Latest news with #FreestyleChessLasVegasGrandSlam
The Hindu
13 hours ago
- Sport
- The Hindu
Freestyle Chess Grand Slam, Las Vegas 2025: Magnus Carlsen beats Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi to book third-place playoff vs Nakamura
Five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen produced a stunning comeback, winning five games on the trot, to book a spot in the third-place playoff, against USA's Hikaru Nakamura, in the Freestyle Chess Las Vegas Grand Slam on Sunday. Carlsen suffered a chaotic first-round loss to India's R. Praggnanandhaa in the Intermediate Round, before forcing a tiebreak with a win in the second round. The Norwegian GM then won both the 5+2 games, as he outwitted Praggnanandhaa tactically in time pressure. ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW - Freestyle Chess Grand Slam, Las Vegas 2025 Carlsen continued his rollicking run, as he trumped Indian GM Arjun Erigaisi in the lower-bracket semifinal, winning both games with ease. Nakamura will take on Carlsen for third place in the Freestyle Chess Las Vegas Grand Slam. | Photo Credit: Lennart Ootes/Freestyle Chess. Meanwhile, Nakamura worked his way past two of his compatriots - Wesley So in the Intermediate Round and Fabiano Caruana in the lower-bracket semifinal - to give himself a chance for a spot on the podium in Las Vegas. Sunday, the final day of the competition, will feature the following matches: Final - Hans Niemann vs. Levon Aronian Third-place playoff - Magnus Carlsen vs. Hikaru Nakamura Fifth-place playoff - Fabiano Caruana vs. Arjun Erigaisi Seventh-place playoff - R. Praggnanandhaa vs. Wesley So
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Hindu
Hikaru Nakamura on Freestyle Chess Grand Slam, Las Vegas 2025: I've more or less played a perfect tournament
USA's Hikaru Nakamura believes he has 'played more or less perfectly' at the Freestyle Chess Las Vegas Grand Slam. Nakamura topped the group stage, claiming six points in the Black Group. But the American GM suffered a 2.5-1.5 defeat to Armenia's Levon Aronian in the upper-bracket quarterfinal, to drop out of title contention. 'When I look at the tournament thus far, I felt like I was the one player who was perhaps unlucky from the standpoint that with the exception of a couple of very critical moments against Levon I've more or less played a perfect tournament,' said Nakamura. In the lower bracket, on Saturday, Nakamura beat his compatriots Wesley So and Fabiano Caruana to earn a shot at finishing third. 'Today I got bad positions in every game except the last one, and I was definitely lucky,' said the 37-year-old. On the final day, Nakamura will take on long-time rival Magnus Carlsen in the third-place playoff, with a prize money of $100,000 at stake. ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW - Freestyle Chess Grand Slam, Las Vegas 2025 Carlsen, on Saturday, had offered his analysis to Nakamura ahead of the game against Caruana. Nakamura though confessed that he made an error in the the positioning of his pieces, resulting in Carlsen's inputs going to waste. 'Magnus for the first time in three days suddenly comes over and wants to analyze and it happens to be the one time that I think I have the position correct initially, and then I made some moves, and then I had the queen and the knight on the wrong squares by the time he came. Of course the prep didn't work out,' said Nakamura.
The Hindu
5 days ago
- Sport
- The Hindu
Freestyle Chess Grand Slam, Las Vegas 2025: Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi enter quarterfinals; Magnus Carlsen eliminated from title contention
India's R Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi entered the quarterfinals of the Freestyle Chess Las Vegas Grand Slam on Thursday. While Praggnanandhaa finished joint-top of Group White with 4.5 points, Erigaisi was placed third in Group Black. Five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen could only finish fifth in Group White and is now out of the race for Las Vegas title. ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW - Freestyle Chess Grand Slam, Las Vegas 2025 Praggnanandhaa's qualification was enabled by a stunning fourth-round win over Freestyle Chess Grand Slam tournament leader Carlsen with white pieces. Carlsen had a chance to make a final push for a quarterfinal spot, after finishing level on points with Levon Aronian. But, the Norwegian stumbled in the playoff and can now only finish as high as third in Las Vegas. Erigaisi claimed four points from his group, with three wins, including one over compatriot Vidit Gujrathi, who finished last in the standings. The quarterfinals will happen on Thursday, with all knockout matches set to happen in a 30+30 classical time control. Players to qualify for quarterfinals Group White - R Praggnanandhaa, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Javokhir Sindarov and Levon Aronian Group Black - Hikaru Nakamura, Hans Niemann, Fabiano Caruana and Arjun Erigaisi
