Carlsen and Abdusattorov emerge coleaders
The first day of Freestyle Grand Slam Tour Stage 2 was full of exciting games. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) is trailing the leaders by a half point at 4.5/6, followed by Ian Nepomniahtchi 4/6, Hikaru Nakamura (USA) and Arjun Erigaisi at 3.5/6 each. Top eight will advance to the Knockout stage.
Round 1: Arjun - Caruana: 1-0
GM Arjun Erigaisi started the tournament with a win over GM Fabiano Caruana (USA).
20...Ne7? Black needed to play 20...Ba6 to prevent the Nxd6 threat. 21.Be6 Nxd5?? 22.Bxf7+- Rxf7 23.Nxd6 Re2 Black's ambitious approach of sacrificing his rook did not work out as he did not have sufficient pieces to overwhelm the white king.
Round 2: Nepomniachtchi - Praggnanandhaa: 0-1
GM Ian Nepomniachtchi faltered early in the game. Despite seizing his opportunity, GM R Praggnanandhaa could not manage to capitalize on it immediately. He allowed his opponent to get back in the game until he made a mistake again, allowing Praggnanandhaa to win the game eventually.
12.Nc4? completely overlooked the fact that Black can go Nxc3+ immediately. 13.Kc2 Qa6?! instead Qf5 or Qa4 would have maintained a firm grip. 14.Rxc3 Qxc4 15.Rxc4 Bxa1 and Black's advantage dissipated.
Vidit - Gukesh
26...Rc8 followed by Rxc2+ would have been deadly and Black could have won the game. Instead, 26...Nxe5 27.dxe5 Qxe5+ loosened the grip slightly. After a back and forth play, GM Vidit Gujrathi won from a losing position against GM D Gukesh.
Arjun - Carlsen
GM Magnus Carlsen blundered 10...0-0-0? Find out the winning continuation for White which GM Arjun Erigaisi executed the game.
Round 3: Gukesh - Arjun: 1-0
GM Arjun Erigaisi made a fantastic start after beating GM Fabiano Caruana (USA) and GM Magnus Carlsen (NOR). In Round 3, he got outplayed by the reigning World Champion, GM D Gukesh.
Round 4: Vidit - Praggnanandhaa: 0-1
GM Vidit Gujrathi suffered his second consecutive loss as his opponent GM R Praggnanandhaa scored his second win of the event.
Round 6: Arjun - Keymer: 1-0
GM Arjun Erigaisi finished the day with a win over GM Vincent Keymer (GER).
For more Round 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 photos, please click the respective links.
Video Gallery
Replay Round 1-6 games
Total prize fund
US$ 750000 per Grand Slam
Format
Time: Rapid and Standard
• Round robin: Rapid 10 minutes for the game + 10 seconds per move
• Knockout stage - Game 1+2 = 90’+30’’ / Game 3+4 = 10’+10’’ / Game 5+6 = 5’+2’’ / Game 7 = Armageddon
Schedule
7th and 8th April: Round-Robin stage - Rapid
9th and 10th April: Quarterfinals - Classical
11th and 12th April: Semifinals and Playoffs for 5th to 8th - Classical
13th and 14th April: Finals - Classical
Round 6 results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | 2776 | GM | Caruana, Fabiano | ½ - ½ | GM | Nepomniachtchi, Ian | 2757 | 9 | |||
| 2 | 10 | 2722 | GM | Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime | 1 - 0 | GM | Rapport, Richard | 2722 | 8 | |||
| 3 | 11 | 2720 | GM | Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi | 0 - 1 | GM | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | 2773 | 7 | |||
| 4 | 1 | 2782 | GM | Erigaisi, Arjun | 1 - 0 | GM | Keymer, Vincent | 2718 | 6 | |||
| 5 | 2 | 2837 | GM | Carlsen, Magnus | 1 - 0 | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | 2758 | 5 | |||
| 6 | 3 | 2787 | GM | Gukesh, D | 0 - 1 | GM | Nakamura, Hikaru | 2804 | 4 |
Standings after Round 6
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | GM | Carlsen, Magnus | NOR | 2837 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 11,00 | |
| 2 | 7 | GM | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | UZB | 2773 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 10,75 | |
| 3 | 10 | GM | Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime | FRA | 2722 | 4,5 | 0 | 3 | 10,50 | |
| 4 | 9 | GM | Nepomniachtchi, Ian | FRE | 2757 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 10,25 | |
| 5 | 4 | GM | Nakamura, Hikaru | USA | 2804 | 3,5 | 1 | 3 | 8,25 | |
| 6 | 1 | GM | Erigaisi, Arjun | IND | 2782 | 3,5 | 2 | 3 | 10,75 | |
| 7 | 5 | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | IND | 2758 | 2,5 | 0 | 2 | 6,75 | |
| 8 | 12 | GM | Caruana, Fabiano | USA | 2776 | 2,5 | 0 | 2 | 4,50 | |
| 9 | 6 | GM | Keymer, Vincent | GER | 2718 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2,00 | |
| 10 | 3 | GM | Gukesh, D | IND | 2787 | 1,5 | 0 | 1 | 5,75 | |
| 11 | 8 | GM | Rapport, Richard | HUN | 2722 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2,50 | |
| 12 | 11 | GM | Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi | IND | 2720 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1,50 |
