IMAGE: Arjun Erigaisi went down 0-2 to Fabiano Caruana of the US in the final round to finish sixth in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam in Las Vegas. Photograph: Rafal Oleksiewicz/FIDE
India’s stars Arjun Erigaisi and R Praggnanandhaa finished in sixth and seventh position respectively, even as Grandmaster Levon Aronian of the United States reigned supreme in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam in Las Vegas.
Aronian survived some anxious moments before defeating compatriot Hans Moke Niemann 1.5-0.5 in the finals of the tournament.
World number one Magnus Carlsen of Norway also had a similar experience as he rallied after a disappointing first game to outplay Hikaru Nakamura of the United States in the third-place play-off.
Arjun went down 0-2 to Fabiano Caruana of the US, while Praggnanandhaa defeated another American Wesley So 1.5-0.5 to clinch the seventh spot among last eight remaining participants in this event.
Aronian took home US$ 200000 for winning the tournament, while Arjun got $40000 for his effort. Praggnanandhaa made sure he wasn’t far behind as he pocketed a total of $30000
after his final round win.
Praggnanandhaa played solidly as black in the first game and played out a draw while in the second he was relentless as he cruised home easily on a day when his sister R Vaishali was ousted from the FIDE Women’s World Cup at Batumi, Georgia.
After a promising start in the event that saw him in the early stage semifinals, Arjun lost both his games against Caruana but the Indian will be happy with the fact that he was in the top four after the group stage was over.
It’s going to be a busy summer ahead for Arjun and Praggnanandhaa as both will now proceed to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for the E-Sports World Cup that starts in just a few days’ time.
Thereafter Arjun will be seen in action in the Chennai Grandmasters tournament starting in the first week of August while Praggnanandhaa will go back to United States for two back-to-back events of the Grand Chess tour in St. Louis.
Results Finals: Levon Aronian (US) beat Hans Moke Niemann (US) 1.5-0.5; Magnus Carlsen (Nor) beat Hikaru Nakamura (US) 1.5-0.5; 5-6 place: Arjun Erigaisi (Ind) lost to Fabiano Caruana (US) 0-2; 7-8 place: R Praggnanandhaa (Ind) beat Wesley So (US) 1.5-0.5.
