 "Freestyle Chess Paris Quarter-finals: Carlsen beats Nodirbek, Erigaisi holds Nakamura; check out the results")
The quarterfinals of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam in Paris kicked off with intense and gripping encounters on Wednesday, 9 April. Former world champion Magnus Carlsen was the sole winner among the quarterfinalists, while the other three games ended in draws, leaving plenty of drama for Day 2.
Freestyle Chess Grand Slam: Knockout stage
Carlsen displayed exceptional endgame technique to defeat Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Carlsen gradually built his advantage through accurate play, eventually forcing Abdusattorov into a difficult queen-and-pawn endgame, which Carlsen navigated flawlessly to secure the full point.
Arjun Erigaisi and Hikaru Nakamura battled in a topsy-turvy game full of twists and turns. Erigaisi, playing White, initially established a significant advantage, but inaccuracies allowed Nakamura to make a comeback into the game. The match concluded with a stalemate after 77 moves, resulting in a hard-fought draw.
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Fabiano Caruana also played a balanced game, resulting in a draw. Young German GM Vincent Keymer successfully held experienced Ian Nepomniachtchi to a draw. The scores remain even apart from the Carlsen vs Nodirbek game, setting up a high-stakes rematch tomorrow, where players with Black pieces on Day 1 will have the White pieces.
Day 2 of the Freestyle Chess quarterfinals in Paris on Thursday will bring even more excitement as the players face off again in crucial games. If the matches are still tied after these games, they will play tiebreakers to decide the winners.
Freestyle Chess Grand Slam: 9-12 place playoff
Richard Rapport convincingly defeated D Gukesh in their 9-12 place playoff encounter. Rapport converted his advantage, finishing the game with significant time (2:52) left on his clock, while Gukesh was left with only 1:41. R Praggnanandhaa scored a decisive victory over Vidit Gujrathi in the other game.
Meanwhile, the round-robin stage of the Paris leg saw recently crowned world champion Gukesh failing to qualify for the knockouts and ending his campaign in 11th place. R Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi also failed to qualify, finishing in the 9th and 12th place, respectively.
Arjun Erigaisi excelled in the round-robin stage, finishing strong with 6.5 points to successfully qualify for the knockout rounds as the sole Indian. Magnus Carlsen and Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi finished the preliminary stage as joint toppers.
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