Why are the top Indian Grandmasters struggling in freestyle chess? , Chess news

New Delhi: Another Freestyle chess Grand Slam tournament concludes Indian chess The fans once again disappointed.
Four of the twelve players who competed in Pavilon Chasani Do Roy in Paris were Indians.
Chess Olympiad Gold medalist coach GM Shrinath NarayananWhich will captain the team MGD1 at the upcoming FIDE 2025 World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships, believes Indian Grandmasters need more time to adapt to freestyle format.
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Srinath said, “So far, it is very early to draw widespread conclusions based on only two tournaments. Separate from the format, to participate with the best players in almost all the world, it is also important,” Srinath said. Timesofindia.com During a special conversation.
Freestyle chess, is inspired by the principles of fisher random, is still in its development stage.
Manufactured by World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen and German entrepreneur John Henic Buetner, this traditional opening theory disrupts randomly early positions, forcing players to rely more on creativity and adaptability.
The first leg was won by Vincent Kimar in Germany, while Carlson dominated Paris leg without the need for a single tie-break.
Srinath said, “Magnus was just fantastic. He has done this many times and continues to do so. He remains the best player of our time and is one of the greatest of all time.”
From the Indian contingent, only Arjun Erigasi Advanced from qualifying stage, final runner-up with only 1.5–0.5 scorline to end in the quarter-finals by Hikaru Nakamura. The rest of the Indian contingent performed poorly.
Ian Nepomoniachi and Maxim finished fifth of Arjun, who was exposed to the winar-Lagrave, discussed whether 21-year-old is India’s strongest contender in freestyle chess.
“Arjun is very strong in sharp formats, and it benefits him that freestyle’s qualification phase chess Is fast. Arjuna’s versatility is excellent, “Srinath continued.” Limited opportunities in elite level programs like Grand Chess tour have shaped Arjuna to customize and take maximum advantage of every opportunity. ,
The cut-off was 4.5 points to reach the quarter-finals, a score obtained by Fabiano Caruana, which later defeated German leg-winner Vincent Vincent Kimer to finish third behind Magnus Carlsen and Nakamura.

World champion Gukesh domrajuVidit Gujratha, and Rameshbabu Pragganandha failed to secure a location in the top eight during the round-robin phase, with a rapid 10-minute rapid time control as well as an increase of 10-second per speed.
Gukesh and the famous game finished 11th after struggling in the early days.
Srinath said, “I think Gukesh has not yet paid much attention to the freestyle format. The only standard in the tournament, what he played, in the Vijak on Zee, he finished the first joint (with the Prag Crown Champion),” Srinath said.
“Nothing is wrong with his game. However, the work he has done at the inauguration for the World Championship match is not very useful in the freestyle format.”
In the match for the ninth place, Praggananandha defeated Richared Tords in two days, finishing outside the quarter -final bracket in his debut freestyle chess grand slam appearance. It was also the first Grand Slam for both Arjuna and Vidit.
However, for a person like Gukesh, success in freestyle chess is elusive.
Despite a strong victory over Arjun, Pragug and Kimar in Paris, he failed to pursue the qualifying stage after a winning performance in Germany.
So, are Indian players not only favorable for freestyle chess?
The 31 -year -old Grandmaster said, “It is too early to conclude based on only one or two tournaments. As they play more and start taking freestyle chess more seriously, I am confident that they will adopt much better.”