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First Post
4 days ago
- Sport
- First Post
'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
Indian Express
5 days ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
Magnus Carlsen: ‘Had complete collapse of my nervous system… didn't enjoy not talking to wife Ella'
With two dominating wins over Vidit Gujrathi on Friday, Magnus Carlsen bounced back from his performances on Thursday, where he was eliminated from the race to win the Las Vegas event of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour after finishing fifth in Group White. Carlsen said he had suffered a 'complete collapse of his nervous system' on the first day of the event and did not enjoy not being able to talk to his wife Ella or his long-time coach Peter Heine Nielsen during rounds. The tournament rules meant that top four players from both Group White and Group Black would enter the quarter-finals in the Upper Bracket while the other eight players would fight it out in the Lower Bracket. While India's Arjun Erigaisi and Praggnanandhaa were among those who made it to the Upper Bracket, Carlsen and Vidit were among those who were relegated to the Lower Bracket. There, a wounded Carlsen ruthlessly handed a 2-0 defeat to Vidit to advance to the next round while the Indian was eliminated from the event, finishing joint 13th with four others. '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 second Heine Nielsen to 'get out of the bubble'. '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. Carlsen said that after being eliminated from title contention, he was playing chess 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. Carlsen also slammed the other players for not thinking for themselves and just following moves discussed with other players before games. In Freestyle Chess, players learn about the opening position just 10 minutes before their games and then they can sit with other players who share the colour and discuss tactics for the 10 minutes. 'I'm under no illusions that everything that I did was correct and so on, but I enjoyed the process of working up the games from early on. And that's kind of what Freestyle Chess is here for, right? Just putting pressure on from the start. I see the others as well, they're following — like they're doing better than I am so I shouldn't (comment), you know it's working — they're all playing kind of the same setup that they've discussed for 10 minutes and I find that utterly ridiculous. I like to imagine people sit at the board and they will think for themselves as well. 'Like in the last game for instance the setup that everybody chose immediately led to a very fine position for black which I mean it's kind of mindboggling to me and I don't think that's the intention of what we are trying to do (with Freestyle Chess). But yeah, what can I say that strategy has worked better than mine has for sure.'
Indian Express
5 days ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
How Praggnanandhaa defeated Magnus Carlsen at Las Vegas Freestyle event
Another tournament in 2025, another defeat at the hands of an Indian for Magnus Carlsen. After losing twice to world champion D Gukesh in the classical format at Norway Chess and then in the rapid format at the SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz Croatia tournament earlier this month, the World No 1 was handed a defeat by R Praggnanandhaa in the Las Vegas leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour on Thursday. In a group-stage clash to determine the eight players who will fight for the title in the 'Upper Bracket', Carlsen was on a roll at the start of the event, winning his first two games and playing out a draw. Then, he ran into Praggnanandhaa in his fourth game, which resulted in a defeat in 39 moves. That started a series of results for Carlsen that saw him end in fifth place in the eight-player group (called Group White, with the other eight players in Group Black) which means that Carlsen cannot play for the title anymore at the Las Vegas tournament. At best, he can now finish third. Praggnanandhaa was ahead on the eval bar from the 10th move itself when he hastily pushed his pawn ahead (10…b5?!). The Norwegian compounded his problems by jumping Praggnanandhaa's knight with his c file pawn (11…cxd4?!). Pragg's second knight calmly hopped away from danger, but found a square ( which made it as lethal as a sniper. In a game where players had 10 minutes on the clock at the start, Carlsen had just 3.24 minutes at this stage. But he spent 3.10 minutes trying to extricate himself out of trouble without activating his queen. READ MORE: 'Karma is a …': Hans Niemann says in commentary as Magnus Carlsen loses and gets relegated to 'Lower Bracket' When Carlsen did find a move, he was down to just 15 seconds on the clock having started with 30 additional seconds than his opponent when he started thinking. It was a particularly lethal square from where Praggnanandhaa could have hopped a knight to d6 and put Carlsen's king and queen in a fork. It was the beginning of the end for Carlsen. Soon, both queens were off the board and Pragg was two pawns up with Carlsen's king running for cover. There was none to be found. The Indian's rooks moved around on the board, gobbling up Carlsen's pieces like a giant vacuum cleaner swallowing Lego pieces, keeping the Norwegian's king on its toes. The win over Carlsen was one of the highlights of Praggnanandhaa's day as he topped Group White. The Norwegian ended fifth after losing twice in tie-breaks to Levon Aronian later on. In Group Black, Arjun Erigaisi ended fourth, which means he can contend for the title as part of the Upper Bracket. The third Indian in fray at the event, Vidit Gujrathi, finished at the bottom of Group Black. Thanks to topping the group, Praggnanandhaa was offered the opportunity to select his opponent in the quarters. Rather than picking Arjun, one of his closest friends on the tour, he opted to duel with Fabiano Caruana. This means Arjun will face Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Vidit, meanwhile, finds himself taking on a wounded Carlsen.
