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NEW DELHI: Another Freestyle Chess Grand Slam tournament has concluded, leaving Indian chess fans disappointed once again.
Out of the twelve players competing at the Pavillon Chesnaie du Roy in Paris, four were Indian.
Chess Olympiad gold medal-winning coach GM Srinath Narayanan, who will captain Team MGD1 at the upcoming FIDE 2025 World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships, believes Indian grandmasters need more time to adapt to the freestyle format.
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“It is too early to draw sweeping conclusions based on just two tournaments so far. Aside from the format, it’s also important to consider the exceptionally high level of opposition, with almost all the world’s best players participating,” Srinath told TimesofIndia.com during an exclusive interaction.
Freestyle Chess, inspired by the principles of Fischer Random, is still in its developmental stage.
Created by World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen and German entrepreneur Jan Henric Buettner, it disrupts traditional opening theory by randomising starting positions, forcing players to rely more on creativity and adaptability.
The first leg was won by Vincent Keymer in Germany, while Carlsen dominated the Paris leg without needing a single tie-break.
“Magnus was simply brilliant. He has done this so many times and continues to do so. He remains the best player of our time and one of the greatest of all time,” Srinath added.
From the Indian contingent, only Arjun Erigaisi advanced past the qualifying stage, only to be eliminated in the quarterfinals by eventual runner-up Hikaru Nakamura with a 1.5-0.5 scoreline. The rest of the Indian contingent performed poorly.
Arjun’s fifth-place finish, highlighted by his victories over Ian Nepomniachtchi and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, has sparked discussions about whether the 21-year-old is India’s strongest contender in Freestyle Chess.
“Arjun is very strong in the faster formats, and it benefits him that the qualification phase of freestyle chess is rapid. Arjun’s versatility is excellent,” Srinath continued. “The limited opportunities in elite-level events like the Grand Chess Tour have shaped Arjun to adapt and make the most of every chance he gets.”
The cut-off for reaching the quarterfinals was 4.5 points, a score achieved by Fabiano Caruana, who later defeated Germany leg winner Vincent Keymer to finish third behind Magnus Carlsen and Nakamura.
World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju, Vidit Gujrathi, and Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa failed to secure a spot in the top eight during the round-robin phase, which featured a rapid time control of 10 minutes plus a 10-second increment per move.
Gukesh and Vidit finished tied for 11th after struggling in the initial days of play.
“I feel that Gukesh has not yet paid much attention to the freestyle format. In the only standard tournament he played, in Wijk Aan Zee, he finished joint first (with Pragg crowned champion),” said Srinath.
“There is nothing wrong with his play itself. However, much of the work he did on openings for the world championship match is not very useful in the freestyle format.”
In the match for ninth place, Praggnanandhaa defeated Richárd Rapport over two days, finishing just outside the quarterfinal bracket in his debut Freestyle Chess Grand Slam appearance. This was also the first Grand Slam for both Arjun and Vidit.
However, for someone like Gukesh, success in Freestyle Chess remains elusive.
Despite strong wins over Arjun, Pragg, and Keymer in Paris, he failed to advance past the qualifying stage, following a winless performance in Germany.
So, are Indian players simply not suited for Freestyle Chess?
“It is too early to draw conclusions based on only one or two tournaments. As they play more and begin to take freestyle chess more seriously, I am confident they will adapt much better,” said the 31-year-old grandmaster.
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