Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Las Vegas: Niemann Fells Caruana, Books Finals Clash With Comeback King Aronian

GM Hans Niemann and Levon Aronian will be at least $140,000 richer when the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Las Vegas comes to its conclusion on Sunday after the pair won their respective Semifinals, setting up a Final that was “written in the stars,” according to Niemann.

Aronian’s 2-0 drubbing of GM Arjun Erigaisi marked the third top-five player the 42-year-old has overcome in as many days, while Niemann was declared the MVP of day three after winning a four-game match with GM Fabiano Caruana.

GMs Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Wesley So, and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu are still in the hunt for third place following match victories in the lower bracket, and this will be decided on Saturday, July 19, starting at 2 p.m. ET / 20:00 CEST / 11.30 p.m. IST. 

Upper Bracket

Lower Bracket

*The pairings for Saturday’s Lower Bracket have been simulated based on seeding above; however, these will be confirmed or changed at the players’ dinner on Friday.

Aronian 2-0 Arjun

Galvanized by his tiebreak victory over Carlsen in the group stage and Quarterfinals comeback against Nakamura, Aronian steamrolled past Arjun and secured his spot in the Final, quashing any doubts about the 42-year-old’s ability to be consistent after his fourth-place finish in the group stage.

First Magnus, then Hikaru, now Arjun. LEVON BLAZES HIS WAY INTO THE FINALS WITH UNSTOPPABLE FORCE!!! pic.twitter.com/s2aGj9Otw5

— Freestyle Chess (@chess_freestyle) July 18, 2025

The 555th starting position was selected for the first game of the Semifinals, and with both players’ knights starting on the queenside and their bishops starting on the kingside, a strategic duel was inevitable.

Playing with the white pieces, Arjun began with 1.a4!? and followed up with three more pawn moves, earning him a space advantage. While the engine favored White, Aronian responded resourcefully, tangoing his knight from e6 to f6 and generally preparing his pieces for a skirmish in the center.

After much to and fro, Aronian found the shrewd 25…Bxd4!!, bagging him an edge for the first time in the game.

Arjun defended stoutly, but time proved to be a cruel mistress—a crucial tactical idea was missed, and Aronian moved to 1-0.

Since Aronian only needed to draw the second game with the white pieces, he sought to keep the game balanced throughout. Arjun looked for ways to imbalance the game, including procuring a knight vs. bishop imbalance, but Aronian always had the position under control. 

Eventually, Arjun erred in an equal endgame, perhaps due to the knowledge that a queen trade would almost certainly end in a draw.

With this victory, Aronian has defeated the world number one, two, and five in consecutive matches and will enter the Final as the tournament’s form player, regardless of which player would join him hours later.

Caruana 1.5-2.5 Niemann

An All-American showdown between the country’s numbers one and six played out in stark contrast to the Semifinal above, with four games required to determine who the second $200,000 contender would be. 

Caruana’s toppling of Niemann in the group stage and dominant record against Niemann in classical games (five wins, one draw, and no losses) led many pundits to declare Caruana the favorite in this match. However, it’s worth noting that the only rated game they have played since Niemann became a super-GM ended in a draw.

In the first and third games of the match, Caruana found himself with several opportunities to turn small advantages into decisive ones. Still, each time, Niemann exuded optimism, weaseling his way back into equal positions. 

Time, or lack thereof, played a role in Caruana’s failure to consolidate a material advantage in the third game. With four minutes less on the clock than his opponent, Caruana opted for a threefold repetition instead of testing Niemann’s resolve in a slightly better late middlegame.

When Niemann was later quizzed about whether he was surprised by Caruana’s decision to settle for a draw, Niemann responded: “No. I think that my nerves, when there’s low time, are clearly better than his. I play a lot more blitz, I’m younger, I also play much faster.”

In the fourth game, Niemann obtained an edge with Black on move 1 and never let go. Astonishingly, the 22-year-old’s advantage continued to grow as he blitzed out the entire game. Our Game of the Day, which will be analyzed and added by GM Rafael Leitao shortly, will go down as one of Niemann’s best games on the world stage so far.

In an interview with WIM Fiona Steil-Atoni, Niemann expressed that this was the “highlight of his career” so far.

Niemann and Aronian will rest on Saturday while the Lower Bracket comes to a head, returning to play for $200,000 in another all-American Final in Sin City on Sunday.

Lower Bracket: Carlsen Keeps Third-Place Hopes Alive

Two games were all it took for three out of four of the Lower Bracket matches to be decided on Friday, and by all counts, the bracket is on track for a potential blockbuster match between Carlsen and Nakamura, should they keep on winning.

Fatigue could play into proceedings on day four, and this is something that Nakamura alluded to in his recap, speaking at length about being “too tired” due to days that were “way too long.”

Despite Nakamura admitting to being exhausted, he managed to post a commanding 2-0 result against Dominguez. Carlsen, meanwhile, ended GM Javokhir Sindarov‘s quality run after some clinical maneuvering in their second game.

Praggnanandhaa sailed smoothly past GM Vincent Keymer in game two, though he is likely ruing the opportunities missed in his match with Caruana that blemished an otherwise near-perfect event.

So was the final player to qualify for the next stage, courtesy of a positional exchange sacrifice missed by GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov in their first tiebreaker game. 

Abdusattorov had a promising position in the second, but tired moves led to his downfall.

Three Americans, two Indians, and one Norwegian remain in the lower bracket, all vying for the hefty $100,000 third prize.

Prize Fund