Freestyle Chess Paris: World champion Gukesh knocked out, Arjun Erigaisi only Indian to qualify for quarterfinals

The round-robin stage of the Paris leg of the 2025 Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour came to an end on Tuesday with plenty of drama, heartbreak, and standout performances. Indian chess prodigy D Gukesh’s campaign concluded on a disappointing note as the 18-year-old, who recently claimed the World Championship title, failed to make the quarterfinals, scoring only 3.5 points and finishing 11th.

Arjun Erigaisi emerged as the lone Indian to progress to the knockouts, finishing strongly with 6.5 points to book his spot in the final eight. Former World Champion Magnus Carlsen was in glorious form throughout the round-robin stage, finishing with 8.5 points. He was joined at the summit by Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi, who also ended on 8.5 points after back-to-back victories in the final two rounds.

In the Round 11 matches, Erigaisi secured a victory over Vidit Gujrathi to seal qualification. Meanwhile, Gukesh’s loss to Nepomniachtchi confirmed his early exit. R Praggnanandhaa stunned Nodirbek Abdusattorov but in vain as he too was knocked out early. Hikaru Nakamura kept his hopes alive by defeating Richard Rapport, while first leg winner Vincent Keymer’s beat Fabiano Caruana. Carlsen and local boy Maxime Vachier-Lagrave played out a draw.

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