Latest news with #Firouzja
The Hindu
02-08-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Esports World Cup 2025: Magnus Carlsen thrashes Alireza Firouzja to secure title
Magnus Carlsen added another trophy to his resume after defeating Alireza Firouzja in the final of the chess event at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh on Friday. Carlsen crushed his opponent with an overall score of four wins, two draws, and a single loss. The Norwegian looked sharp in the opening set, claiming a win and two draws to put the score at 3-1, securing a commanding lead. Having to reset going into the second set, Firouzja's retort saw Carlsen blunder his rook after 50 moves, leading to Firouzja's only win of the series. ALSO READ | Esports World Cup 2025: Arjun Erigaisi loses to Hikaru Nakamura in dramatic third-place playoff Carlsen shot back in the second game, punishing Firouzja with his calculating play. Firouzja looked pressed, burning through much more of his clock than his opponent. A blunder by Firouzja in game three pushed the series to 2-1, with Carlsen on match point. Following that, a weak opening by Firouzja was punished by Carlsen, who ultimately defeated the French Grandmaster in just two sets.
News18
02-08-2025
- Sport
- News18
'My Next Plan Is To...': Carlsen Opens Up On Dream Of Becoming A Parent Following ESports World Cup Title
Last Updated: Following his triumph over Alireza Firouzja in the final of the event in the Saudi Arabian Capital City of Riyadh, the Norwegian GM revealed his desire of becoming a parent. The top-ranked player in the world, GM Magnus Carlsen, clinched the ESports World Cup 2025 title with his triumph over Alireza Firouzja in the final of the event to add to his trophy cabinet on Saturday. Following his triumph in the Saudi Arabian Capital City, the Norwegian GM revealed his dreams of becoming a parent. With the win, the 34-year-old also became $250,000 richer. 'My next plan is to achieve something together with my wife that's greater than all of this – to be a parent," Carlsen said after his victory over Firouzja in the summit clash of the inaugural edition of the event. Carlsen triumphed over Firouzja in the final of the event in Saudi Arabia, securing the prize money of $250,000. En route to the new title, Carlsen defeated Indian Nihal Sarin, American Hikaru Nakamura, and finally Alireza Firouzja. The quarterfinals of the tournament consisted of four rapid games played in a 10+0 time control format. The intensity increased in the semi-finals, which featured six games per match, culminating in a high-stakes Grand Final contested in a best-of-six sets format. Carlsen claimed a 2-0 victory to win the crown in Riyadh, achieving a 3-1 triumph against Firouzja in the opening set of the championship clash, before replicating the same result in the second set of the title bout. 'I was overall in better shape today so I felt that I was going to get chances and of course it all turned out perfectly," the Norwegian legend said after his triumph. Carlsen began the final day with a win in the first set, followed by two draws that split the points. He concluded set 1 with a 3-1 triumph by winning the fourth game of the sequence. Firouzja attempted to reverse the outcome in the second set, winning the first game of set 2. However, the Norwegian proved too strong, sweeping the subsequent three games to secure a resounding victory and seal the deal. Nakamura edged out GM Arjun Erigaisi in the playoff to decide the third place, achieving a 3.5-2.5 triumph over the Indian. view comments First Published: August 02, 2025, 07:38 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Economic Times
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Economic Times
Praggnanandhaa wins Superbet Classic after a tough tiebreak
Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa defeated Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France to win his first-ever tournament on the Grand Chess Tour by showcasing his supremacy in the the Superbet Classic here. The Indian, after drawing with the Armenian-American GM Levon Aronianin in the final round, was assured of a tie for the first place. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Alireza Firouzja also won to match Praggnanandhaa on 5.5 points. This led to a tiebreaker between the three, with five minutes and a two-second increment after every move. In the first game with black pieces, Praggnanandhaa had to work hard in a slightly difficult position against Firouzja but the end result was a draw. In the second game Firouzja drew with Vachier-Lagrave. In the last game of the event, Praggnanandhaa crashed through the defences of Vachier-Lagrave earn the top prize. The Indian scored 1.5 points in his blitz games, half a point more than Firouzja and one more than the other French Grandmaster. It was a sweet comeback for Praggnanandhaa after last year's debacle when he lost all his games in the play-offs. "I didn't do so well last time. I guess getting to rest a few hours before the tiebreak certainly helps," Praggnanandhaa said at the prize-giving ceremony. After his relatively early draw with Aronian in the Classical game, the Indian had rested in his room for a few hours. Praggnanandhaa also thanked his second for the tournament, GM Vaibhav Suri, and his permanent trainer Grandmaster RB Ramesh on the occasion. The Indian won a cash award of USD 77,667 (around Rs 66 lakh) for his efforts. Results (Round 9): R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 5.5) drew with Levon Aronian (USA, 4); Deac Bogdan-Daniel (Rou, 4) lost to Alireza Firouzja (Fra, 5.5); Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra, 5.5) beat Jan Krzysztof (Pol, 3); Wesley So (4) drew with Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 4.5); D Gukesh (Ind, 4) drew with Fabiano Caruana (USA, 5). Tiebreak result: Praggnanandhaa drew with Firouzja; Firouzja drew with Vachier-Lagrave; Praggnanandhaa beat Vachier-Lagrave.
