Freestyle Chess Las Vegas: Here's why Gukesh isn't part of the action alongside Praggnanandhaa, Arjun and Vidit

The fourth leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour is underway in Las Vegas, USA, and has already witnessed some earth-shattering results, with world No 1 Magnus Carlsen knocked out in the group stage after winning the Paris and the Karlsruhe legs of the tour.

Norwegian chess icon Carlsen, who was aiming to complete a hat-trick of victories in the ongoing tour, finished fifth in Group White – one of two groups comprising eight players each – after three defeats including against India's R Praggnanandhaa as well as against Levon Aronian in the tie-breaks.

Praggnanandhaa progressed to the knockouts along with Aronian and Uzbekistani GMs Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Javokhir Sindarov, and will have the luxury of choosing his quarter-final opponent having finished top of the group.

More from Chess

‘It was a bit of a farce’: Magnus Carlsen recalls infamous jeansgate controversy ahead of Las Vegas challenge R Praggnanandhaa forces Magnus Carlsen to resign: How Indian Grandmaster outwitted world No.1 in 39 moves

As for Group Black, the other group, Paris runner-up Hikaru Nakamura finished on top with six points followed by fellow American GMs Hans Niemann and Fabiano Caruana and India’s Arjun Erigaisi.

Why D Gukesh isn’t part of the action in ‘Sin City’

Amid all the drama on the opening day of the Las Vegas Grand Slam, one couldn’t help but notice the absence of one big name – D Gukesh. And being the reigning Classical world champion, Gukesh is an automatic entry to all of the Grand Slam Tour events, so the possibility of the 19-year-old failing to make the cut does not arise.

Gukesh, it turns out, has opted out of the American leg of the tour after his underwhelming performances in previous Freestyle Chess events. The teenager, who had finished third at Norway Chess as well as at SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz Croatia, had failed to win a single game in the opening leg, which took place in the month of February in the seaside resort of Weissenhaus in northern Germany.

Also Read | D Gukesh's withdrawal from Las Vegas expected, says Freestyle Chess CEO

Gukesh did open his account two months later in Paris, but finished at the bottom of the standings along with compatriot Vidit Gujrathi, who is among the participants in the ongoing event in ‘Sin City’.

Instead, he has opted to take a break for now and is setting his sights on the Grand Chess Tour, which returns to action next month with the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz and the Sinquefield Cup, both of which take place in St. Louis, USA.

Gukesh is currently fifth on the GCT standings and will be hoping to make the cut for the Finals that take place in Sao Paolo, Brazil in September.