Armenian Grandmaster Levon Aronian continued his remarkable run by defeating Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi, currently ranked World No.?5, in the semifinals of the Las Vegas Freestyle Chess Grand Slam, a Chess960 tournament held at the Wynn Las Vegas from July 16–20.
With this victory, Aronian advances to the final, where he will compete for the tournament’s $200,000 first-place prize. Erigaisi, one of India’s top rising talents, exits after a strong performance throughout the event.
Earlier in the tournament, Aronian defeated World No.?1 Magnus Carlsen 2–0 in blitz tiebreaks during the group stage, and then overcame World No.?2 Hikaru Nakamura in the quarterfinals—solidifying his path to the final through consecutive victories against the world’s top-ranked players.
Now, after beating the World No.?1, No.?2, and No.?5 within the span of just three days, Aronian will play World No.?19 Hans Niemann for the championship title in the Las Vegas final.
The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam features 16 elite players in a 10+10 blitz round-robin group stage, followed by double-elimination knockout rounds. The total prize fund is $750,000, with $200,000 awarded to the winner.
