American Grandmaster Hans Niemann finished second in Group 2 of the ongoing Freestyle Grand Slam Tour Las Vegas leg, behind World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura. But the 22-year-old was happier about World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen’s twin losses.While doing commentary, Niemann was seen celebrating after Levon Aronian defeated Magnus Carlsen. He said: “You know what they say, karma is a…. I don’t want to finish the sentence. Levon, I’m taking you to dinner tonight.”Carlsen had earlier lost to Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa. He ended fifth, ahead of Vincent Keymer of Germany, Wesley So, and the lone woman participant, Bibisara Assaubayeva of Kazakhstan, and is out of title contention.While talking to Take Take Take, Niemann was high in spirits. He said: “Great day, amazing day. My two losses have been erased from memory. This is the best day of my life in the last two years.”“I loved doing commentary. I really think that this is such a great tournament. This is what chess should be. You will never have such endings in classical. I really liked my win against Vidit Gujrathi,” he added.On not playing Magnus, the 22-year-old said: “It’s not about how I feel; it’s about how he feels.”
Poll
How do you feel about Magnus Carlsen’s performance in the tournament?
Quarterfinal Pairings
Praggnanandhaa vs CaruanaAbdusattorov vs ArjunAronian vs NakamuraNiemann vs SindarovLower Bracket:Carlsen vs GujrathiRobson vs KeymerDominguez vs AssaubayevaSamuel vs Wesley
