Latest news with #FreestyleChessLasVegas
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First Post
2 days ago
- Sport
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'Complete collapse of my nervous system': Magnus Carlsen opens up on tough Las Vegas stint of Freestyle Chess Tour
After attaining dominant wins over India's Vidit Gujrathi, world no.1 Magnus Carlsen revealed that his nervous system collapsed on Day 1 of the Las Vegas event of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour. read more After finishing fifth in Group White and being eliminated from contention for winning the Las Vegas event of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, Magnus Carlsen bounced back with two dominating wins against India's Vidit Gujrathi on Friday. In the follow-up, Carlsen revealed that he had suffered a 'complete collapse of his nervous system' on the first day of the event and was not happy about not being able to communicate with his wife, Ella or longtime coach Peter Heine Nielsen during the rounds. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The tournament format had the top four players from Group White and Group Black advancing to the Upper Bracket quarterfinals. The remaining eight players competed in the Lower Bracket. India's Arjun Erigaisi and Praggnanandhaa made it to the Upper Bracket, while Magnus Carlsen and Vidit Gujrathi were left in the Lower Bracket. Carlsen bounced back strongly in the Lower Bracket, beating Vidit 2-0 to advance. This win eliminated Vidit from the event, he finished joint 13th with four others. Magnus Carlsen suffers nervous system collapse Speaking after the match, Carlsen explained what transpired on Thursday that led to the collapse of his nervous system. 'I think it started well yesterday. I felt all right, relatively rested at least compared to other days. And then I don't know, I didn't enjoy the whole process of just being pretty isolated there for many, many hours and not being able to talk to Peter or Ella in between rounds and not being able to to use my devices and so on. What happened then was just kind of a complete collapse of my nervous system,' Carlsen told the YouTube handle of Freestyle Chess after his win over Vidit. 'I could have scraped through of course with some help but it would have been completely underserved. So, it was a complete collapse and yeah, sometimes you have one bad day and I've had that in Freestyle before in the preliminaries, but then there's been a bit of a wider margin to get through. This time it wasn't. It's not an excuse. I should make it regardless.' He said he wanted to talk to his wife Ella and his longtime coach Heine Nielsen, to get out of the shackles. 'I just wanted to get out of the bubble, especially when things start going south a little bit. I feel like I'm just kind of left in my own head a little bit and it would have been probably a little bit easier to shake off if I could talk to somebody very familiar,' Carlsen explained. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Also Read | Hans Niemann posts powerful message after reaching Freestyle Chess Las Vegas final: 'Don't need an apology...' Carlsen's Shift After Elimination The pressure was off his shoulders after getting eliminated from title contention, and then he resorted to playing it for the love of the sport. 'It's been a thing recently that when things are going well, I play really well and then I'm not really able to sort of change bad trends. And when sort of my nervous system starts collapsing, then it's all quite bad. I have bad days in pretty much every tournament. It's just, you know, sometimes they happen at inopportune moments,' Carlsen said. 'I haven't felt — in Zagreb (at SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz Croatia tournament) or here — at the top of at the top of my game, but at least, now that there's zero pressure that I don't have anything to play for, at least I can maybe enjoy the games a little bit more. Today more than anything else, I was just trying to play fun chess and play dynamically from the start and that worked out well. So that's the advantage of playing Freestyle Chess that even if you don't have anything to play for, it's kind of a little bit easier to play kind of for the love of the game than in some other forms of chess,' Carlsen concluded. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
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First Post
2 days ago
- Sport
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Hans Niemann posts powerful message after reaching Freestyle Chess Las Vegas final: 'Don't need an apology...'
