Haik Martirosyan produced one of the biggest results of the Total Chess World Championship Tour Pilot in Budapest, defeating Magnus Carlsen to move into the outright lead in Group C after the third day of the Fast Classic group stage.

Martirosyan’s victory handed Carlsen his first defeat of the event, ending a run of four consecutive draws. The Armenian grandmaster added a draw in their return game to collect four points from the two encounters and reach 10 overall.

There was another major upset in Group A, where Andrew Hong beat leader Alireza Firouzja to claim his first victory of the tournament. Firouzja recovered in the return game, however, winning with White to remain at the top of the group.

Friday’s fifth and sixth rounds produced 10 decisive games from 24 encounters. With players facing the same opponents twice, switching colours for the return match, the scoring system awarded three points for a win and one for a draw.

After six games per player, all four groups have established outright leaders. Fabiano Caruana holds the biggest advantage, leading Group B by four points, while Firouzja, Martirosyan and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave top the other groups.

Hong hands Firouzja first defeat, but leader responds

Hong made his breakthrough against Firouzja in a complicated first encounter, securing his maiden Fast Classic win of the event. The French-Iranian grandmaster responded emphatically in the return, using the advantage of the White pieces to force favourable exchanges and convert the game.

The split results leave Firouzja on 11 points, with Hong on six. Jorden van Foreest also enjoyed a productive day, taking four points from his two games against Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Van Foreest won the opening encounter before the pair drew the return, moving him to eight points while Abdusattorov remains on five.

Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Levon Aronian shared the points in both games. Duda sits second in the group on nine points, two behind Firouzja, while Aronian has seven.

Caruana builds commanding Group B advantage

Caruana strengthened his position at the top of Group B with a win and a draw against Vincent Keymer. Playing Black in the first game, the American took control in the endgame and converted his advantage before settling for a draw in the return.

The unbeaten Caruana now has 14 points from four wins and two draws, opening a four-point gap over the chasing field. Keymer ended the day on four points.

Liem Le collected two draws against Richard Rapport to reach 10 points, while Rapport has five. There were also two drawn games between Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and Vladislav Artemiev, with their opening encounter stretching to 89 moves. Artemiev has five points and Praggnanandhaa four.

Martirosyan ends Carlsen’s unbeaten run

The day’s headline result came in Group C, where Martirosyan found a way through Carlsen’s defences. Playing White, he built a dangerous attacking position and eventually broke through to claim a memorable victory.

The return game ended in a draw, giving Martirosyan the outright lead on 10 points. Carlsen, who had opened the event with four successive draws, remains on five.

Anish Giri also made progress, moving into second place on nine points. He drew his first game against Ian Nepomniachtchi before winning the return with White after a prolonged battle. Nepomniachtchi finished the day on seven points.

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Abhimanyu Mishra drew both games, leaving Mamedyarov on seven points and Mishra on five.

Vachier-Lagrave takes control of Group D

Vachier-Lagrave strengthened his grip on Group D by winning the decisive second game of his two-match contest against Hans Moke Niemann. After an opening draw, the Frenchman applied sustained pressure with White and converted his advantage to move to 12 points.

That leaves him three points clear of Niemann, who has nine. Arjun Erigaisi also reached nine after taking three points from Wesley So, winning their first encounter after initially coming under pressure before drawing the return. So has four points.

There was a split of wins in the all-women’s contest between Bibisara Assaubayeva and Vaishali Rameshbabu. Assaubayeva won the first game with White, but Vaishali hit back with an attacking victory in the return to register her first Fast Classic win of the event. Assaubayeva has eight points, while Vaishali has four.

The group stage continues on Saturday, November 14, with Games 7 and 8. Each player has four games remaining before the final group standings determine their places in the six knockout brackets.

Andre Russell delivered a match-winning all-round performance as the Arabian Aces held off the UAE Bulls by eight runs in a low-scoring thriller at the 2026 Abu Dhabi T10 on Friday.

The West Indies star struck a blistering 46 from just 18 balls before returning to claim three wickets for 12 runs, helping the Aces defend a target of 93 and secure their third victory in five matches.

The defending champions looked to have seized control early after reducing the Aces to 29/6 in 5.3 overs. But Russell, named Player of the Match, turned the innings around alongside Dwaine Pretorius, producing a crucial 60-run partnership from just 24 balls for the seventh wicket.

The Aces’ collapse began almost immediately. Muhammad Rohid bowled Tom Kohler-Cadmore for a first-ball duck, before Mohammad Amir struck twice in the second over, dismissing Paul Walter and trapping Alishan Sharafu lbw with successive deliveries.

Tahir Zaman troubles Aces

Tahir Zaman added to the damage by having Liam Livingstone caught in the fourth over. Romario Shepherd then removed captain Moeen Ali, while Tahir returned to bowl Sam Billings in the sixth, leaving the Aces in deep trouble.

Russell and Pretorius refused to let the innings drift away. Russell unleashed five fours and three sixes in his 18-ball assault, while Pretorius contributed 12 from 10 deliveries. Their stand lifted the Aces to 92/8 before Shepherd struck twice in the final over, dismissing both Pretorius and Russell.

The Bulls’ chase never gained sustained momentum as Russell made an immediate impact with the ball. He removed Aneurin Donald, Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine to leave the champions under pressure.

