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3 min readNew DelhiJun 20, 2026 07:30 AM IST
Team MGD1 (L) missed out on title defence and finished second in the FIDE World Rapid Team Championship 2026 in Hong Kong. (FIDE/Michal Walusza)
Team MGD1, the reigning champion of the FIDE World Rapid Team Championship, came agonisingly close to defending their title in Hong Kong, only to fall short against the Chinese team Dragon Chilling.
Led by Arjun Erigaisi on the top board, Team MGD1 finished tied for the top spot alongside Ding Liren’s Dragon Chilling and Hexamind Chess Team, with all three teams scoring 18 points from 12 Rapid rounds.
Hexamind had 45 points in board points, the second tiebreak, while both the Indian and Chinese teams were tied with 46 points apiece. It was the third tiebreak (TB3) that determined the Rapid event winner this year. Team MGD1 had 632 compared to Dragon Chilling’s 647.5, as the Chinese team clinched their maiden title in their first appearance in the unique team event.
ALSO READ | How Arjun Erigaisi took down Magnus Carlsen in Hong Kong
Team MGD1 started the final day of the Rapid event with a 3.5-2.5 loss to Hexamind, which in hindsight proved costly in their bid to defend the title. The team bounced back, taking down Chessgurukul, the other Indian team in the event, in the following round.
Hans Niemann’s Endgame.AI was next to take on Team MGD1 in the penultimate round. Victories by Arjun Erigaisi and Nihal Sarin over Niemann and Lenier Dominguez Perez, respectively, gave the Indian team the upper hand. However, Pranav V and Aryan Abhijeet Shah on the recreational board dropped points as both sides played out a draw, sharing a point each.
Ahead of the final round, four teams – MGD1, Hexamind, Dragon Chilling and Mr Birdie and Friends – had a realistic shot at the title. The leaders heading into the 12th and final round, Mr Birdie and Friends, lost to Hexamind, who went provisionally on top. Team MGD1 registered four wins to thrash Barys 5-1 in a one-sided battle, vaulting above Hexamind and putting a strong foot forward for their title defence.
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However, the day belonged to Ding Liren-led Dragon Chilling, who beat Interstellar Club 5-1 as well to level with Team MGD1 on both board and match points.
Chessgurukul’s R. Praggnanandhaa continued his impressive form after the Norway Chess win and was the best performing player on the top board, winning individual gold at Board No. 1, even though his team finished fifth. Frenchman Alireza Firouzja, representing Hexamind, won individual silver on Board No. 1, followed by Arjun Erigaisi, who took bronze.
Team MGD1’s Nihal Sarin and Chessgurukul’s Aravindh Chithambaram also won individual bronze on Board No. 2 and Board No. 3, respectively. Leon Luke Mendonca led Team MGD1 to the podium for a second straight year, winning individual gold on Board No. 5.
Free fall for WR Chess & Carlsen
Pre-event favourites and champions of the inaugural edition, WR Chess had a poor outing this time. The superstar side, which featured the likes of Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Jan Krzysztof Duda, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Alexandra Kosteniuk, lost five rounds and finished in 18th place.
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Carlsen had a disastrous Rapid event, scoring just three points from eight rounds while losing four games in a row.
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