Heartbreak for Praggnanandhaa as Caruana wins thrilling tie-breaker at Freestyle Chess Las Vegas; Erigaisi impresses

Indian chess sensation R Praggnanandhaa suffered a heartbreaking defeat to American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana in an Armageddon game as he was knocked out of the Freestyle Chess Las Vegas Grand Slam title race on Thursday, while compatriot Arjun Erigaisi became the only Indian to reach the semi-finals.

Coming from the high of dismantling Magnus Carlsen in just 39 moves and sparking his exit from the tournament, Praggnanandhaa was in inspired form as he went toe to toe against world No.3 and one of the best players on the circuit, Caruana.

Praggnanandhaa loses thrilling contest vs Caruana

The first Armageddon tie-breaker of the tournament was played after there was nothing to separate Praggnanandhaa and Caruana following six matches, as they were tied 3-3. The two players won a Classical game each at the start of their quarter-finals, played with a time control of 30 minutes + 30 seconds per move.

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They remain tied even after the two Rapid games (10+10) and the two Blitz games (5+2), forcing the match into an Armageddon tie-breaker. In an Armageddon game, the player with Black pieces only needs a draw while White has to register a clear and has more time on the clock.

Nonetheless, Caruana outwitted Praggnanandhaa with Black in the Armageddon game after 72 moves as the 32-year-old American chess star progressed to the semi-finals, setting up a match against fellow compatriot Hans Niemann, who reached the last four stage by beating Uzbek Javokhir Sindarov 4-2.

India's Erigaisi had the easiest of outings in the quarter-finals as he thumped Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan 1.5-.5 in the first two Classical games. He will be up against Levon Aronian in the semi-finals.

Arnonian has been in top form in the Las Vegas leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam, having eliminated Carlsen on Day 1 and defeated world No.2 Hikaru Nakamura 2.5-1.5 in the quarter-finals.

In the lower bracket of the quarter-finals, world No.1 Carlsen thrashed India’s Vidit Gujrathi to progress to the Intermediate Matches Stage 1, where he will be up against Sindarov.

Praggnanandhaa faces Germany's Vincent Keymer in the classification match.