Bengaluru: Arjun Erigaisi was unable to turn the tide in his latest match. After managing to secure a draw in Game 1 from a challenging position, the Indian player was decisively outperformed by world No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura in their second classical quarterfinal knockout encounter on Thursday.

This defeat for the world No. 4 signifies that no Indian competitor will be vying for the $200,000 grand prize in the Paris segment of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour.

Nakamura commented on the match during the Chessbase India stream, stating, “For better or worse, Arjun has significantly increased his rating in open tournaments, which I believe worked against him in this instance. At one point, he should have recognized the danger and aimed for a draw. Instead, he seemed to approach it as if it were an open tournament, while I was treating it like a match against a 2600-rated player, thinking he would eventually make a mistake. Unfortunately, it deteriorated quite badly.”

He further remarked, “My overall impression of these young players is that they are all exceptionally talented, yet they seem to emulate Magnus by prolonging the game. Often, they fail to identify the critical moments and instead act on autopilot. As they continue to develop, they will learn to discern when to decisively end the game and settle for a draw versus when to press on towards victory. This understanding will significantly enhance their performance.”

Earlier on Thursday evening, Fabiano Caruana became the first among the quarterfinalists to secure a spot in the semifinals, defeating French player Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.

Caruana is set to face world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen next, who managed a remarkable recovery after being in a precarious position for much of his game against Nodirbek Abdusattorov. When asked if he attributed his early difficulties to the starting position, Carlsen smiled and humorously attributed it to a “skill issue.” “At this moment, I just can’t seem to grasp Freestyle. That’s the essence of the game; it’s meant to be challenging.”

The quarterfinal match between Vincent Keymer and Ian Nepomniachtchi concluded with a second consecutive draw in classical play. The young German, who triumphed in the Weissenhaus leg of Freestyle Chess in February, subsequently defeated Nepomniachtchi in a rapid playoff consisting of two games with a time control of 10 minutes plus 10 seconds.

In the second game of the encounters for 9th to 12th place, both matches ended in draws. This outcome was sufficient for Praggnanandhaa R and Richard Rapport to secure victories against Vidit Gujrathi and reigning world champion Gukesh D, respectively, as both had already won their first games. Rapport is set to face Praggnanandhaa in the match for 9th and 10th place.

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