Arjun Erigaisi makes history as first Indian to reach Freestyle Grand Slam semis
Arjun got the better of Uzbekistan's Nodirbek Abdusattorov in the quarterfinal of the Las Vegas leg.
Arjun Erigaisi advanced to the semifinal of the 2025 Las Vegas Freestyle Chess Grand Slam. (Photo Credit: Michal Walusza/FIDE)
GM Arjun Erigaisi continued his solid form in the freestyle format of chess and became the first Indian to reach the semi-finals of the Freestyle Grand Slam tour in Las Vegas, USA, on Thursday.
He defeated Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan in the first two games of the quarterfinal matchup, assuring a top-four finish on this fourth and final leg of the first-ever Freestyle Grand Slam Tour.
He started the day with a solid draw with black pieces against Nodirbek, and then came back stronger with white pieces to confirm a 1.5-0.5 victory after converting his exchange advantage in the game.
Arjun will be the only non-American player in the semifinals, where he will take on Levon Aronian on Friday, hoping to qualify for his first-ever Freestyle Grand Slam Final.
On the other hand, GM R Pargganandhaa faced a hard-fought 3-4 defeat on tiebreaks against the experienced American player Fabiano Caruana in his tiring 7-game quarterfinal matchup.
This was Pragg's first quarterfinal on the Freestyle Grand Slam Tour, but he could not convert into a win. However, He can still secure a third place through the lower bracket playoff matches.
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