 "Arjun Erigaisi completes Freestyle Friday hat-trick, primed for Grand Slam Tour 2025 debut")
Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi looks primed for a strong run in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour 2025 after showcasing blistering form ahead of his debut in the rapidly growing format. On Friday, Erigaisi completed a hat-trick of victories in the Freestyle Friday tournaments, edging out some of the world’s top chess players.
During his recent Freestyle Friday tournament win on chess.com, Erigaisi clinched 10 out of 11 points, beating top players like world champion D Gukesh and world No.1 Magnus Carlsen.
Arjun Erigaisi shines in another Freestyle Friday tournament
Only 18-year-old Belarusian chess grandmaster Denis Lazavik was tied for first place with 21-year-old Arjun Erigaisi in the final round; however, the latter lost to the Indian GM in the final match to squander the title.
Indian star player Gukesh finished 10th with eight points, while Carlsen came 15th (7.5 points). Five-time former world champion Carlsen also lost to Indian Grandmaster Mitrabha Guha in the fourth round.
Arjun Erigaisi also claimed victory in the Freestyle Friday events on 28 February and 7 March. On the first Friday of March, he once again scored 10 points in an event skipped by Carlsen. However, in the final Freestyle event of February, Erigaisi defeated the Norwegian superstar in round 10, securing first place with 9.5 points.
Arjun Erigaisi on classical vs freestyle chess debate
Arjun Erigaisi will be the fourth Indian in the Paris Leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour which will take place from 8-15 April. Besides, Arjun Erigaisi, Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi will also be a part of Stage 2.
Arjun Erigaisi wasn’t a part of Stage 1 in Germany earlier this year, which was won by Vincent Keymer.
Recently, while speaking exclusively to Firstpost , Arjun Erigaisi spoke about his excitement to play in the Carlsen-owned chess tour. The Warangal lad also weighed in on the classical vs freestyle chess debate.
“Yeah, I do think it’s definitely the future of the sport. Not the immediate near future but for the next-to-next generation, or maybe a century later, at some point in the future. But probably it won’t happen in the next 10 years," he told Firstpost.
“But still, I’m happy that there’s this Freestyle Grand Slam Tour, which happens across all continents. And it’s definitely a big project with the intention of making Freestyle more popular. I’m very happy about that and I can’t wait to make my debut in April in Paris.”
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