Carlsen and Keymer in the lower bracket
The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam in Las Vegas got underway with the group stage, featuring two round-robin tournaments â the White Group and the Black Group â each consisting of eight players. The top four finishers in each group advanced to the upper bracket, where they remain in the running for the Las Vegas title. The other participants dropped into the lower bracket, where they will compete for final placement and prize money, but no longer have a chance to win the tournament.
Magnus Carlsen, the overall leader of the Grand Slam tour and winner of the events in Paris and Karlsruhe, failed to reach the upper bracket and is now out of title contention. He began strongly with two wins, but then ran into difficulties. Losses to Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Wesley So, along with two draws, left him in a must-win situation in the final round to stay in the race.
Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu defeated Magnus Carlsen | Photo: Lennart Ootes
He defeated Bibisara Assaubayeva to force a playoff with Levon Aronian for the final qualifying spot, but was beaten in both tiebreak games. As a result, Aronian claimed the last place in the top bracket, and Carlsen joined the lower half of the field.
In the White Group, Praggnanandhaa, Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Javokhir Sindarov all finished with 4œ points out of 7. They topped the standings with solid performances throughout the day. Aronian followed with 4 points. Vincent Keymer, winner of the Weissenhaus stage of the series, also fell short of qualification and will join Carlsen in the placement bracket.
Levon Aronian beat Magnus Carlsen in a blitz playoff | Photo: Stev Bonhage
Keymer 0-1 Abdusattorov
Analysis by GM Karsten MĂŒller
Bibisara Assaubayeva, Vincent Keymer, Vidit Gujrathi and Nodirbek Abdusattorov analyising a Freestyle Chess position | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Final standings – White Group
All games – White Group
Tiebreak games
Nakamura the strongest in the group stage
The Black Group saw a clear winner in Hikaru Nakamura, who finished with an excellent 6 points out of 7. He qualified early and never looked in danger. Hans Niemann also secured his place in the upper bracket with a strong performance, scoring 5/7.
Fabiano Caruana had a more unusual route: after drawing his first six games, he managed to beat Niemann in the final round, securing qualification at the last moment. The fourth and final place went to Arjun Erigaisi, who held on to finish just ahead of the rest.
In this insightful video course, Grandmaster David Navara shares practical advice on when to calculate deeply in a position â and just as importantly, when not to.
Free sample video: Introduction
Free sample video: Invisible moves
Hikaru Nakamura | Photo: Stev Bonhage
Hans Niemann | Photo: Lennart Ootes
With the group stage complete, attention now turns to the knockout rounds. On day two, the players in both brackets will face off in two-game matches, with a longer time control of 30 minutes plus a 30-second increment. The winners will continue in their respective brackets, while the losers will be moved accordingly â in the upper bracket, a loss means dropping down to the lower bracket; in the lower bracket, a loss means elimination from the event.
In the upper bracket, an added twist gives some strategic advantage to the top finishers. The winner of each group will be allowed to choose their opponent for the quarterfinals from among the third- and fourth-place finishers in the other group. The second-place finishers will play whoever is left unchosen. In addition, the higher-seeded player in each match will decide whether to begin the mini-match with the white or black pieces.
Fabiano Caruana and Leinier Dominguez drew their round-2 game | Photo: Stev Bonhage
