Arjun Erigaisi’s Remarkable Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Run Ends in Semis; Niemann Reaches Final

Weissenhaus, Germany, July 19 — Arjun Erigaisi’s historic march at the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam came to a halt in the semifinals after a 0-2 loss to Levon Aronian. Despite the setback, the 20-year-old grandmaster etched his name in history as the first Indian to reach the final four of this elite event, highlighted by wins over Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura in earlier rounds.

Erigaisi entered the semifinals high on momentum, having stunned Carlsen in a play-off and then dispatched Nakamura with confident play. Against Aronian, however, the Indian star faltered at critical moments. The first game saw Arjun fail to convert a promising position, allowing the seasoned Aronian to escape unscathed. In the second, with Aronian only needing a draw, Arjun overpressed in a must-win situation and paid the price for his aggression.

Aronian, representing the United States after switching federations from Armenia, showed glimpses of his vintage form. His calm under pressure and strategic clarity proved too much for the young Indian.

Meanwhile, fellow American Hans Niemann booked his place in the final with a gritty 2.5-1.5 victory over Fabiano Caruana. Niemann overcame a late arrival in the first game to force a draw and held firm through two more draws before delivering a tactical blow in the fourth game to advance.

In classification playoffs, India’s R Praggnanandhaa defeated Germany’s Vincent Keymer 1.5-0.5 to secure a top-eight finish. World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen also registered a similar scoreline over Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan.

Elsewhere, Wesley So beat Nodirbek Abdusattorov 3-1 in a tense encounter, while Hikaru Nakamura bounced back from his quarterfinal defeat with a commanding 2-0 victory over fellow American Leinier Dominguez Perez.

As the spotlight now shifts to the final clash between Aronian and Niemann, Erigaisi’s breakthrough run remains one of the standout stories of this edition — a bold signal of India’s deepening talent in the global chess scene.