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.
Let our authors show you how Carlsen tailored his openings to be able to outplay his opponents strategically in the middlegame or to obtain an enduring advantage into the endgame.
WGM Narmin Khalafova, Magnus Carlsen's round-one opponent
Players and fans getting acquainted with the initial Freestyle Chess position
Austrian FM Gunnar Schnepp was defeated by US star Hans Niemann
In this video course, experts (Pelletier, Marin, Müller and Reeh) examine the games of Viktor Korchnoi. Let them show you which openings Korchnoi chose to play, where his strength in middlegames were, or how he outplayed his opponents in the endgame.
Local hero Vincent Keymer and multiple world champion Magnus Carlsen are the two biggest stars in the multitudinous festival
Chess fans since an early age!
It looks like the position on the board is particularly interesting!
This video course features the ins-and-outs of the possible setups Black can choose. You’ll learn the key concepts and strategies needed to add this fantastic opening to your repertoire. An easy-to-learn and yet venomous weapon.
Local hero @VincentKeymer04 started the Grenke Freestyle Open with a win over WIM Sonja Maria Bluhm! Both players were smiling after the game as Sonja did some post-game analysis with Vincent.
YOUR PERSONAL CHESS COACH - Whether you’re taking your first steps into the world of club chess, or already playing at a tournament level: with FRITZ, you can train more efficiently, intelligently and with a more personalised approach than ever before.
YOUR PERSONAL CHESS COACH - Whether you’re taking your first steps into the world of club chess, or already playing at a tournament level: with FRITZ, you can train more efficiently, intelligently and with a more personalised approach than ever before.
While tactics decide the game in concrete moments, strategy guides the entire battle. Understanding how to improve your pieces, create weaknesses, execute maneuvers, and steer the game toward favorable structures is what defines strong players.
The Italian Four Knights is the ideal choice. It combines the solid foundation of classical openings like the Ruy Lopez or the Italian Game with an active, initiative-driven style of play.
IM Andrew Martin shows why this 19th-century opening weapon still is a fantastic choice for club players. The Evans produces exciting chess and teaches the art of attack.
The major part of the material on which the Petroff Defence Powerbook 2026 is based comes from the engine room of playchess.com: 357 000 games. This imposing number is supplemented by another 17 000 from Mega and from correspondence chess.
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