Commanding Carlsen Leads World Rapids
After the second day of play in the World Rapid Chess Championships in Kazakhstan, Magnus Carlsen has a commanding lead of 1½ points from the world class field.
After 10 of the 15 scheduled rounds Carlsen remains undefeated on 8½ points, securing his place with a victory against his co-leader from yesterday, Sergey Karjakin, in the last round of the day.
A selection of games from day 2 are below. All the games are available at the official website.
The full current standings are:
| # | Name | Nat | Elo | Pts |
| 1 | Carlsen, Magnus | NOR | 2837 | 8½ |
| 2 | Topalov, Veselin | BUL | 2752 | 7 |
| 3 | Karjakin, Sergey | RUS | 2779 | 7 |
| 4 | Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar | AZE | 2726 | 6 |
| 5 | Dreev, Aleksey | RUS | 2677 | 5½ |
| 6 | Grischuk, Alexander | RUS | 2763 | 5½ |
| 7 | Radjabov, Teimour | AZE | 2788 | 5½ |
| 8 | Svidler, Peter | RUS | 2749 | 5 |
| 9 | Kurnosov, Igor | RUS | 2663 | 5 |
| 10 | Gelfand, Boris | ISR | 2738 | 4½ |
| 11 | Ivanchuk, Vassily | UKR | 2769 | 4½ |
| 12 | Morozevich, Alexander | RUS | 2770 | 4 |
| 13 | Kazhgaleyev, Murtas | KAZ | 2589 | 4 |
| 14 | Bologan, Viktor | MDA | 2732 | 3 |
| 15 | Tkachiev, Vladislav | FRA | 2644 | 3 |
| 16 | Ismagambetov, Anuar | KAZ | 2471 | 2 |
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The full results from day 2 (rounds 6-10):
| Round 6 | ||
| Carlsen, Magnus | ½-½ | Dreev, Aleksey |
| Karjakin, Sergey | ½-½ | Morozevich, Alexander |
| Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar | 1-0 | Bologan, Viktor |
| Radjabov, Teimour | 1-0 | Grischuk, Alexander |
| Svidler, Peter | ½-½ | Tkachiev, Vladislav |
| Kurnosov, Igor | 1-0 | Gelfand, Boris |
| Ivanchuk, Vassily | ½-½ | Topalov, Veselin |
| Kazhgaleyev, Murtas | 1-0 | Ismagambetov, Anuar |
| Round 7 | ||
| Topalov, Veselin | 1-0 | Radjabov, Teimour |
| Dreev, Aleksey | ½-½ | Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar |
| Grischuk, Alexander | 1-0 | Kazhgaleyev, Murtas |
| Gelfand, Boris | ½-½ | Carlsen, Magnus |
| Morozevich, Alexander | ½-½ | Ivanchuk, Vassily |
| Bologan, Viktor | 0-1 | Karjakin, Sergey |
| Tkachiev, Vladislav | ½-½ | Kurnosov, Igor |
| Ismagambetov, Anuar | 0-1 | Svidler, Peter |
| Round 8 | ||
| Carlsen, Magnus | 1-0 | Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar |
| Karjakin, Sergey | 1-0 | Dreev, Aleksey |
| Radjabov, Teimour | ½-½ | Morozevich, Alexander |
| Svidler, Peter | 1-0 | Grischuk, Alexander |
| Kurnosov, Igor | 1-0 | Ismagambetov, Anuar |
| Gelfand, Boris | 1-0 | Tkachiev, Vladislav |
| Ivanchuk, Vassily | 1-0 | Bologan, Viktor |
| Kazhgaleyev, Murtas | 1-0 | Topalov, Veselin |
| Round 9 | ||
| Topalov, Veselin | 1-0 | Svidler, Peter |
| Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar | 1-0 | Karjakin, Sergey |
| Dreev, Aleksey | 1-0 | Ivanchuk, Vassily |
| Grischuk, Alexander | ½-½ | Kurnosov, Igor |
| Morozevich, Alexander | ½-½ | Kazhgaleyev, Murtas |
| Bologan, Viktor | 1-0 | Radjabov, Teimour |
| Tkachiev, Vladislav | 0-1 | Carlsen, Magnus |
| Ismagambetov, Anuar | 1-0 | Gelfand, Boris |
| Round 10 | ||
| Carlsen, Magnus | 1-0 | Karjakin, Sergey |
| Radjabov, Teimour | ½-½ | Dreev, Aleksey |
| Svidler, Peter | 0-1 | Morozevich, Alexander |
| Kurnosov, Igor | 0-1 | Topalov, Veselin |
| Gelfand, Boris | ½-½ | Grischuk, Alexander |
| Ivanchuk, Vassily | 0-1 | Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar |
| Kazhgaleyev, Murtas | 0-1 | Bologan, Viktor |
| Tkachiev, Vladislav | 0-1 | Ismagambetov, Anuar |
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The format for the world rapid championship is a 16-player round robin competition at the time control of 15 minutes plus 10 second increment.
The schedule:
| Date | Event | Round |
| 5 July | Opening Ceremony | |
| 6 July | Rapid Finals | 1-5 |
| 7 July | Rapid Finals | 6-10 |
| 8 July | Rapid Finals | 11-15 |
| 9 July | Blitz Finals | 1-15 |
| 10 July | Blitz Finals | 16-30 |
| 11 July | Departure |
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The total prize funds are $200,000 for the rapid championships, and another $200,000 for the blitz championship (see distribution below).
| Place | Prize |
| Winner | $40,000 |
| 2nd place | $33,000 |
| 3rd place | $27,500 |
| 4th place | $22,500 |
| 5th place | $18,000 |
| 6th place | $14,000 |
| 7th place | $12,000 |
| 8th place | $10,000 |
| 9th place | $7,000 |
| 10th place | $4,000 |
| 11th-16th place | $2,000 each |
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Games start each day at 15:00 local time (09:00 UTC) and the live coverage at the official website is available here.
Games via TWIC.
