Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Final: Aronian beats Carlsen to win title; Erigiasi finishes in sixth

Levon Aronian defeated Magnus Carlsen 1.5-0.5 in the title match of the 2025 Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Finals to win the $200,000 first prize on Thursday.

Following up on his win in Las Vegas over the summer, this was his second Grand Slam victory in a row.

In game one, the American grabbed a sacrificed pawn and converted the material to win and then held a draw in game two, even if the nerves started to show at the very end.

Although Carlsen finished as runner-up in this event, he dominated the tour overall, finishing 37 points above Aronian in the final standings.

Meanwhile, India’s Arjun Erigaisi finished in sixth place after losing to Fabiano Caruana 0.5-1.5 in the fifth-place match.

Vincent Keymer clinched third place, Javokhir Sindarov fourth, Hans Niemann seventh and Parham Maghsoodloo eighth.

Published on Dec 12, 2025