Arjun Erigaisi was the only Indian player to reach the eight-man knockout stage of the Paris leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour. After two days and eleven rounds of rapid games, Arjun finished fourth with 6.5 points out of 11. Ian Nepomniachtchi topped the standings with 8.5 points.
Learning from Watching: Arjun’s Secret Preparation
Before competing in Paris, Arjun Erigaisi followed the earlier Freestyle Chess event in Weissenhaus closely. Although he did not participate there, he learned a lot by studying the games of top players.
Other Indian Players Face Tough Luck
Praggnanandhaa, Vidit Gujrathi, and world champion Gukesh could not make it to the knockout stage. They will now compete for 9th to 12th places in classical matches, starting on Wednesday.
Vidit’s Struggles After His Wedding
Vidit Gujrathi had a difficult tournament just days after his wedding. He won only two out of eleven games and finished at the bottom of the standings. Despite getting good positions in several games, he often fell into time trouble and made mistakes.
Gukesh Also Misses the Knockout
Gukesh performed slightly better than Vidit, with three wins. However, he also missed the chance to qualify for the top eight.
Round 9: A Tough Round for All Indians
In Round 9, all four Indian players lost their games. Magnus Carlsen made a brilliant Queen sacrifice to win against Richard Rapport. Speaking about the game, Carlsen said he decided to keep playing instead of settling for a draw, believing he was not at serious risk of losing.
Knockout Stage: How It Works
The top four players from the round robin — Nepomniachtchi, Carlsen, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, and Arjun — will choose their opponents from the players ranked 5th to 8th. The classical format matches will start on Wednesday with a time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment per move.
Results for Indian Players
Round 7
- Praggnanandhaa lost to Gukesh
- Arjun beat Nodirbek Abdusattorov
- Vidit lost to Richard Rapport
Round 8
- Vidit lost to Ian Nepomniachtchi
- Arjun drew with Richard Rapport
- Gukesh beat Vincent Keymer
- Praggnanandhaa drew with Hikaru Nakamura
Round 9
- Praggnanandhaa lost to Fabiano Caruana
- Gukesh lost to Nodirbek Abdusattorov
- Arjun lost to Ian Nepomniachtchi
- Vidit lost to Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Round 10
- Vidit beat Fabiano Caruana
- Arjun drew with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
- Gukesh lost to Richard Rapport
- Praggnanandhaa lost to Vincent Keymer
Round 11
- Praggnanandhaa beat Nodirbek Abdusattorov
- Gukesh lost to Ian Nepomniachtchi
- Arjun beat Vidit
Top 8 Players Moving to Knockout
- Ian Nepomniachtchi
- Magnus Carlsen
- Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
- Arjun Erigaisi
- Nodirbek Abdusattorov
- Hikaru Nakamura
- Vincent Keymer
- Fabiano Caruana