Kieron Pollard attempts to change momentum

Pollard briefly threatened to change the course of the chase with 27 from 11 balls, while Shadab added 22 from 14. Andre Fletcher also chipped in with 19, but the Aces kept finding wickets at key moments.

Pretorius dismissed Khawaja Nafay and Shepherd, while Muhammad Arfan claimed the wickets of Fletcher and Shadab. The Bulls, who had slipped to 37/4, eventually finished on 84/7 from their 10 overs, falling eight runs short.

The result moved the Arabian Aces into third place with six points, level with second-placed Yas Lions. The UAE Bulls remained at the foot of the table with one win from five matches.

It was a busy day in the tournament, with United Tigers earlier beating Emirates Eagles by 24 runs and Royal Desert Champions defeating Yas Lions by 39 runs.

Abbas Afridi produced a late fireworks display, smashing three sixes in the final over to lift United Tigers to a 24-run win over Emirates Eagles, while Brandon King and Naseem Shah starred as Royal Desert Champions defeated Yas Lions by 39 runs in the 2026 Abu Dhabi T10 on Friday.

The two victories highlighted a thrilling day of action at Zayed Cricket Stadium on November 13, with United Tigers moving to the top of the points table after recording their fourth win in five matches.

Afridi’s late hitting proved decisive in the 13th match of the tournament, while Azmatullah Omarzai contributed with both bat and ball to help the Tigers defend their total of 143/5.

In the day’s other completed fixture, King struck a commanding half-century before Naseem dismantled the Yas Lions’ top order to secure a comfortable victory for Royal Desert Champions.

Afridi’s final-over assault takes Tigers to 143

United Tigers recovered from an early setback to post 143/5 in their 10 overs after being asked to bat first.

Sahibzada Farhan departed for eight off five balls in the opening over, caught by Srikar Bharat off Trent Boult. Captain Fakhar Zaman and Joe Clarke then steadied the innings, putting together 40 runs from 22 deliveries.

Zaman made 26 off 13 balls before Hardus Viljoen dismissed him in the fifth over. Haider Razzaq then bowled Avishka Fernando for two, leaving the Tigers at 70/3.

Omarzai changed the momentum with a blistering 33 off just nine deliveries, including three fours and three sixes. He added 36 runs with Clarke in only 10 balls before David Wiese ended his innings in the eighth over.

Clarke contributed 33 off 20 balls before retiring out at the end of the ninth over.

The final over belonged to Afridi, who smashed three sixes to finish unbeaten on 18 from six deliveries. Iftikhar Ahmed added further impetus with an unbeaten 16 off five balls as the Tigers collected 22 runs from the final over to reach 143/5.

Hales fights back but Eagles fall short

The Emirates Eagles struggled to build momentum in their chase after Omarzai removed Kyle Mayers for 13 in the second over.

Alex Hales and Shimron Hetmyer attempted to revive the innings with a 74-run partnership from 34 balls. Hetmyer scored 22 off 12 deliveries before Afridi dismissed him in the eighth over.

Hales kept the chase alive with an unbeaten 67 off 31 balls, striking three fours and six sixes. Captain Rovman Powell remained not out on 12 from nine deliveries, but the Eagles could not find the scoring rate required.

They finished on 119/2, 24 runs short of the Tigers’ total.

Omarzai was named Player of the Match for his all-round contribution, having scored 33 runs and taken one wicket.

Brandon King’s 66 powers Champions to 136

Royal Desert Champions produced an impressive batting display to set Yas Lions a target of 137 in the 14th match of the tournament.

Phil Salt and Brandon King gave the Champions a strong start, putting on 46 runs from 21 balls before Akeal Hosein dismissed Salt for 24 off 12 deliveries.

Captain Nicholas Pooran joined King and added further momentum with a 51-run partnership from just 20 balls. Pooran struck four sixes in his 26 off 11 deliveries before David Willey had him caught by Andries Gous in the seventh over.

King continued to dominate, reaching 66 off 28 balls with six fours and five sixes. Jason Holder eventually dismissed him in the ninth over.

Muhammad Waseem was run out without scoring, while Gulbadin Naib provided a late flourish with an unbeaten nine off two balls, including a six. The Champions finished on 136/4.

Naseem Shah tears through Lions’ top order

The Yas Lions’ chase never gathered momentum as Naseem Shah struck twice early to put the Champions firmly in control.

Naseem removed James Vince for eight and Ansh Tandon for one, while Maheesh Theekshana contributed with the dismissal of Gous, who was caught without scoring. The Lions slumped to 12/3.

Dasun Shanaka was dismissed for nine by Ali Naseer, leaving the side struggling at 24/4.

Tom Moores and Karim Janat offered some resistance, adding 48 runs for the fifth wicket. Moores remained unbeaten on 40 from 21 balls, while Janat scored 32 off 13 deliveries.

Naseem broke the partnership by dismissing Janat, caught by Salt. Chris Jordan then bowled Holder for a duck, leaving the Lions at 73/6.

The lower order couldn’t mount a recovery, and Yas Lions finished on 97/6 after 10 overs, handing the Champions a 39-run win.

Naseem finished with figures of 3/17, while Theekshana and Jordan each took one wicket.

King was named Player of the Match for his match-winning 66.

With United Tigers moving to the top of the standings after their fourth win in five matches, the competition for positions in the Abu Dhabi T10 table continues to intensify.