Arjun finishes sixth, Praggnanandhaa seventh in Freestyle Chess Grand Slam

Indian stars Arjun Erigaisi and R. Praggnanandhaa completed in sixth and seventh place respectively, whilst Grandmaster Levon Aronian of the US reigned supreme within the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam right here.

Aronian survived some anxious moments earlier than defeating compatriot Hans Moke Niemann 1.5-0.5 within the finals of the match.

World primary Magnus Carlsen of Norway additionally had the same expertise as he rallied after a disappointing first recreation to outplay Hikaru Nakamura of the US within the third-place play-off.

Arjun went down 0-2 to Fabiano Caruana of the US, whereas Praggnanandhaa defeated one other American Wesley So 1.5-0.5 to clinch the seventh spot amongst final eight remaining members on this occasion.

Aronian took residence $200000 for profitable the match, whereas Arjun received $40000 for his effort. Praggnanandhaa made positive he wasn’t far behind as he pocketed a complete of $30000 after his remaining spherical win.

Praggnanandhaa performed solidly as black within the first recreation and performed out a draw whereas within the second he was relentless as he cruised residence simply on a day when his sister R Vaishali was ousted from the FIDE Girls’s World Cup at Batumi, Georgia.

After a promising begin within the occasion that noticed him within the early stage semifinals, Arjun misplaced each his video games in opposition to Caruana however the Indian can be proud of the truth that he was within the prime 4 after the group stage was over.

It may be a busy summer time forward for Arjun and Praggnanandhaa as each will now proceed to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for the E-Sports activities World Cup that begins in just some days’ time.

Thereafter Arjun can be seen in motion within the Chennai Grandmasters match beginning within the first week of August whereas Praggnanandhaa will return to United States for 2 back-to-back occasions of the Grand Chess tour in St. Louis.

Outcomes finals: Levon Aronian (Usa) beat Hans Moke Niemann (Usa) 1.5-0.5; Magnus Carlsen (Nor) beat Hikaru Nakamura (Usa) 1.5-0.5; 5-6 place: Arjun Erigaisi (Ind) misplaced to Fabiano Caruana (Usa) 0-2; 7-8 place: R Praggnanandhaa (Ind) beat Wesley So (Usa) 1.5-0.5.