Magnus Carlsen showed his magic on Thursday to secure victories against S L Narayanan, Wesley So and Arjun Erigaisi to claim sole lead in the ongoing Tata Steel Chess India Rapid Tournament in Kolkata on Thursday.

"I don't play a lot of classical chess, so whenever somebody is going to pass me, I wouldn't particularly mind," the 33-year-old Norwegian said during a media interaction ahead of the Tata Steel Chess India Rapid and Blitz tournament here.

Starting the day just half a point behind overnight leader Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Magnus Carlsen’s masterful play elevated him to the top of the leaderboard with a commanding five points out of a possible six in the ‘Open’ section.

Magnus Carlsen, five-time World Chess Champion, discusses India's remarkable chess progress since his 2013 World Championship win in Chennai.

Five-time world champion Carlsen began his day with a win over Indian grandmaster S.L. Narayanan. He concluded with a victory over Arjun Erigaisi, who is the second-highest ranked player in this year’

Starting the day half a point behind Abdusattorov, Carlsen was a blend of explosiveness and precision, beating S.L. Narayanan, Wesley So, and Arjun Erigaisi for a three-out-of-three score.

The tournament’s live broadcast caught a sight of Magnus Carlsen sitting back in his chair yawning away while his opponent was hunched over the board trying to diffuse the ticking explosive in front o

Magnus Carlsen leads Tata Steel Chess India after winning three games in Round 5, while Aleksandra Goryachkina tops the women's section with five points.

Magnus Carlsen wins against S L Narayanan, Wesley So and Arjun Erigaisi. Carlsen leads the Tata Steel Chess India Rapid tournament. Aleksandra Goryachkina leads the women's division. Nodirbek Abdusattorov trails Carlsen by half a point.