The early day of the 2025 freestyle chess Grand Slam Tour in Las Vegas gave shockwaves to the chess world: Magnus Carlsen, Freestyle Chess King and overall tour leader faced a surprising elimination on the group stage. But the spotlight stole was not just the result; This was Hans Neemon’s unfiltard, cheerful reaction, which has now gone viral.Watch:The drama surfaced during the group stage, where 16 players divided into two groups through seven rounds of 10+10 action. Carlson, who entered the high-riding event after winning the back-to-back and a famous 9/9 performance in Carlsuhe, could win three winning only two important games. This forced him to a playoff for the final qualification site for the fourth place in Group White.The playoffs for Carlson fans were cruel: Aaronian dominated both, winning the 5+2 games, the second one in a wild time scrambal, sent home to Norwegian superstar early.Meanwhile, Neeman, who qualified through online play-in on his birthday a few weeks ago, changed his head with his performance. After running up to 4.5/5, they finished the day at 4.5 points despite the loss to Caruana and Nakamura.
Their strong form, combined with confident sports and creative openings, affects commentators and fans equally. “I really immersed myself into freestyle,” Neemon said on the stream. “Six hours training game a day.”But everyone spoke after Aaronian’s first playoff victory. Neemon, in the studio, bursting laughing and being very happy for Levon, “There are very few pleasures in life that compare this feeling!” His raw honesty changed social media within a few minutes, which found another layer in the Karlson-Niman rivalry story.Giving ahead of Carlsen from its respective group with Praggananandha, Abdusatorov, and Sindarov, the Las Vegas leg is already taking shape as the most unexpected event of the year.
