D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi’s participation confirmed for Paris Freestyle Chess Grand Slam occasion
Feb 16, 2025 04:18 PM IST
Freestyle Chess confirmed D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi’s participation in Paris.
The upcoming Paris Freestyle Chess Grand Slam occasion will see a robust three-member Indian contingent headlining the sector together with the likes of Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana. D Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi and R Praggnanandhaa, India’s top-three GMs, can be travelling to Paris in April to take part within the second Freestyle Chess Grand Slam of the yr.
Arjun’s participation has already been confirmed by an official social media publish from Freestyle Chess. In the meantime, there was no official announcement relating to Praggnanandhaa’s participation in Paris. Even Gukesh hasn’t formally confirmed his participation for the second leg.
Participation confirmed
Chatting with Hindustan Occasions, Freestyle Chess confirmed Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa’s participation in Paris. Gukesh was in motion within the first leg at Weissenhaus, the place he had a winless run and completed in eighth place. The Weissenhaus Grand Slam occasion was gained by German GM Vincent Keymer, who beat Caruana within the last. In the meantime, World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen misplaced to Keymer within the semi-finals and led to third place.
The Paris occasion can even see American GM Hans Niemann take part, having certified after successful the 2024 Grenke Chess Open. Niemann’s introduction has created controversy, as he was concerned in an notorious scandal with Carlsen in 2022, the place the Norwegian accused him of dishonest. In response, Niemann filed a lawsuit towards the likes of Carlsen, Chess.com and Hikaru Nakamura. Later all events reached an settlement and the lawsuit was dropped.
The inclusion of Praggnanandhaa, Arjun and Gukesh in the identical Grand Slam occasion is anticipated to obtain loads of consideration from Indian followers. Within the FIDE rankings printed just lately, Gukesh is fifth with a 2777 score, behind Arjun Erigaisi (2801).
However within the dwell Elo rankings, Gukesh has already toppled Erigaisi and is World No. 3 (2787.2). In the meantime, Erigaisi has fallen to fifth spot with a score of 2776.7. Additionally, Praggnanandhaa is India No. 3 in dwell rankings, however within the printed FIDE standings, he’s India No. 4.
Praggnanandhaa is in good kind, having crushed Gukesh within the tie-breaker decider in Wijk aan Zee this yr, to win the Tata Masters. His inclusion in Paris will create loads of pleasure for followers.
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