LAS VEGAS: The inaugural Freestyle Chess event at the Wynn Las Vegas saw a dramatic turn of events on its opening day, as former World Champion Magnus Carlsen was knocked out of the top bracket after a rocky performance in the round-robin stage. Carlsen finished tied for fourth in his group but lost a tiebreak playoff to Levon Aronian, dropping him into the lower bracket and ending his chances of winning the tournament. He can now finish no higher than third.
The first day featured two round-robin groups — the White Group and the Black Group — each consisting of eight players. The top four from each group advanced to the upper knockout bracket, while the bottom four were relegated to the placement bracket, where players will compete for rankings and prize money, but not the title.
Carlsen started strong with two victories but quickly ran into trouble. Defeats to young Indian star Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Wesley So, combined with two draws, left the Norwegian needing a final-round win to stay in contention. He managed to defeat Bibisara Assaubayeva to force a tiebreak with Aronian, but then lost both games in the playoff, allowing Aronian to claim the final qualifying spot.
Praggnanandhaa, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, and Javokhir Sindarov topped the White Group with 4.5/7 points each, followed by Aronian with 4.0. Carlsen, despite finishing with 4.0 as well, missed out due to tiebreak rules.
In the Black Group, American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura was in dominant form, finishing with an impressive 6/7 score. Hans Niemann, who had a strong start with 4.5/5, also advanced to the knockout stage, along with Fabiano Caruana and Arjun Erigaisi. Caruana, who drew his first six games, pulled off a crucial win over Niemann in the final round to secure his place.
With the group stages complete, 16 players now move into the double-elimination knockout phase. Carlsen, along with Vincent Keymer and others from the lower half of the standings, must now battle through the lower bracket for a podium finish. The top eight will continue their quest for the tournament title and the hefty USD 200,000 first prize.
The quarterfinals are set to begin on Thursday, with upper-bracket winners advancing toward the final while the losers will drop into the lower bracket. The excitement continues to build as Freestyle Chess makes a bold debut on American soil.
