GM Arjun Erigaisi joined the five-time Freestyle Friday winner’s club after clinching November’s final event with a score of 10/11. GM Hans Niemann, who was the only player to topple Arjun, went undefeated, however, three draws relegated him to second place.
GMs Denis Lazavik and Dmitrij Kollars finished second and third on tiebreaks, while the Ukrainian NM Liudmyla Ivanytska took out the best women’s prize.
Congratulations to @ArjunErigaisi on winning this week’s #FreestyleFriday with 10/11! pic.twitter.com/Q6oNUgi4S7
— chess24 (@chess24com) November 28, 2025
Arjun kicked off the tournament with seven straight wins, which included four over GMs; Evgeny Shtembuliak, Ngoc Truong Son Nguyen, Sina Movahed, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. By the time Arjun played the Frenchman in round seven, a draw would have given him a half-point lead at the top. However, Arjun was not content with splitting points.
Deep into their clash, Vachier-Lagrave played the dubious 83…Kf8??, gifting Arjun the opportunity to promote a pawn and convert.
Niemann then took down Arjun and joined him on 7/8 in another game where a single passed pawn proved too powerful.
A race to the finish between the pair then ensued, with each having to overcome three elite players to claim victory. Niemann scored an impressive 2.5/3 against GMs Movahed, Vachier-Lagrave and Oleksandr Bortnyk in the final rounds, but he was still outdone by Arjun, who scored perfectly against a similar caliber of opposition.
The world number five’s win over the 2025 Speed Chess Championship semifinalist Lazavik was particularly special. Taking a page out of the GothamChess playbook, Arjun sacrificed both of his rooks and unleashed a queen and bishop battery on Lazavik’s king.
When the dust settled, Arjun possessed a two-point, 55-second time advantage. The usually speedy Lazavik was stunned by the combination and flagged several moves later.
For Niemann, victory over Vachier-Lagrave in round 10 and a subsequent win in round 11 would have seen him edge out Arjun on tiebreaks, but the American will have to wait a little longer to capture his third title.
Nov 28 Freestyle Friday | Final Standings (Top 20)
Prizes: Arjun $400, Niemann $250, Lazavik $150, Kollars $100, Ivanytska $100.
Freestyle Friday is Chess.com’s weekly tournament dedicated to Freestyle Chess for titled players. The tournament begins at 11 a.m. ET / 17:00 CEST / 20:30 IST.
