Paris, 08 April 2025: The preliminary stage of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam in Paris concluded on Tuesday after eleven rounds of play. Twelve players competed for eight spots in the knockout stage. Ian Nepomniachtchi and Magnus Carlsen both finished with 8.5 points. It was Nepomniachtchi who topped the standings thanks to superior tiebreaks.
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave followed in third place with 7 points, ahead of Arjun Erigaisi and Nodirbek Abdusattorov, who both scored 6.5. Hikaru Nakamura qualified with 6 points after defending a difficult endgame against Abdusattorov under time pressure.
Only Indian to get through prelims as Gukesh, Praggnanandha and Vidit knocked out Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour II - Paris Photo by Freestyle Chess/Lennart Ootes
One of the most notable results of the day was the elimination of World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju. The 18-year-old went into the final day with just 1.5 points and was unable to fully recover. A mistake in the opening against Nepomniachtchi in round 11 left him in trouble as early as move seven.
Further down the table, Vincent Keymer secured qualification with a win over Fabiano Caruana in the final round. That result brought Keymer to 5.5 points and ensured his place in the top eight. Despite his loss, Caruana also advanced with 4.5 points, benefiting from Nakamura’s win over Richard Rapport in the last game.
Praggnanandhaa, Rapport, and Vidit Gujrathi were also eliminated. Vidit recorded a notable win over Caruana with a tactical mating idea, but previous results had left the newlywed with too much ground to make up. Rapport showed flashes of creativity—including a queen sacrifice for mate—but could not accumulate enough points to qualify.
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