Freestyle Chess in Karlsruhe!

by Press release
4/3/2026 – The Freestyle Chess Open in Karlsruhe has begun as part of the grenke Chess Festival, which brought together nearly 4,000 players across multiple events. Led by Magnus Carlsen, Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Vincent Keymer, the main Freestyle Open features nine rounds with randomly generated starting positions. The winner will secure a place in the 2027 FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship. | Photo: Jeroen van den Belt / ChessBase
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Carlsen, Abdusattorov and Keymer head multitudinous field

By Freestyle Chess GmbH

The Freestyle Chess Open in Karlsruhe has begun. The world-class tournament is part of the grenke Chess Festival at the Schwarzwaldhalle, where nearly 4,000 players compete across six events - the largest chess tournament globally. Play runs from April 2 to 6. The Freestyle Open A is the key event, with the winner qualifying directly for the 2027 FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship.

The field, packed with world-class players, reflects the competitive value of the event. Magnus Carlsen, the world's number one, Vincent Keymer, Germany's number one, and Nodirbek Abdusattorov, the world's number five, lead the field. Nine rounds will be played. Each game begins with a newly generated starting position. Last year, Carlsen managed to win the Freestyle Open with nine wins out of nine games, a fabulous achievement that the Norwegian believes he will not be able to repeat. He's trying anyway.

More than 200,000 euros in prize money will be awarded in the Freestyle Open A, with 60,000 euros going to the winner. The top three women will earn spots in the 2027 Women's Freestyle Chess World Championship.

Full pairings and standings on Chess-Results: Freestyle chess | Classical chess

Photo gallery

By Jeroen van den Belt / ChessBase

Narmin Khalafova

WGM Narmin Khalafova, Magnus Carlsen's round-one opponent

grenke Chess Festival 2026

Players and fans getting acquainted with the initial Freestyle Chess position

Gunnar Schnepp, Hans Niemann

Austrian FM Gunnar Schnepp was defeated by US star Hans Niemann

grenke Chess Festival 2026

Local hero Vincent Keymer and multiple world champion Magnus Carlsen are the two biggest stars in the multitudinous festival

grenke Chess Festival 2026

Chess fans since an early age!

grenke Chess Festival 2026

It looks like the position on the board is particularly interesting!

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All available games - Freestyle Chess

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