Overview
- Levon Aronian and Hans Moke Niemann qualified for Sunday’s final in a Chess960-style freestyle format, with the champion earning $200,000.
- Magnus Carlsen rebounded from earlier elimination to beat Arjun Erigaisi and R Praggnanandhaa, securing a third-place playoff against Hikaru Nakamura.
- The tournament’s rapid, blitz and Armageddon tiebreakers minimize opening preparation and reward over-the-board creativity.
- Indian talents Arjun Erigaisi and R Praggnanandhaa delivered notable semifinal and classification performances but fell short of the podium.
- The Las Vegas leg is the first U.S. stop of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour’s $750,000 prize-pool series.