Levon Aronian with the Las Vegas Grand Slam trophy (photo Lennart Ootes/Freestyle Chess)

Aronian Wins First Freestyle Grand Slam Title in Las Vegas

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LAS VEGAS (freestyle-chess.com) — Levon Aronian captured his first Freestyle Chess Grand Slam crown on Sunday, July 20, at Wynn Las Vegas, defeating Hans Niemann 1.5-0.5 in the Grand Final. According to Freestyle-chess.com, the 42-year-old, who earlier in the week knocked out both Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura, sealed the title – and the $200,000 first prize – by converting a dominant second game after an opening draw.

Aronian declared: “It’s one of the biggest victories in my life, definitely the biggest when you count the prize fund. I am extremely happy and grateful for the opportunity.”

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