Hans Niemann made an emphatic statement by reaching the final of Freestyle Chess Las Vegas, an event that's part of a tour co-founded by Magnus Carlsen, the person who had accused him of cheating three years ago. read more Hans Niemann reached the final of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour event in Las Vegas with a victory over Fabiano Caruana in the semi-finals. Image credit: Freestyle Chess Controversial American Grandmaster Hans Moke Niemann was at the centre of what many would consider the biggest scandal in chess history when he was accused of cheating by Norwegian superstar Magnus Carlsen in the 2022 Sinquefield Cup. The incident led to a hundred million-dollar federal lawsuit that was eventually closed with a settlement between the two the following year. However, the two have shared frosty relations ever since, with both Carlsen and Niemann verbally targeting one another through a series of digs and inflammatory statements. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Niemann makes triumphant statement by reaching Freestyle Chess Las Vegas final For Niemann to reach the final of Freestyle Chess Las Vegas, therefore, is nothing short of poetic. The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, after all, was co-founded by Carlsen and German entrepreneur Jan Henric Buettner, in which the former had won back-to-back events in Paris and Karlsruhe and currently sits on top of the overall standings. What makes his journey to the summit clash following his victory over Italian-American GM Fabiano Caruana even sweeter is the fact that Carlsen failed to even reach the quarter-finals in the same event, finishing fifth in the group stage. After his 2.5-1.5 victory over compatriot Caruana – the runner-up in the Weissenhaus leg of the Grand Slam Tour – Niemann emphatically stated that he did not need an apology for the cheating accusations; rather, he would less his chess pieces do the talking on the board. 'I don't need an apology, my comeback will be on the chess board, nothing else!' the 22-year-old wrote on X on Saturday. Niemann added that his stellar run in the ongoing tournament isn't something new – he has been capable of producing such performances for a 'very long time'. He had finished runner-up in 'Group Black' earlier in the Las Vegas Grand Slam, missing out on the top spot with back-to-back losses against Hikaru Nakamura and Caruana. Niemann, however, bounced back in the knockouts, defeating Uzbekistani GM Javokhir Sindarov 4-2 before his semi-final win against Caruana. 'I've been capable of this for a very long time. I don't think there is anything that can stop me now,' Niemann was quoted by Take Take Take as saying. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Niemann faces veteran GM Levon Aronian in an all-American final that gets underway on Saturday. Aronian, who had represented his native country Armenia before switching allegiance to the United States in 2021, had ended Indian GM Arjun Erigaisi's stellar run in the ongoing tournament with a 2-0 victory in the semi-finals.
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First Post
2 days ago
- Sport
- First Post
Magnus's menace: How young Indian Grandmasters are proving to be his toughest challengers
Though he remains the world's top-ranked player across formats and is still a force to be reckoned with, Magnus Carlsen has been on the losing side fairly frequently in recent months. And it's one group of players in particular that have accounted for those losses more than any other – young Indian GMs. read more Magnus Carlsen has lost to D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa in the last couple of months, including in the ongoing Freestyle Chess Las Vegas. Image credit: Grand Chess Tour/Norway Chess/Tata Steel Chess Magnus Carlsen's authority as the world's best chess player had hardly been challenged since he defeated Viswanathan Anand in 2013 to be crowned world champion, three years after he rose to the top of the FIDE ratings for the first time in his career. Carlsen would go on to defeat Anand in a rematch the following year, and thus began an era of domination rivaled only by legends of the game such as Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov in the board game's history. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD And even at the age of 34, more than two decades after attaining the title of 'Grandmaster', Carlsen continues to scale new heights in chess, having recently become the first player ever to breach the 2900 ELO rating barrier, albeit in Freestyle format. Nonetheless, at the same time, the Norwegian chess icon, who has been the world's top-ranked player continuously since 2011, finds his authority increasingly challenged with each passing tournament. And there's a particular group of players who have proven to be a thorn in the flesh for Carlsen more often than not – young Indian Grandmasters. Particularly, the current generation of rising stars, who have excelled over the last couple of years, has transformed India into a powerhouse of sorts in the world of chess. Losing against Indian players isn't a recent phenomenon for Carlsen – he had, after all, lost to veteran Grandmaster Pentala Harikrishna at the Lausanne Young Masters in 2005. Legendary GM Anand too had scored quite a few wins over Carlsen in the early years of his career – especially during