"I'm not gonna be able to do that again"

Magnus Carlsen won the Grenke Freestyle Chess Open with an out-of-this-world 9/9 score, finishing a full two points ahead of the rest of the field. The event, held from 17 to 21 April at the Karlsruhe Convention Centre in Germany, followed a nine-round Swiss format and featured classical time controls in the Freestyle Chess (a.k.a. chess960) format. Carlsen secured overall victory with a round to spare and concluded the tournament with a win over Vincent Keymer, the winner of the Weissenhaus leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour.

Seven players shared second place on 7/9: Leinier Dominguez, Fabiano Caruana, Andrey Esipenko, Alexey Sarana, Parham Maghsoodloo, Arjun Erigaisi and Frederik Svane. Since Carlsen is already qualified for the next stage of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam, which will take place in Las Vegas, the qualification spot reserved for the Grenke winner will be decided in a tiebreaker among the players who finished in shared second place. The format and schedule for the playoff have not yet been announced.

Carlsen entered the final day of action - two rounds were played on Monday - with a full-point lead over Rauf Mamedov and Andrey Esipenko. In round eight, Carlsen faced Mamedov with the black pieces and defeated him in a materially balanced endgame with knight and rook against bishop and rook.

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At the same time, Keymer beat Esipenko, which effectively decided the outcome of the tournament. These results gave Carlsen a 1½-point lead over the nearest pursuers, including Keymer, Dominguez, Maghsoodloo, Ray Robson and Frederik Svane. With one round remaining, Carlsen had already secured first place.

Magnus Carlsen secured overall victory with one round to spare | Photo: Dariusz Gorzinski

The final round saw intense competition among those hoping to secure the Grand Slam qualification spot. The players tied for second knew that a final-round win might give them the edge, especially if others faltered. However, none of the five players who were just behind Carlsen going into round nine managed to score a full point.

Keymer lost to Carlsen, Svane and Robson drew, much like Dominguez and Maghsoodloo, who split the point in a tense encounter. Meanwhile, Caruana, Arjun, Sarana and Esipenko scored full points, thus catching up and forming the final group of seven players on 7/9.

Of those, Maghsoodloo came closest to taking sole second place. In his game against Dominguez, the Iranian grandmaster reached a favourable endgame with queens and rooks still on the board and an extra pawn. However, an inaccurate decision on move 36 allowed Dominguez to create immediate counterplay.

Maghsoodloo faltered with 36...Qc1, since after 37.Qd5, White posed threats of perpetual check, with the queen able to swing between a8, e4 and b7. The more precise 36...Qb1 would have allowed Black to respond with 37...Rg1, and after 38.Qa8+ Kh7 39.Qe4+ g6 (diagram), White would have run out of meaningful checks, as the queen would control the b7-square.

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As it was, Dominguez managed to simplify into a rook endgame that, although a pawn down, was theoretically drawn. He held the position without issue, denying Maghsoodloo the full point and a chance to break away from the pack.

Parham Maghsoodloo faced Magnus Carlsen in the seventh round | Photo: Dariusz Gorzinski

Following his outstanding performance, Carlsen acknowledged that he only faced one player rated above 2700 - Keymer in the final round. However, he did face five players rated between 2600 and 2700. Reflecting on the result, Carlsen stated:

This is the kind of thing that I aim for these days. I'm not gonna be able to do that again, that's for sure!

His experience in Freestyle events, many of which have been organised by chess patron Jan Henric Buettner, may have contributed to his comfort in the format, but a perfect score at this level remains exceptional by any standard.

The Grenke Freestyle Open represents a significant moment in the evolution of this chess variant. With the classical time control applied and an open field including elite players, it marked a departure from the invitational format more commonly associated with the variant. Carlsen's dominant performance, and the depth of the field chasing behind him, have set a new benchmark for what can be achieved in this growing format.

Fabiano Caruana drew Baadur Jobana in round seven | Photo: Dariusz Gorzinski

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Andrey Esipenko | Photo: Dariusz Gorzinski

Arjun Erigaisi | Photo: Dariusz Gorzinski

A multitude of chess fans in Karlsruhe! | Photo: Dariusz Gorzinski

Final standings

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Links

• Official website
• grenke Chess YouTube channel