NEW DELHI: In the Paris leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam tournament, Arjun Erigaisi faced a formidable challenge against Hikaru Nakamura, ultimately falling to the American's seasoned play.
Nakamura advanced to the semifinals with a convincing victory, capitalising on Erigaisi's missed opportunity in the middle game.
The match concluded after 62 moves, with Erigaisi resigning due to a material disadvantage.
World No.1 Magnus Carlsen secured his spot in the semifinals with a draw against Nodirbek Abdusattorov, maintaining parity through a well-executed exchange sacrifice.
Carlsen's adaptability shone in the Freestyle format, where pieces are randomly arranged at the start.
Fabiano Caruana also progressed to the last-four, overcoming Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's defenses.
In other quarterfinals, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Vincent Keymer drew, leading to a tie-break.
In the battle for 9th to 12th places, D Gukesh and Vidit Gujrathi drew against Richard Rapport and R Praggnanandhaa, respectively.
Praggnanandhaa will face Rapport for the ninth spot, while Gukesh and Gujrathi vie for the remaining positions.
Praggnanandhaa comfortably drew with Gujrathi, navigating early threats and forcing a perpetual check.
Gukesh, despite a promising position with two bishops against two knights, failed to push the game into a tiebreaker, settling for a draw as the game slipped from his control.
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