his second reign as world champion from 2007 to 2012, and most recently at the 2022 Norway Chess. Magnus Carlsen's dominance in chess had rarely been challenged for more than a decade after he defeated Viswanathan Anand in 2013 to be crowned world champion for the first time. Reuters Karthikeyan Murali became only the third Indian to defeat the Norwegian at the Qatar Masters in 2023. Over a year later, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa would become the first of the current generation of stars to triumph over Carlsen in the Classical format – at the Norway Chess, his home event, of all places. Later that year, Arjun Erigaisi would outclass Carlsen in just 20 moves at the Tata Steel Blitz event in Kolkata STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'King' and 'weaker player' jibes intensify rivalry with Indians So why the spotlight on Carlsen's defeats against young Indians in recent months? It might have something to do with India's rise as a chess nation since 2024 – a year that witnessed Gukesh Dommaraju become the youngest champion in the history of the Candidates Tournament and the World Championship, besides India becoming only the third nation to achieve a golden sweep at the Chess Olympiad. That and Carlsen's feud with FIDE, in which the former not only criticised the Lausanne-based world governing body and how they ran the sport at a global level, but also slammed Classical chess in favour of the new Freestyle format. Some of those potshots were directed towards Anand, who has served as FIDE's deputy president since 2022. And it was only a matter of time before Gukesh and his cronies would be targeted. Carlsen and Gukesh had come face-to-face for the first time since the latter was crowned world champion at this year's Norway Chess. After beating him in dominant fashion in the opening round, Carlsen took a jibe at Gukesh by quoting a line from the popular HBO series, 'You come at the king, you best not miss.' A little over a month later, ahead of the SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia, Carlsen took a fresh dig at Gukesh by referring to him as "one of weaker players". STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Letting the chess pieces do the talking On both occasions, Gukesh responded with brilliance on the chess board to silence Carlsen without saying a word. In Norway, Gukesh fought back from a near-hopeless position to defeat Carlsen for the first time in his career, pulling off what surely was the biggest win of his career alongside his triumph over Ding Liren in the World Championship in December. What made the result even more dramatic was Carlsen's infamous fist-slam on the table in anger that elicited a shocked reaction from his opponent. World chess champion Magnus Carlsen slams table after losing to young chess prodigy — Historic Vids (@historyinmemes) June 18, 2025 And earlier this month in Zagreb, the teenage Grandmaster from Chennai defeated Carlsen for the second time in as many meetings, this time to shut him up for the 'weaker players' jibe. Also Read | Gukesh doesn't miss while coming at 'King' Carlsen, justifies the 'world champion' tag And unlike his victory in Stavanger, this was a win in the Rapid format – one he was considered weak in – in which he dictated terms from start to finish. The manner in which he lost even led to Russian icon Kasparov questioning Magnus' dominance. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD D Gukesh had defeated Magnus Carlsen twice in as many meetings recently, albeit in different formats. Image: Grand Chess Tour It wasn't just the traditional forms of the game that Carlsen has been challenged in. At the ongoing fourth leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour in Las Vegas, USA, Carlsen lost to Praggnanandhaa in just 39 moves after committing a couple of blunders. The defeat derailed his campaign after a strong start in which he had won his first two games and drew the third, and culminated in the Freestyle Chess co-founder shockingly failing to reach the quarter-finals. And if that's not all, Carlsen had nearly lost to nine-year-old Candidate Master Aarit Kapil in Titled Tuesday event last month ahead of his trip to Croatia. A spicy rivalry that makes chess so much more interesting And it's not just Indians who are getting the better of Carlsen over the course of the last one year – German Grandmaster Vincent Keymer, after all, had pulled off one of the biggest upsets in recent months after beating Carlsen in the semi-finals of Freestyle Chess Weissenhaus in February, the event that he would end up winning later. However, his equation with Indian GMs, especially the young trio of Gukesh, Pragg and Arjun, just has that extra spice which certainly has made chess all the more eventful. There's little doubt over the fact that Carlsen continues to reign supreme, as evidenced by the fact that he won the Norway Chess as well as SuperUnited Croatia, events where he made headlines for his losses to Gukesh more than anything else. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD India's 'Golden' Generation', however, is leading the way when it comes to highlighting the fact that Carlsen isn't quite the unstoppable force he once was, especially when he voluntarily decided against defending his world title in 2022, as if to suggest he grew bored with the lack of competition.
