Magnus Carlsen and Aleksandra Goryachkina displayed sheer dominance at the Tata Steel Chess India Rapid & Blitz Tournament, taking the sole lead in their respective sections on Day II of the competition at the Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium.

In the open section, World No. 1 Carlsen put in a flawless showing as he secured successive victories over SL Narayanan, Wesley So and Arjun Erigaisi.

Beginning the day at just half a point behind overnight leader Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan, the Norwegian’s masterful play elevated him to the top of the leaderboard with a commanding five points out of a possible six.

Carlsen’s performance on Thursday is just a reflection of his abilities and the ease with which he can romp back to the top position.

By his standards, he was off to a tad slow start in the opening round on Wednesday but took little time to simply brush aside his opponents and storm his way to the top.

Former world rapid champion Abdusattarov, who had shone over everyone else on the opening day, closed in on Carlsen’s heels with 4.5 points.

The Uzbek prodigy held his own with draws against Nihal Sarin and Vidit Gujrathi in Rounds IV and V, and ended the day with a win over Narayanan, positioning himself as Carlsen’s primary challenger heading into the final day of the rapid event.

Among the Indians, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, with three points, is the only one to be among the top-five.

Narayanan is just below Praggnanandhaa at 2.5 points, while Erigaisi, Sarin and Gujrathi are lying low at two points apiece.

In the women’s section, Goryachkina mirrored Carlsen’s success with an equally impressive performance, securing three
victories.

The Russian grandmaster’s back-to-back wins against Indians Vantika Agrawal and Vaishali Rameshbabu, followed by a victory over fellow Russian Kateryna Lagno, boosted her tally to five points, putting her firmly in
the lead.

Trailing closely in second is Georgian Grandmaster Nana Dzagnidze with four points. Dzagnidze’s successful day included wins over Vaishali and Koneru Humpy as well as a hard-fought draw with Lagno. Harika Dronavalli, Vantika and Valentina Gunina share the third spot with 3.5 points each.

Among the top five, two Indian women — Vantika (third) and Harika (fourth) — are on the list at the end of proceedings on Day II of the tournament, though it was a disappointing day out for Vaishali, who has just one point so far.

One expected a little better show, though, from Divya Deshmukh (2.5 points) and Humpy (two points).