Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi bowed out of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam by losing to America’s Levon Aronian 0-2 in the semifinals on Saturday. The first Indian to reach the last-four stage of the Freestyle Grand Slam with a stupendous performance, Erigaisi could not match Aronian’s aggressive play and strategic acumen.
After beating Magnus Carlsen in the play-off for a semifinal spot and Hikaru Nakamura in the quarterfinals, Erigaisi could not capitalise on the advantage he had gained in the first game. Aronian, despite being in a tough position, held firm and prevailed over Erigaisi.
In the return game, Aronian, who only needed a draw to advance to the final, played in a subtle manner to gain a slender advantage out of the opening. The game seemed to be headed for a draw, but Erigaisi took unwarranted risks to ensure a win to stay in the match, which did not work in his favour.
Aronian will meet Hans Moke Niemann of the United States in the final. Niemann got the better of compatriot Fabiano Caruana after drawing the first three games. But thereafter, Niemann outmanoeuvred Caruana with his strategic moves.
R Praggnanandhaa, who had bowed out of the title race, defeated Vincent Keymer of Germany in the playoff for 3rd-8th place. Praggnanandhaa drew the first game as Black and outplayed Keymer in the return game to register a 1.5-0.5 victory. World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen also won by the same margin against Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan.
In other matches, Wesley So of the United States beat Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan 3-1 and Hikaru Nakamura defeated Leinier Dominguez Perez 2-0.
Results Semifinals: Arjun Erigaisi (Ind) lost to Levon Aronian (Usa) 0-2; Fabiano Caruana (Usa) lost to Hans Moke Niemann (Usa) 1.5-2.5 Other results: Lenier Dominguez Perez (Usa) lost to Hikaru Nakamura (Usa) 0-2; Magnus Carlsen (Nor) beat Javokhir Sindarov (Uzb) 1.5-0.5; R Praggnanandhaa beat Vincent Keymer 1.5-0.5; Wesley So (Usa) beat Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb) 3-1.
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