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The quarterfinal stage of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam in Paris concluded on Thursday, with Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura and Vincent Keymer securing places in the semifinals. While three matches were decided in classical play, the final spot was determined via a rapid tie-break.
Magnus Carlsen, the only player to win his first classical game on Wednesday, safely held a draw in the return game against Nodirbek Abdusattorov, confirming his passage to the final four. Carlsen never allowed any serious counterplay, and the draw ensured his smooth progression to the next round.
Fabiano Caruana also avoided tiebreaks. After drawing the first game of his match against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, the US grandmaster won the second to secure his place in the semifinals.
Fabiano Caruana defeated Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | Photo: Stev Bonhage
Hikaru Nakamura followed a similar path, defeating Arjun Erigaisi in their second classical encounter after a draw in the first, thereby also reaching the semifinals without the need for additional games.
The most closely contested match was between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Vincent Keymer, which remained deadlocked after both classical games ended in draws. In the first tiebreak game, Keymer, playing Black, created strong pressure against the white king and converted his advantage into a win. He then held the second game to a draw in a balanced rook endgame, thereby advancing to the semifinals.
Keymer, the only semifinalist from the younger generation, will now face Hikaru Nakamura, while Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana are set for a rematch of their 2018 World Championship encounter.
Ian Nepomniachtchi was taken down by Vincent Keymer | Photo: Stev Bonhage
In the placement matches, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu defeated his compatriot Vidit Gujrathi 1½–½, while Richard Rapport beat reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju by the same score. Pragg and Rapport will now play a match for 9th place.
Vidit and Gukesh are now eliminated from the event, as they finished in shared 11th place.
Richard Rapport | Photo: Lennart Ootes
