The World Rapid Chess Championship 2012 kicked off with the qualifiers for the rapid event in Astana.

From the 23 participants in the qualification series, only three players will go to the finals. A total 5 rounds were played during day 1 the tournament has a sole leader – GM Igor Kurnosov with 4,0/5. He is closely followed by GM Dmitry Andreikin, GM Alexander Moiseenko, GM Vladislav Tkachiev, GM Alexey Dreev, and GM Nikolai Chadaev, all with 3,5/5. GM Kuderinov, GM Gagunashvili, GM Le Quang Liem, and GM Anton Filipov are with 3,0/5.

Here are all the results from day 1 of the World Rapid Blitz qualifier.

The World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship 2012 will take place 1-10 July in Astana, Kazakhstan. A total of 16 prominent Grandmasters will participate for the prize fund of 400 000 USD. Join Chessdom Live with computer analysis for over 500 games of rapid and blitz chess with the world top players.

Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
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