Freestyle Grand Slam Tour Stage 2: Arjun astonishes Carlsen, he bounces back by winning the next four
Arjun Erigaisi handed Magnus Carlsen (NOR) his sole loss on the first day of Freestyle Grand Slam Tour Stage 2. Carlsen went on to win the next four games and move to the top of the points table. The World no.1 blundered by doing long castle at the wrong time which cost him material and he could not recover for the rest of the game. Arjun finished the day with 3.5/6. He is currently the top Indian performer. R Praggnanandhaa is at 2.5/6. The World Champion had a tough start 1.5/6. Vidit Gujrathi missed a chance to draw with Carlsen in Round 1. He then defeated the reigning World Champion in the following round. Round 7 starts today from 1 p.m. local time, 4:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Aditya Sur Roy
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 |
