisi top Pool D for India
India’s MGD1 team, led by GM Arjun Erigaisi, finished on top of Pool D, winning all 12 of their matches on Day 1. Erigaisi led from the front with a brilliant 11/12 performance. He was well-supported by IM Stavroula Tsolakidou, who scored 10.5/13, and GM Leon Luke Mendonca, who finished with an impressive 9.5/10.
This commanding team performance helped MGD1 secure a place in Sunday’s 16-team knockout stage, a shift from the 2024 edition where the entire tournament concluded in a single day.
Knockout stage promises high drama
With most top teams successfully qualifying for the knockout rounds, the upcoming Sunday phase is expected to witness fierce competition. While WR Chess continues to look unstoppable, all eyes will be on young Khagan Ahmad and rising stars like Erigaisi, who have turned heads with their commanding performances.