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First Post
9 hours ago
- Sport
- First Post
Arjun reaches semi-finals of Esports World Cup, set to earn at least $115,000; Nihal loses to Carlsen in quarters
After topping Group B with victories over compatriot Nihal Sarin and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi advanced to the Esports World Cup semi-finals with a victory over Ian Nepomniachtchi. He now faces Alireza Firouzja for a place in the final. read more Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi is one of two Indians competing in the chess event at the Esports World Cup. Image credit: Freestyle Chess Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi kept the Indian flag flying high in Riyadh after advancing to the semi-finals of the Esports World Cup, where chess makes its debut this year. Erigaisi, who is representing the Gen.G Esports, topped Group B after defeating compatriot Nihal Sarin and French GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 2-0 and 2-1 respectively on Wednesday. The 21-year-old would then setup a semi-final meeting with Alireza Firouzja, another French GM, after defeating Russian's Ian Nepomniachtchi 2-1 in the quarter-finals on Thursday. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Also advancing to the last four besides Erigaisi and Firouzja were Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura, ranked first and second in the world who defeated Sarin and Levon Aronian respectively. Sarin bows out after quarter-final defeat against Carlsen For Sarin, representing Indian Esports organisation S8UL at the event, it was the end of the road after a journey in which he was one of four players making it to the Esports World Cup via the Last Chance Qualifier along with Aronian, Anish Giri and Javokhir Sindarov, ahead of Indian No 1 R Praggnanandhaa. Sarin, however, was delighted at the prospect of coming face-to-face with his 'inspiration' Carlsen at the event for the first time in his career. 'I'm just very happy to play against Magnus; he's my biggest inspiration. It's my first time getting to play him in a match. I wish him good luck,' the 21-year-old was quoted by Take Take Take as saying after his quarter-final defeat at the hands of the world No 1. While Erigaisi's semi-final clash is currently underway, Team Liquid's Carlsen will be squaring off against Nakamura, who's part of Team Falcons along with Firouzja, on Friday – with the remaining matches of the event also set to take place on the same day. A total prize fund of $1.55 million has been set aside for the inaugural chess event at the Esports World Cup, of which $250,000 will be awarded to the winner and $190,000 for the runner-up. By reaching the semi-finals, Erigaisi is assured of walking away with either $145,000 or $115,000 to his name, depending on whether he finishes third or fourth. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Sarin, meanwhile, will be taking home $85,000 for making it to the quarter-finals.
Hindustan Times
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Magnus Carlsen smiles as Nihal Narin rejects draw offer, then dominates Indian GM: ‘I just got completely crushed today'
It was supposed to be a showdown between a speed demon and probably the greatest-ever Grandmaster in chess history. But it turned out to be a complete whitewash as Magnus Carlsen thrashed Nihal Sarin in their Esports World Cup quarter-final showdown, winning 2.5-0.5 on Thursday. Magnus Carlsen thrashed Nihal Sarin to qualify for the semi-finals of Esports World Cup.(Twitter) The first game saw both GMs play out a draw and then in the second game, Carlsen bagged a win, even though earlier, he had offered a draw by repetition to his opponent, which was rejected. Carlsen simply smiled in response. Then in the third game, it was all Carlsen as he totally destroyed Sarin and clinched victory to qualify for the semi-finals. 'I just got completely crushed': Nihal Sarin Speaking after his defeat, Sarin said, 'Of course, I just got completely crushed today, but yeah, I mean, I for sure could have played better. I think for the first one and a half game, I was matching him or maybe playing even better.' 'I mean, he's Magnus for a reason,' he added. Before ending his post-match interview, the Indian GM said, 'I'm just very happy to play against Magnus; he's my biggest inspiration. It's my first time getting to play him in a match. I wish him good luck.' Sarin was considered an underdog in this tournament, and he will be disappointed by the manner of his defeat to Carlsen. He was representing S8UL in the tournament, and Carlsen was playing for Team Liquid. A child prodigy, Sarin crossed the Elo rating of 2600 in 2018 at the tender age of 14-years-old, which at the time made him the third youngest player in history to do so. He got his GM title at the 2018 Abu Dhabi Masters, which also made India's 53rd and the 12th youngest in history at the time. He recently won the Tashkent Open in March 2025, with an unbeaten score of 8/10.
