Day 3 of the Freestyle Chess Tour Paris Leg marked the beginning of the quarterfinals, where the top eight players from the round-robin stage competed for the top spot in the semi-finals. The matches were intense and filled with drama and surprising results. One of the most awaited games was between Arjun Erigiasi and Hikaru Nakamura.
While Arjun is the only Indian out of four to make it to the quarterfinals, Nakamura is one of the best chess players in the world, ranked number 2 globally. However, the match ended in a draw, setting up a potential tiebreaker scenario.
Magnus Carlsen proved his dominance in the sport yet again and secured a win against Nodirbek advancing to the semi-finals. Ian Nepomniachtchi, the one who was leading the points table, faced Vincent Keymer, who won the first leg of the Freestyle Chess Tour. The game ended in a draw with Ian still leading the points table with Magnus Carlsen.
The reigning World Champion Gukesh D had a disappointing run finishing 10th in the round-robin stage and failed to advance to quarterfinals. His loss to Richard Rapport on day 3 of the Freestyle Chess Tour Paris Leg led him to the 11th position. Vidit Gujrathi finished at 12th position and missed the quarterfinals. The semifinals are scheduled for 11-12 April, when the winners of the quarterfinals will compete. Game two is scheduled for Thursday, 10 April.
Freestyle Chess Tour Paris Leg: Full Results
Player 1 | Player 2 | Result |
Vincent Keymer | Ian Nepomniachtchi | 1/2 – 1/2 |
Magnus Carlsen | Nodirbek Abdusattorov | 1 – 0 |
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | Fabiano Caruana | 1/2 – 1/2 |
Arjun Erigaisi | Hikaru Nakamura | 1/2 – 1/2 |
Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu | Vidit Gujrathi | 1 – 0 |
Richard Rapport | D Gukesh | 1 – 0 |
Freestyle Chess Tour Paris Leg: Standings
Rank | Player | Points |
1 | Ian Nepomniachtchi | 8.5 |
2 | Magnus Carlsen | 8.5 |
3 | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | 7 |
4 | Arjun Erigaisi | 6.5 |
5 | Nodirbek Abdusattorov | 6.5 |
6 | Hikaru Nakamura | 6 |
7 | Vincent Keymer | 5.5 |
8 | Fabiano Caruana | 4.5 |
9 | Praggnanandhaa R. | 4 |
10 | Richard Rapport | 3.5 |
11 | Dommaraju Gukesh | 3.5 |
12 | Vidit S. Gujarathi | 2 |
Also Read: Indians Failed To Shine At The Freestyle Chess Tour Paris Leg