Carlsen and Abdusattorov lead after an eventful first day
Magnus Carlsen and Nodirbek Abdusattorov concluded the first day of the preliminary tournament of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam in Paris. Abdusattorov, who replaced Hans Niemann at the last moment after his surprise withdrawal, immediately proved his worth.
On the twelve participantsonly the top eight will move on to the knockout phase, where the top finishers will face off for the Grand Slam points and the most lucrative rewards. The other four players will compete for places 9 to 12.
Behind the leaders, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Ian Nepomniachtchi were still well placed to qualify, only a ½-point and a point respectively. Alireza Firouzjainitially invited, withdrew even before Niemann, due to a contractual disagreement – probably linked to financial issues. His replacement, Richard Rapportseemed tailor-made for this atypical format: known for his creative overtures, the Hungarian was an ideal candidate for the Freestyle Chess. However, he ended the day last position with only one dot, just like Vidit.
Vincent Keymerwinner of the Weissenhaus Grand Slamgot off to a mixed start: two wins and four defeats, leaving him at two points – just in front Gukesh (1½ pt). Carlsenconfirmed his status by dominating Erigaisi and holding Vachier-Lagrave in check. The Frenchman, moreover, distinguished himself with three of his six games ending in a split, while at the end of the six rounds (36 games), there will be only six draws in total!
Day two: Carlsen caught by Nepomniachtchi, Keymer goes wild
Vincent Keymerrelegated to the 9th place after the first day, had no room for error. The young German rose to the challenge with brio: after a difficult start (defeat against Gukesh and tight draw against Carlsen), he followed up with three resounding victories against Hikaru Nakamura, Praggnanandhaa and finally Fabiano Caruanathat he has totally dominated in a technical final. A spectacular comeback propelled him into the final phase.
Nodirbek Abdusattorovleader after the first day, saw his momentum broken by defeats against Erigaisi then Carlsen. The Norwegian consolidated his position with 3½ points out of 5, but had to relinquish the title of best player of the day à Ian Nepomniachtchi. The Russian, untenable, signed a 4½/5including a masterful victory over Vachier-Lagrave in a lopsided ♙♟ final.
Fabiano Caruana suffered a black day: after a laborious draw against Gukesh, he lost successively to Keymer and Nepomniachtchi. Conversely, Hikaru Nakamura righted the ship midway through the day, exploiting Praggnanandhaa’s flaws in a final of ♖♜.
At the end of the two days, Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi are in the lead. MVL spent another day racking up draws (3 in five games), and despite losing to Nepo (his only defeat in 11 rounds), the Frenchman easily qualified for the final phase (where he will face Caruana) by taking third place.
For the Indians, it was a case of grim soup for once. While Erigiaisi finished fourth, his three other companions were among the players eliminated at the end of the preliminary phase: world champion Gukesh, Pragg and Vidit will accompany Rapport in the matches for places 9 to 12.
