Arjun Erigaisi creates history, becomes first Indian to reach semifinals of Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour

Arjun Erigaisi creates history, becomes first Indian to reach semifinals of Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour

Indian grandmaster and world number 5 Arjun Erigaisi on Friday created history by becoming the first Indian ever to reach the semifinals of the prestigious Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, currently taking place in Las Vegas. The 21-year-old prodigy secured his place in the final four with a clinical 1.5 – 0.5 victory over World No. 7 Nodirbek Abdusattorov in the quarterfinals.

Arjun won the first rapid game and drew the second, eliminating the Uzbek star in a format that rewards creativity over memorized openings. Arjun had earlier advanced from the round-robin stage with a strong showing, scoring 4 points from 7 games, including 3 wins and 2 draws, against a field packed with global heavyweights. His imaginative and fearless approach in the Chess960 (Freestyle) format has drawn widespread attention from the global chess community.

Arjun now joins Fabiano Caruana, Levon Aronian, and Hans Niemann in the upper-bracket semifinals, placing him among the most elite minds in modern chess. His next match, against seasoned Grandmaster Levon Aronian, is scheduled for July 19.

This breakthrough further strengthens India’s growing presence in world chess, particularly in newer, format-defining arenas such as Freestyle Chess. With this result, Arjun also earns valuable points towards the overall Grand Slam standings and continues his impressive 2025 season that has already seen him cross the coveted 2800 rating mark.

R Praggnanandhaa bowed out of the title race after losing to USA's Fabiano Caruana. Praggnanandhaa lost an intense battle 3-4 against Caruana. Praggnanandhaa and Caruana were involved in as many as seven decisive games and the Indian was in lead on three occasions. Praggnanandhaa won the first, lost the second and the story continued till the sixth, until Caruana pulled away before winning the decisive seventh game. It is not the end of the road for Praggnanandhaa though as he now moves to the lower bracket with seven other players for another set of knockout games.

Also Read | R Praggnanandhaa beats Magnus Carlsen at Freestyle Grand Slam Tour in Las Vegas

In the lower bracket, world number one Magnus Carlslen regained his winning touch and ousted Vidit Gujrathi 2-0.

Results quarterfinals 

Arjun Erigaisi (Ind) beat Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb) 1.5-0.5; R Praggnanandhaa (Ind) lost to Fabiano Caruana (Usa) 3-4; Levon Aronian (Usa) beat Hikarru Nakamura (Usa) 2.5-1.5; Hans Moke Niemann (Usa) beat Javokhir Sindarov (Uzb) 4-2.

Lower bracket: Lenier Dominguez Perez (Usa) beat Bibisara Assaubuyeva (Kaz) 1.5-0.5; Magnus Carlsen (Nor) beat Vidit Gujrathi (Ind) 2-0; Wesley So (Usa) beat Samuel Sevian (Usa) 1.5-0.5; Vincent Keymer (Ger) beat Robson Ray 2.5-1.5.

- with PTI inputs