NI Bureau
The Freestyle Grand Slam Tour Stage 1 has kicked off with intense competition. Fabiano Caruana (USA) and Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) have taken the lead with 4.5/5 points, both securing victories against World No.1 Magnus Carlsen (NOR). Vladimir Fedoseev (SLO) also defeated Carlsen, making him the only other player to do so in the first five rounds.
Alireza Firouzja (FRA) trails behind the leaders by a full point at 3.5/5 and is the only player to defeat reigning World Champion D Gukesh (IND). Meanwhile, Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) has started with a balanced score of 2.5/5. Carlsen, Gukesh, Hikaru Nakamura (USA), and Vincent Keymer (GER) are struggling with 2/5 each.
Also read: Ashwin backs Rohit Sharma amid poor form, says performance is the only answer
Carlsen Faces a Rare Losing Streak
It has been a tough start for Carlsen, who has lost three out of five games, including back-to-back defeats in the last two rounds. This puts him on the verge of an unusual three-game losing streak. In Round 6, Nodirbek Abdusattorov has a chance to push the World No.1 into even deeper trouble.
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Prateeksha Thakur