Express Tribune
6 days ago
- Sport
- Express Tribune
Magnus Carlsen stunned as R Praggnanandhaa forces resignation at Freestyle Chess Grand Slam
Magnus Carlsen was left stunned after resigning against India's R Praggnanandhaa during the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour in Las Vegas. The 19-year-old Grandmaster outplayed Carlsen in 39 moves, leading the commentator to state, 'Magnus about to he does.' Praggnanandhaa, who has secured three tournament victories this year, now holds a joint lead in Group White with 4.5 points, having defeated Carlsen across Classical, Rapid, and Blitz formats in 2025. Earlier in the event, he drew with Nodirbek Abdusattorov, defeated Bibisara Assaubayeva, and won against Vincent Keymer before facing Carlsen. Carlsen, who won the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam events in Paris and Karlsruhe, was eliminated from title contention in Las Vegas following the loss. After initial wins, Carlsen experienced defeats against Praggnanandhaa and Wesley So, alongside two draws, which left him needing a final-round win to enter the playoffs. Although he defeated Assaubayeva, Carlsen lost both playoff games against Levon Aronian, dropping him into the lower bracket. The tournament at the Wynn Las Vegas featured two eight-player groups, with the top players advancing towards the USD 200,000 prize. Hikaru Nakamura led the Black Group, while Hans Niemann, Fabiano Caruana, and Arjun Erigaisi also progressed. The next stage will see quarterfinal matches, with players in the lower bracket, including Carlsen, competing for final placements.
NDTV
6 days ago
- Sport
- NDTV
R Praggnanandhaa Forces Magnus Carlsen To 'Resign', Chess Great Stunned
India's Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa delivered a sensational victory over world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen at the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour in Las Vegas. The 19-year-old outplayed the five-time world champion in just 39 moves. Norwegian Grandmaster Carlsen, who recently faced consecutive defeats at the hands of India's reigning world champion D Gukesh, suffered another setback as he was beaten by 19-year-old R Praggnanandhaa in Round 4 of the group stage at an ongoing tournament featuring a 10-minute plus 10-second increment time control. Praggnanandhaa, who has already won three tournaments this year, has now defeated Carlsen in all three formats — Classical, Rapid, and Blitz. The Indian prodigy now hold a joint lead in the the eight-player Group White, with 4.5 points. "Magnus about to he does!" the commentator exclaimed after Praggnanandhaa's win. Praggnanandhaa began by playing out a draw against Abdusattorov with Black, followed by a win against Assaubayeva. In Round 3, he defeated Keymer despite holding Black pieces before stunning Carlsen. However, Carlsen, the winner of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam events in Paris and Karlsruhe and overall tour leader, has been knocked out of title contention in Las Vegas. 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 After a turbulent day in the round-robin phase, Carlsen finished shared fourth in his group and was eliminated in a playoff by Levon Aronian. He now dropped into the lower bracket, where he can finish no higher than third. The tournament's first day, in the ballroom of the Wynn Las Vegas hotel, featured two eight-player round-robins – the White Group and the Black Group – with the top four from each advancing to the top bracket. The bottom four proceed to a placement bracket, fighting for final rankings and prize money, but no longer in contention for the Vegas title. Carlsen opened with two wins but then hit a wall. Losses to Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Wesley So, along with two draws, left him needing a win in the final round just to force a tiebreak. He beat Bibisara Assaubayeva but then lost both playoff games to Aronian, who clinched the final qualifying spot. In the same group, Praggnanandhaa, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, and Javokhir Sindarov secured 4.5/7 each to top the table. Aronian followed with 4 points, edging out Carlsen. In the Black Group, Hikaru Nakamura was dominant with 6/7. Hans Niemann, who started strongly with 4.5/5, also advanced alongside Fabiano Caruana and Arjun Erigaisi. Caruana had drawn his first six games before beating Niemann in a must-win final round. With the U.S. debut of Freestyle Chess underway at the Wynn Las Vegas, 16 players now move on to the knockout stage. Half of them – including Carlsen and Keymer – will have to fight from below. The rest are one step closer to the USD 200,000 first prize. On Thursday wee will see the quarterfinals, after which the losing players in the upper bracket will be moving into the lower bracket. The winners will continue fighting for the USD 200,000 first prize.
