Armenian Grandmaster Levon Aronian has won the Las Vegas Freestyle Chess Grand Slam title, defeating American Grandmaster Hans Niemann, currently ranked World No.?19, in the final to claim the tournament’s $200,000 first-place prize.
The final opened with a draw in the first game, but Aronian sealed the championship by winning the second, earning a decisive match victory.
Aronian’s remarkable run to the title featured wins over World No.?1 Magnus Carlsen in the group stage, World No.?2 Hikaru Nakamura in the quarterfinals, and World No.?5 Arjun Erigaisi in the semifinals. His triumph over Niemann in the final capped off a dominant campaign against four of the most prominent names in modern chess.
Hosted at the five-star Wynn Las Vegas from July 16–20, the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam brought together 16 of the world’s top players in a Chess960 format. The event began with a 10+10 blitz round-robin group stage, followed by high-stakes double-elimination knockout rounds.
With this victory, Aronian not only claims the $200,000 top prize but also further solidifies his reputation among the global elite in both classical and freestyle chess.
The tournament featured a total prize fund of $750,000.
