Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi’s remarkable journey at the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam in Las Vegas came to an end in the semifinals after a 0-2 loss to Armenian-born American Levon Aronian on Friday. Erigaisi had made history as the first Indian to reach the semifinals of the prestigious tournament.Erigaisi’s impressive run included victories over Magnus Carlsen in the preliminary playoffs and Hikaru Nakamura in the quarterfinals. However, he struggled to capitalise on his advantages against Aronian in the first game.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Despite finding himself in a challenging position, Aronian maintained his composure and secured victory when Erigaisi failed to convert his favourable position. The second game saw the American needing only a draw to advance.Aronian gained a slight edge in the opening of the second game. While the position appeared balanced, Erigaisi’s necessary pursuit of victory led to risky decisions that ultimately proved costly.In the other semi-final, American Hans Niemann advanced to the finals by defeating compatriot Fabiano Caruana. Despite arriving late for the first game, Niemann secured a draw and eventually won the match 2.5-1.5 with skilled middlegame play.Indian prodigy R Praggnanandhaa secured a victory in the playoff for 3rd-8th place against Germany’s Vincent Keymer. After drawing the first game with black pieces, Praggnanandhaa won the second game for a 1.5-0.5 triumph.World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen matched Praggnanandhaa’s score, defeating Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov 1.5-0.5. In other matches, Wesley So of the United States overcame Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov 3-1. American Hikaru Nakamura dominated his countryman Leinier Dominguez Perez with a 2-0 victory.
