Freestyle Chess Semi-finals Highlights: Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura are set for a dream final in Paris after defeating Fabiano Caruana and Vincent Keymer respectively in the semi-finals. Arjun Erigaisi, meanwhile, faces Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the fifth-place playoff, with the two players defeating Ian Nepomniachtchi and Nodirbek Abdusattorov respectively by an identical 2.5-1.5 margin.
Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour is set to introduce shorter time controls and a condensed five-day format in the next event. The changes have been suggested by Magnus Carlsen and his father, revealed co-founder Jan Henric Buettner.
Though D Gukesh has faced Magnus Carlsen in the two Freestyle Chess events that have taken place so far this year, losing both encounters, the 18-year-old will be facing the world No 1 in the Classical format for the first time since being crowned world champion at Norway Chess later this year.
Arjun Erigaisi lost to Russian Grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi in 41 moves in their 5th-8th place playoff match while Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura played out draws against Fabiano Caruana and Vincent Keymer respectively in the semi-finals.
Freestyle Chess Semi-finals Highlights: Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana head to Game 2 of their semi-final meeting in Paris with half-a-point to their name after playing out a thrilling draw on Friday. Arjun Erigaisi, meanwhile, trails Ian Nepomniachtchi in his 5th-8th classification match after losing Game 1 in 41 moves while R Praggnanandhaa holds Richard Rapport to a stalemate.
World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen isn’t pleased with his performance in Freestyle Chess at the Paris Grand Slam. He narrowly escaped defeat against Nodirbek Abdusattorov in the quarter-finals, admitting he’s struggling to adapt to the unique demands of the format.
Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, and Hikaru Nakamura advanced to the semifinals of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour in Paris. Vincent Keymer beat Ian Nepomniachtchi in the tiebreak to become the fourth semifinalist. Meanwhile, Praggnanandhaa and Rapport won the 9th-12th place playoffs against Vidit and Gukesh, respectively.
Magnus Carlsen recorded a heart rate of just 42 BPM during a match at the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour 2025 in Paris. It caught attention due to sharp contrast with his opponent Vincent Keymer's 108 BPM. Carlsen has now advanced to the semi-finals alongside Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, and Vincent Keymer.
Arjun Erigaisi is the only Indian Grandmaster to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour Paris leg. He excelled where world champions D Gukesh failed. The 21-year-old Erigaisi explains what has helped him do well in the unpredictable format.
Viswanathan Anand recently recalled winning 8 rupees as chess prize money when he was a little boy in Chennai and spending it on dosa, sambar, and juice. Read about Anand's humble chess beginnings.
Hikaru Nakamura reflected on testing the bold 'Nepo gambit' against Arjun Erigaisi in a chaotic Freestyle Chess quarter-final on Wednesday. The American Grandmaster later also clarified his post-game remarks about its inventor Ian Nepomniachtchi.
Day 1 of the quarterfinals at the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam in Paris saw Magnus Carlsen securing a victory, while the matches between Arjun Erigaisi and Hikaru Nakamura, as well as the other pairings, ended in draws. Rapport and Praggnanandhaa impressed in the playoffs, setting the stage for an exciting Day 2.
Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour 2025 Paris Quarter-finals Highlights: The opening day of quarterfinal action at the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam in Paris has ended. Out of the four blockbuster matchups, only Magnus Carlsen managed to clinch a full point, defeating Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Arjun Erigaisi split points with Hikaru Nakamura, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Fabiano Caruana shared points, while Vincent Keymer vs Ian Nepomniachtchi also ended in a draw.
Arjun Erigaisi, the only Indian Grandmaster to qualify for the knockouts, will face Hikaru Nakamura in the quarter-finals of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour Paris leg. Magnus Carlsen takes on Nodirbek Abdusattorov while D Gukesh failed to qualify.
Day 2 of the 2025 Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour in Paris ended with Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi leading the pack after 11 rounds in the preliminary stage. D Gukesh made an early exit from the compeition, while Arjun Erigaisi entered the knockouts as the only Indian out of four.
Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour 2025 Paris Day 2 Highlights: Round 11 saw Ian Nepomniachtchi take the top spot with a clinical win over Gukesh. Magnus Carlsen was held to a draw by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, slipping to second place on the leaderboard. Hikaru Nakamura bounced back strongly, defeating Richard Rapport. Meanwhile, Vincent Keymer registered a confident win over Fabiano Caruana, and Praggnanandhaa impressed with a victory over Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Arjun Erigaisi capped off the round by beating Vidit Gujrathi.
Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour 2025 Paris Day 1 Highlights: Magnus Carlsen and Nodirbek Abdusattorov collected five wins from six matches while D Gukesh suffered four defeats. Arjun Erigaisi was India's best player as he collected 3.5 out of six points.
Chess world champion D Gukesh endured a poor outing in the first leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour 2025, finishing the tournament winless. However, this hasn't dampened his appetite to compete and learn — an attitude that has been lauded by the tournament co-founder.
American chess player Hans Niemann has withdrawn from the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam in Paris. Reports have emerged suggesting that he pulled out hours after learning about new anti-cheating equipment. Organisers have confirmed Nodirbek Abdusattorov as replacement.
The much-anticipated clash between Magnus Carlsen and Hans Niemann won't happen at the Paris leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, as the American Grandmaster has pulled out of the event. The organisers have named a new replacement.
It was a record-breaking start to the 'Magnus vs The World' chess match, which became the largest-ever online game in the sport's history. A staggering 100,000 players have come together to take on world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen on Chess.com.
Magnus Carlsen said D Gukesh may not qualify for knockouts at the Paris leg of Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour. He also explained why Weissenhaus leg winner Vincent Keymer may also miss out.
The FIDE Women’s World Chess Championship 2025 will see defending champion Ju Wenjun take on challenger Tan Zhongyi in an all-China showdown. The 12-game match will be played across Shanghai and Chongqing, the respective hometowns of the two grandmasters.
Indian chess sensation D Gukesh and five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand surprised fans by showing off their dance moves in recently viral videos from Vidit Gujrathi's wedding. The rare and lighthearted moments featuring the grandmasters have taken social media by storm.
D Gukesh reveals the secret to his meteoric rise in chess that saw the 18-year-old overtake the legendary Viswanathan Anand as the top-ranked Indian chess player after 37 years in 2023 and become the youngest winner in the history of the Candidates and the World Championship.
Turns out cheating isn't something that is exclusive to humans alone when it comes to chess. A study conducted by Palisade Research, an organisation based in California, USA, discovered several prominent AI programs resorted to cheating when pitted against open-source chess engine Stockfish.
Arjun Erigaisi gained five rating points to regain the fourth spot while Aravindh Chithambaram gained 18 rating points to move to the 11th spot for the first time in his career. Reigning world champion D Gukesh, meanwhile, remains the highest-ranked Indian at third.
D Gukesh had made history in December when he defeated China's Ding Liren to become the youngest world champion in chess history. The 18-year-old Grandmaster from Chennai, however, has also had a fair amount of criticism and negative comments directed his way since his triumph.
Russian Grandmaster Kateryna Lagno has withdrawn from the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix India 2025 in Pune, alleging bias against her nationality by the International Chess Federation, FIDE. However, her fellow players have challenged her claims.
Kirill Shevchenko had been caught using a mobile phone in the toilet during the Spanish Team Championship in October last year, and was promptly expelled from the tournament. The Ukrainian-born Romanian Grandmaster will not be eligible to return to action until 18 October 2026.