GMA Network
2 days ago
- Sport
- GMA Network
Oheb stars as Team Liquid crushes Aurora for MSC semis berth
Team Liquid stamped its class with authority as Kiel "Oheb" Soriano linked up anew to dismantle Aurora Gaming, 3-0, in MSC 2025 quarterfinals on Wednesday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The victory propelled the Cavalry into the semifinals, bringing them one step closer to the coveted MSC title that has eluded the Philippines in the past two editions. —JKC, GMA Integrated News
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
‘Was out of control at times': Magnus Carlsen after reaching Esports World Cup quarter-finals
Magnus Carlsen made it to the quarter-finals of the chess event at the Esports World Cup being played at Saudi Arabia's Riaydh along with Arjun Erigaisi (Group B), Alireza Firouzja (Group C) and Levon Aronian (Group A). Carlsen, representing Team Liquid, qualified from Group D. Carlsen had a win and a draw against Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Jan-Krzysztof Duda to make the cut for the quarter-finals. Carlsen said that making the cut got a little complicated in the end. 'These games were incredibly complicated and definitely out of control at times. But at the end of the day you only need to play better than your opponent. When it's complicated then both players are going to make mistakes. I felt for the most part that I was in the driver's seat,' Carlsen said in an interview with Take Take Take. The Esports World Cup, where chess is making its debut, is being played in a unique set-up: with players wearing noise cancelling headphones, two players sitting face to face while playing on computers on a grand stage while being cheered on by live audiences. There is also music playing. Another unique feature of the tournament is that there are no increments which means players can lose by flagging (time running out on their clocks). 'I don't know if it's helping my game (having the crowd on the main stage). But it's nice to have with the set-up: the noise-cancellation, with the music and everything. I sort of treat it as if I am playing from home,' Carlsen smiled. Carlsen, Erigaisi, Aronian and Firouzja await the four other quarter-finalists who will come from the Losers Brackets: Ian Nepomniachtchi, Vladislav Artemiev, and Andrey Esipenko in Group A, Anish Giri, Nihal Sarin, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in Group B, Javokhir Sindarov, Wei Yi, and Hikaru Nakamura in Group C and Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Fabiano Caruana, and Jan-Krzysztof Duda in Group D.
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
Magnus Carlsen praises Nihal Sarin: ‘Saw how incredibly good he is with very little time on clock'
World No. 1 chess player and five-time World Champion Magnus Carlsen will be in action at the ongoing Esports World Cup 2025 in Riyadh, representing Team Liquid. Ahead of the event, Carlsen spoke about the unique time format (10 minutes with no increment), which creates additional pressure with no increment, unlike the many rapid and blitz events played online. Carlsen said his mouse speed is slow, and if he runs into someone like young Indian Nihal Sarin, it might turn into a dangerous match-up. 'I only played the two qualifier events to get here with this time control, but for me, it worked out okay. My mouse speed is not necessarily the best, but I play fast and well enough that it doesn't usually bother me,' said Carlsen to Chessbase India ahead of the Esports World Cup. 'We will see, however, you could run into really dangerous matchups here. For instance, we saw in the qualifier how incredibly good Nihal (Sarin) is with very little time on the clock. There could be certain players like him and Alireza (Firouzja); I think, especially if they have a good event, they can use that mouse speed to their advantage,' he said. Speed demon, Nihal carries a moniker for being one of the best players when it comes to speed chess. 'But overall, it is entertainment, but it's also esports, and therefore, motor skills should matter a little bit more in over-the-board play. I generally like events that are unforgiving in terms of time control, where time management actually is an important part of the game. So overall, it may make the players uncomfortable at times, but that's part of the game, and overall, I like it.' Speaking on the players he should be wary of in the 16-player event, Carlsen said: 'I think the Falcons players, Hikaru and Alireza, are on paper the most dangerous. Hikaru is probably quite clearly the most consistent among the others. But there are many players who could make a dent. I would say practically all the players here have some sort of chance to make a deep run. There really isn't that much in between them. I might have personal preferences about whom I would like to play, but if you talk to one of the other top players, they might be different. So, it's a really stacked field, and everybody's very strong.' Nihal and Arjun Erigaisi are the two Indians who will feature in the EWC 2025.
