grenke: Keymer takes control ahead of final day

by Press release
4/6/2026 – Vincent Keymer holds the sole lead at the grenke Freestyle Open A with 6½/7 points after defeating Hans Niemann and drawing Magnus Carlsen in a tense encounter. A chasing group consisting of Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Alexey Sarana and Pranav Venkatesh remains within striking distance as the final two rounds of the event are set to take place on Monday. | Photo: Nils Rohde / ChessBase
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MVL, Sarana and Pranav a half point behind sole leader Keymer

By Conrad Schormann / Freestyle Chess GmbH

Vincent Keymer leads the Freestyle Open A at the grenke Chess Festival in Karlsruhe with 6½ points after seven rounds.

In round six, Keymer defeated Hans Niemann in the decisive game for the lead and then drew Magnus Carlsen in the marquee matchup of the day. The tournament, which had started with a broad group of leaders, now has a sole leader, pursued by a trio of players on 6 points.

Keymer and Niemann entered the day with perfect scores. Their game followed a familiar pattern: symmetry, balance and no clear paths to progress. "Most games were quite symmetrical like ours. It should have been equal", Keymer said afterward. But Niemann overlooked a tactical idea, dropping an exchange and the game soon after. The lead was no longer shared.

Hans Niemann

Hans Niemann | Photo: Nils Rohde / ChessBase

Hours later, Keymer had to defend that lead against Carlsen. The game in round seven became the focal point of the day. Both players took risks. Carlsen's king remained in the centre for a long stretch. Keymer created pressure. Carlsen built counterplay on the open h-file. "A wild affair", Peter Leko called it. Time trouble followed. While both players dropped below two minutes, the position never stabilised.

In the end, Keymer secured a draw by perpetual. Not being able to repeat Carlsen's 9/9 from 2025 didn't bother him much. His declared aim is to secure the 2027 FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship spot by winning the tournament.

Magnus Carlsen, Vincent Keymer

Setting up the round's Freestyle position | Photo: Nils Rohde / ChessBase

Vincent Keymer, Magnus Carlsen

In deep thought right out of the gate | Photo: Nils Rohde / ChessBase

The opening battle was tricky. Being one point behind, Carlsen needed an imbalanced fight. Yet he chose the symmetrical 1…d5. Leko offered an explanation: after 1…f5, White might respond with 2.g4, immediately activating his queen. Carlsen avoided that path.

The engine isn't convinced, but strong human GMs think this is good for White

The contrast was visible on the neighbouring board. In the game between Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Niemann, exactly this structure appeared: 1.d4 f5 2.g4. The game was sharp from the start. MVL confirmed that, in his view, the position after 2.g4 should be pleasant for White.

For Niemann, it was not a great day. Against Vachier-Lagrave, he reached a difficult endgame. Under pressure and short on time, he made the second decisive error of the day. Vachier-Lagrave converted his advantage. Within hours, Niemann had gone from sharing the lead to being left out of the race for overall victory.

Carlsen's day was quieter. In round six, he failed to create winning chances against Alexey Sarana and agreed to a draw. In round seven, he entered a complex fight against Keymer but did not find the right path when the only chance to win the game offered itself. With 5½/7, one point behind the leader, Carlsen's chances to win the event for a second year in a row have shrunk significantly.

Magnus Carlsen

Chess superstar Magnus Carlsen | Photo: Nils Rohde / ChessBase

Behind the top boards, the story of outsider Daniel Hausrath in his first Freestyle Chess tournament continued. Nodirbek Abdusattorov had chances against the 2440-rated German grandmaster, but allowed the game to drift into a draw. The Uzbek star said:

I was playing well, but I relaxed and underestimated his counterplay. He was better then, but went for a repetition. I'm a little bit frustrated.

In round seven, Hausrath's run ended with a loss to Sarana.

