Carlsen crumbles in Cape Town as India's Erigaisi, Sindarov stun Magnus in Freestyle Chess Final first round: 'It was embarrassing'

It was a disastrous day for Magnus Carlsen as he suffered two losses, including one against India’s No 1 Arjun Erigaisi in the opening round of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Final in Cape Town, South Africa, on Monday. The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Final, which comprises eight players, will determine the 2025 Freestyle Champion.

Besides Carlsen and Erigaisi, Fabiano Caruana, Vincent Keymer, Levon Aronian, Javokhir Sindarov, Hans Niemann and Parham Maghsoodloo are also part of the final. The tournament began on Monday (8 December) with the group round-robin stage to determine the seeding for the knockout stage. The games were played in a 10+5 Rapid format. The top three in the group stage would have the option to pick their opponents in the next stage, that is, the quarter-finals.

The newly minted 2025 Chess World Cup winner Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan finished at the top of the group stage after beating Carlsen and collecting 5.5 points from seven games.

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Javokhir Sindarov began 2025 by beating Magnus Carlsen in Weissenhaus, and now he's done it again, on his 20th birthday! https://t.co/5Zooxk3Abt pic.twitter.com/WfyoGiFy2a

— chess24 (@chess24com) December 8, 2025

Armenian-American Grandmaster Aronian was second with 5 points, while India’s Erigaisi came third (4.5) points and would have an option to pick his quarter-final opponent.

Having lost two matches in the initial stage, the co-owner of the tournament, Carlsen, came fourth. He won his match against Niemann but lost to Erigaisi and Sindarov.

Carlsen rues poor performance; Arjun delighted

In an interview with the organisers, the five-time world champion Carlsen, who recently turned 35, admitted that he was not at his best in the group stage and some of the chess on display from him was of very poor quality.

“I mean, sometimes it’s good. It’s fun to get Freestyle and some fresh positions. I am quite aware that I am not able to think close as clearly as I need to think on a day like this,” Carlsen said. “I think the fact that I went as far as I did is a bit of a miracle. I just didn’t feel like I was much in control in any game today. I am glad to be done with the day and try and recover for the next few days.

“It’s exhausting when you have a lot of games. In the last game, it felt like it was so low quality that it was embarrassing.”

The final moments of @ArjunErigaisi taking down Magnus Carlsen in Round 5 of the Rapid Round-robin at Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour Finals! pic.twitter.com/l5sXFPt10Y

— ChessBase India (@ChessbaseIndia) December 8, 2025

Indian Grandmaster from Warangal, Erigaisi, was happier with his performance and hopes to make a mark in the next round.

“I had a shaky start, but once I got the first win, I picked up momentum and finished pretty well,” Arjun told the organisers.

On who could be his opponent in the quarter-finals, Arjun said: “I have two options left. One of them will Fabi (Caruana) and one more. I don’t know who that someone else will be. (When it’s clear) then I will decide.”

How Arjun defeated Magnus

Arjun defeated Magnus 34 moves with white pieces in the fifth round.

The 22-year-old Erigaisi was guilty of making a blunder with 29.Rg5 when 29.Rxc5+ was the best option, but Carlsen returned the favour by committing a blunder of his own as he played 29…f3 instead of 29…Ne6, leading to a defeat soon after.