Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Finals: Arjun beats Magnus, finishes third in round-robin stage
Arjun Erigaisi on Monday beat Magnus Carlsen in the round-robin stage of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Finals, taking place at the Grootbos Private Nature Reserve in South Africa.
Javokhir Sindarov, the FIDE World Cup winner, and Levon Aronian were the top two players, with 5.5 and 5 points, respectively. Arjun had 4.5 points after seven rounds.
The top three finishers of the group stage get to choose their opponents in the quarterfinals, with Sindarov having the first pick. The Indian Grandmaster will face Vincent Keymer in the knockouts, while Carlsen will take on Fabiano Caruana.
It is the fifth event in the year-long tour, which had previous legs in Germany, France, and the U.S. The winner of the finals will be crowned the 2025 Freestyle Chess Champion.
Carlsen leads the tour standings, and he only needs to finish fourth in the finals to be guaranteed victory in the entire tour, which comes with a $100,000 bonus prize.
Knockouts
- Javokhir Sindarov vs. Parham Maghsoodloo
- Levon Aronian vs. Hans Niemann
- Arjun Erigaisi vs. Vincent Keymer
- Magnus Carlsen vs. Fabiano Caruana
Published on Dec 09, 2025