Freestyle Challenge: Firouzja beats Carlsen, Abdusattorov beats Ding

The first (classical) games of the quarter-finals at the Freestyle G.O.A.T. Chess Challenge took place on Sunday. World number one Magnus Carlsen and world champion Ding Liren both suffered defeats with the black pieces, as they were outplayed by Alireza Firouzja and Nodirbek Abdusattorov, respectively. The one ‘veteran’ to score a win was Fabiano Caruana, who got the better of Gukesh D, while Vincent Keymer and Levon Aronian signed a draw after a wild, entertaining struggle. | Photo: Amruta Mokal