Keymer triumphs in Weissenhaus, defeats both Carlsen and Caruana

No need for tiebreaks

Vincent Keymer is the winner of the Freestyle Chess Tournament in Weissenhaus. In the second final game against Fabiano Caruana, the German grandmaster neutralised Caruana's play from the get-go. Playing black, Keymer gained a pawn with a controlled offensive plan. Caruana later found an attacking idea, but it was fended off by the eventual champion.

The German star had what was an objectively better alternative in defence, but it was overly risky. Thus, the 20-year-old from Mainz opted for the safe route and led the game to a draw. On move 31, Caruana stopped his attempts to win and agreed to split the point in an endgame with rook and bishop.

Caruana, Fabiano2803

½–½

Keymer, Vincent2731

Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour Knock O Weissenhaus, Germany14.02.2025[Schulz, A]

Fabiano Caruana had lost the first game of the final, so he was in a must-win situation. 1.d4 f5 2.Nhg3 d5 3.f3 e5!? A very aggressive opening by Black. 4.dxe5 Nhg6! This move was highly praised by Leko. However, Keymer later admitted that he did not feel comfortable during the game at all. 4...Rxe5 would have been the standard move. 5.e4!? 5.f4 Nh4 Attacking the g2-pawn, which cannot be defended. 6.c4 White now distracts his opponent, leaving no time to capture on g2. dxc4 6...Nxg2 7.Ba4 c6 8.Rd1 8.cxd5 Nxe1 9.dxc6 bxc6 10.Qxe1 7.Ba4 7.e4 g5 8.fxg5 f4 7...c6 8.e4 g5! "The move of the game", said Leko. 8...Nxg2 9.Re2 Nh4 10.Bc2 9.Nxf5 9.fxg5 f4 9...Nxf5 10.exf5 Qxf5+ 11.Bc2 Qxf4 12.Be3 Qf7

Black has emerged from the skirmish with an extra pawn. However, White has a lead in development. 13.Ng3 Ng6 14.Bxg5 The recaptured pawn is only temporary. Bxg5 15.Qxg5 Qf4 16.Qxf4 Nxf4 White cannot simultaneously defend both g2 and e5. 17.0-0-0 Nxg2 18.Rg1 18.Re2 Nf4 19.Re4 Nd5= 18...Ne3

19.Nf5 White must win the game, so he goes on the attack and temporarily sacrifices the exchange. Nxd1 20.Rg7 20.Nd6 Kc7 21.Rg7+ Kb6 22.Rxb7+ Ka6-+ 20...0-0-0 Stronger was the calm 20...a5 21.Nd6 Ka7 22.Rxb7+ Ka6 23.Rc7 Rxe5 24.Rxc6+ Ka7 25.Rc7+ Kb6-+ 21.Nd6+ Kb8 22.Nxe8 22.Rxb7+ Ka8-+ gains nothing for White. 22...Rxe8 23.Bxd1 Bd5 24.Rxh7 Rxe5

White now has a distant passed pawn, but Black's pieces are active, making the pawn largely irrelevant. Moreover, Black has strong counterplay with his queenside pawn majority. 25.h4 Re1 26.Kd2 Rh1 27.h5 Rh2+ 28.Kc3 Rh3+ 29.Kd2 Rh2+ 30.Kc3 Rh3+ 31.Kd2 Caruana realises that there is nothing left to play for, agrees to a draw, and thus loses the match. ½–½

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Draw agreed | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Fabiano Caruana | Photo: Stev Bonhage

In the round-robin tournament at the beginning of the competition, which was played with a rapid time control, Keymer did not have a particularly remarkable performance, as he qualified for the knockout phase in sixth place.

In the knockout, the first three players in the qualifying tournament were allowed to choose their opponents for the quarterfinals. As the winner of the round-robin tournament, Firouzja chose Keymer as his opponent, but the German ace proved to be a much tougher opponent than Firouzja might have expected given the long thinking time. Keymer won the first game against the French representative and settled for a draw in the second in a winning position.

The young German grandmaster continued in this style. In the semifinal, Keymer also won the first game against Carlsen very confidently. The Norwegian had virtually no chance there. Keymer drew the second game with black quite easily.

And, with the same strategy, Keymer also won the final against Caruana.

Attack like a Super Grandmaster

In this Fritztrainer: “Attack like a Super GM” with Gukesh we touch upon all aspects of his play, with special emphasis on how you can become a better attacking player.

Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Vincent Keymer and Javokhir Sindarov analysing a Freestyle Chess position | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Magnus Carlsen decided the match for third place in his favour with a second win in a row against Javokhir Sinarov. Hikaru Nakamura defeated Nodirbek Abdusattorov and finished fifth. In the match for seventh place, Alireza Firouzja outscored world champion Gukesh Dommaraju.

The Freestyle Chess tournament in Weissenhaus is the first of five Freestyle Chess tournaments this year. The players receive Grand Slam points for their placings and, of course, prize money. The tournament winner received 200,000 euros.

Magnus Carlsen finished in third place | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Winning with the King's Indian Attack, King's Indian: A modern approach + Kings Indian Powerbook & Powerbase

The King’s Indian Attack is full of positional and tactical ideas and often an unpleasant surprise for the opponent.

Hikaru Nakamura | Photo: Lennart Ootes

All games - Knockout

Final standings - Rapid

Replay all games of the rapid round-robin on Live.ChessBase.com

Links

• Official website
• Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour 2025 kicks off - with Gukesh, Carlsen and Anand
• Freestyle Summit: Carlsen holds draw with black, beats Caruana 1½-½
• Weissenhaus Play-In: Fedoseev gets spot in Grand Slam
• Javokhir Sindarov joins the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam kick-off