News18
5 days ago
- Sport
- News18
Praggnanandhaa Downs Magnus Carlsen To Zoom To Sole Lead At Las Vegas Freestyle Chess
Last Updated: The win over the Norwegian icon, Carlsen, took Pragg's tally to 3.5 points thus far from a possible four at the event in the United States of America. Indian GM R Praggnanandhaa got the better of Magnus Carlsen in the fourth round of Rapid to take the sole lead at the Las Vegas Freestyle Chess Tournament on Thursday. The win over the Norwegian icon, Carlsen, took Pragg's tally to 3.5 points thus far from a possible four at the event in the United States of America. The last 6 minutes of Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa beating Magnus Carlsen to take sole lead in his group at Freestyle Chess Las Vegas!Enjoy as Sagar, Amruta and Harshit commentate on this game – it's 4 AM in India now! — ChessBase India (@ChessbaseIndia) July 16, 2025 Pragg, who played with white pieces on the day took a thrilling win to inch to the top of the leaderboard with three rounds of Rapid Chess to be played. The four players from the two groups will make it to the winners bracket. 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.
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First Post
5 days ago
- Sport
- First Post
Praggnanandhaa crushes Magnus Carlsen at Freestyle Chess Las Vegas in dominant fashion: 'I like Freestyle more than Classical'
In another setback for world No.1 Magnus Carlsen, the legendary chess player suffered a crushing defeat to India's R Praggnanandhaa in the group stage of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam in Las Vegas on Wednesday. read more Teenage Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa scripted a stunning win over world No.1 Magnus Carlsen at the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour in Las Vegas on Wednesday as the former world champion's poor form continues against Indian chess players. Carlsen, who recently suffered back-to-back defeats against the reigning world champion from India, D Gukesh, lost to Praggnanandhaa in Round 4 of the group stage, which is being played with a time control of 10' + 10". STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The 19-year-old Praggnanandhaa, who has already achieved the massive feat of beating Carlsen across Classical, Rapid and Blitz formats, defeated the five-time world champion with a dominant performance in just 39 moves. Praggnanandhaa crushes Carlsen at Freestyle Chess Las Vegas Praggnanandhaa was playing with White pieces and won the match against Carlsen with an accuracy of 93.9. At the same time, the Norwegian registered an abysmally low accuracy of 84.9, hinting at at how difficult the match was for the veteran. 'I like Freestyle more than Classical right now,' declared Praggnanandhaa during an interview with organisers after his remarkable win over Carlsen, the first-ever player to reach a 2900+ rating in Freestyle chess. Here's how Praggnanandhaa defeated Carlsen: By beating Carlsen, Praggnanandhaa also became the sole leader in the eight-player Group White, with 3.5 points. However, a draw against Uzbekistan's Javokhir Sindarov and a defeat to Armenian Grandmaster Levon Aronian in Rounds 5 and 6, respectively, forced him to share the lead with four points. Carlsen struggles on Day 1 of Freestyle Chess Las Vegas Carlsen was fifth in the standings with three points from six matches at the time of publishing this report. He began by beating Vincent Keymer with Black pieces before achieving the same against Aronian in the next round. Before losing to Praggnanandhaa in Round 4, Carlsen played out a draw against SIndarov with White pieces. In Round 5, Carlsen lost to Wesley So despite having the White pieces, followed by a draw in Round 6 against Uzbek Nodirbek Abdusattorov with Black pieces. Praggnanandhaa began by playing out a draw against Abdusattorov with Black, followed by a win against Kazakhstan's Bibisara Assaubayeva, the first female player in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam, with White pieces. In Round 3, Praggnanandhaa defeated Keymer despite holding Black pieces before stunning Carlsen. Praggnanandhaa will take on American Wesley So in the final round of the group stages. The top four players from each group will advance to the Upper Bracket Quarterfinals, while the bottom four finishers of each group will advance to the Bottom Bracket Quarterfinals. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
