Freestyle Chess Grand Slam: Arjun Erigaisi falls short in Paris

The Paris leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam saw high-stakes drama on Thursday, with World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen and American star Hikaru Nakamura advancing to the semifinals, while India’s Arjun Erigaisi bowed out after a tough loss to Nakamura.

Nakamura brought his A-game against the young Indian, capitalizing on a mid-game misstep to claim victory in 62 moves. Erigaisi, who showed early promise, found himself at a material disadvantage and eventually resigned, ending his run in the tournament.

Meanwhile, Carlsen played out a strategic draw with Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov, securing a semifinal spot with his superior points tally. The Norwegian’s mastery of the Freestyle format, which features randomized starting positions, was evident as he calmly navigated a complex position, even executing a sharp exchange sacrifice to maintain balance.

Fabiano Caruana also progressed to the semifinals, overcoming Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in a closely fought contest.

The remaining quarterfinal clash between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Vincent Keymer ended in a draw, sending the match into tiebreakers to determine the final semifinalist.

Indian players in classification matches

In the classification rounds for 9th to 12th positions, India’s top youngsters were also in action. R Praggnanandhaa played out a solid draw against Vidit Gujrathi, forcing a perpetual check to split points. D Gukesh, despite holding a slight advantage with two bishops against two knights against Richard Rapport, was unable to press for a win and had to settle for a draw.

Praggnanandhaa will now take on Rapport in the battle for 9th place, while Gukesh faces Vidit for the remaining classification spot.