New Indian Express
17-05-2025
- Sport
- New Indian Express
Praggnanandhaa wins Superbet Classic after a tough tiebreak
BUCHAREST: Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa defeated Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France to win his first-ever tournament on the Grand Chess Tour by showcasing his supremacy in the Superbet Classic here. The Indian, after drawing with the Armenian-American GM Levon Aronianin in the final round, was assured of a tie for the first place. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Alireza Firouzja also won to match Praggnanandhaa on 5.5 points. This led to a tiebreaker between the three, with five minutes and a two-second increment after every move. In the first game with black pieces, Praggnanandhaa had to work hard in a slightly difficult position against Firouzja but the end result was a draw. In the second game Firouzja drew with Vachier-Lagrave. In the last game of the event, Praggnanandhaa crashed through the defences of Vachier-Lagrave earn the top prize. The Indian scored 1.5 points in his blitz games, half a point more than Firouzja and one more than the other French Grandmaster. It was a sweet comeback for Praggnanandhaa after last year's debacle when he lost all his games in the play-offs. "I didn't do so well last time. I guess getting to rest a few hours before the tiebreak certainly helps," Praggnanandhaa said at the prize-giving ceremony. After his relatively early draw with Aronian in the Classical game, the Indian had rested in his room for a few hours. Praggnanandhaa also thanked his second for the tournament, GM Vaibhav Suri, and his permanent trainer, Grandmaster RB Ramesh on the occasion. The Indian won a cash award of USD 77,667 (around Rs 66 lakh) for his efforts. Results (Round 9): R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 5.5) drew with Levon Aronian (USA, 4); Deac Bogdan-Daniel (Rou, 4) lost to Alireza Firouzja (Fra, 5.5); Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra, 5.5) beat Jan Krzysztof (Pol, 3); Wesley So (4) drew with Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 4.5); D Gukesh (Ind, 4) drew with Fabiano Caruana (USA, 5). Tiebreak result: Praggnanandhaa drew with Firouzja; Firouzja drew with Vachier-Lagrave; Praggnanandhaa beat Vachier-Lagrave.
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First Post
17-05-2025
- Sport
- First Post
Praggnanandhaa wins Superbet Chess Classic, but world champion Gukesh's form raises concerns
Chess world champion, D Gukesh of India, had another tough outing as he continues to struggle for form in 2025 after winning the World Chess Championship. read more R Praggnanandhaa won the Superbet Chess Classic in Romania but D Gukesh had a tough time in the tournament. Images: Grand Chess Tour on X Indian chess Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa secured his second big title of 2025 on Friday as he won the Superbet Chess Classic Romania 2025, in contrast to world champion and compatriot D Gukesh, who finished joint sixth to ninth in the 10-player field. This is the first Grand Chess Tour victory for the 19-year-old Praggnanandhaa, who took a prize money of $77,667 (Rs 66,48,345 approximately). Earlier, he won the Tata Steel Chess 2025 . STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Praggnanandhaa's victory, however, wasn't clear-cut as he was tied for the first position with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Alireza Firouzja at the end of the nine rounds of classical chess. Praggnanandhaa eventually won a three-way tiebreaker to emerge as the winner. Praggnanandhaa wins title in tiebreaker The first two games in the tiebreaker — Praggnanandhaa vs Firouzja and Vachier-Lagrave vs Firouzja — ended in draws. Praggnanandhaa clinched the title in the last blitz tiebreaker game by beating Vachier-Lagrave. What makes Praggnanandhaa's victory even more special is that he clinched the title despite managing seven draws in the nine rounds of the main event. Ahead of the final round, Praggnanandhaa had the sole lead, but he drew against Levon Aronian in the last game while Firouzja and Vachier-Lagrave drew level by winning their last matches. Gukesh's poor form continues in Romania The 18-year-old world champion from India, Gukesh, however, had a tough time as his poor form continues. After finishing 11th in the Paris leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam tour , the Chennai youngster would be hoping to turn around his fortunes in Bucharest, but it wasn't to be. The Indian Grandmaster only scored 4/9 with one win, six draws and two defeats. By the end of the seventh round in Bucharest, Gukesh was tied last. While he drew his match against Praggnanandhaa, he was beaten in 69 moves by Firouzja and in just 31 moves by Vachier-Lagrave. His only victory came against Aronian. While Gukesh is only 18 and his game is still developing, his form has become a concern as he gets ready to take world No.1 Magnus Carlsen at Norway Chess on 25 May. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