Nodirbek Abdusattorov

Nodirbek Abdusattorov | Photo: Nils Rohde / ChessBase

The women's race is intensifying. Three players lead with 5/7 points, two of them former world champions: Alexandra Kosteniuk and Mariya Muzychuk are tied for first with Lela Javakhishvili. Behind them, four players follow on 4½, including German number one Dinara Wagner. With two rounds left, the fight for the three 2027 FIDE Freestyle Chess Women's World Championship spots is wide open.

In round eight, Keymer faces Sarana, one of his three closest pursuers. World junior champion Pranav Venkatesh meets Vachier-Lagrave. Carlsen plays Nodirbek Yakubboev, as he needs a win to remain in the race for tournament victory.

Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Leon Luke Mendonca

Jan-Krzysztof Duda faced Leon Luke Mendonca in round seven (the game ended in a draw) | Photo: Nils Rohde / ChessBase

Leon Luke Mendonca

Both Duda and Mendonca are tied with Magnus Carlsen on 5½/7, a full point behind Keymer | Photo: Nils Rohde / ChessBase

Nihal Sarin, Pranav Venkatesh

Pranav Venkatesh defeated his compatriot Nihal Sarin with the white pieces and is now tied for second place | Photo: Nils Rohde / ChessBase

Standings after round 7 - Freestyle Chess

Rk. Name Pts. TB1
1 Keymer, Vincent 6,5 34,5
2 Sarana, Alexey 6 33
3 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 6 31,5
4 Pranav, V 6 31
5 Nepomniachtchi, Ian 5,5 34,5
6 Carlsen, Magnus 5,5 34
7 Mendonca, Leon Luke 5,5 33,5
8 Yakubboev, Nodirbek 5,5 31,5
9 Duda, Jan-Krzysztof 5,5 31
Abdusattorov, Nodirbek 5,5 31
11 Murzin, Volodar 5,5 30,5
12 Aryan Chopra, 5,5 29
13 Kamsky, Gata 5,5 28
14 Fedoseev, Vladimir 5,5 27,5
15 Niemann, Hans Moke 5 35,5
16 Dominguez Perez, Leinier 5 32,5
Nihal Sarin, 5 32,5
18 Jobava, Baadur 5 31
19 Aravindh, Chithambaram VR. 5 30,5
Saric, Ivan 5 30,5
Bortnyk, Olexandr 5 30,5
Jussupow, Artur 5 30,5
Hausrath, Daniel 5 30,5
24 Meier, Georg 5 30
Wagner, Dennis 5 30
Sasikiran, Krishnan 5 30
27 Liang, Awonder 5 29,5
Lagarde, Maxime 5 29,5
Koelle, Tobias 5 29,5
Kosteniuk, Alexandra 5 29,5

...310 players

All available games - Freestyle Chess

Standings after round 7 - Classical Chess

Rk. Name Pts. TB1
1 Xiao, Tong(QD) 6,5 34
2 Hong, Andrew 6,5 33
3 Horvath, Dominik 6,5 32
4 Gupta, Abhijeet 6 35,5
5 Suyarov, Mukhammadzokhid 6 34,5
Koellner, Ruben Gideon 6 34,5
7 Moussard, Jules 6 33,5
Prraneeth Vuppala, 6 33,5
9 Idani, Pouya 6 31,5
Balakrishnan, Praveen 6 31,5
Firman, Nazar 6 31,5
12 Chasin, Nico 6 31
13 Schneider, Ilja 6 30,5
14 Karthik Venkataraman, 6 30
15 Brodsky, David 6 29,5
Lu, Miaoyi 6 29,5
17 Zeng, Chongsheng 6 28,5
18 Costa, Leonardo 5,5 34
19 Bauer, Christian 5,5 33,5
Frischmann, Rick 5,5 33,5
21 Draskovic, Luka 5,5 32,5
Begmuratov, Khumoyun 5,5 32,5
Abdurakhmonov, Mukhammadali 5,5 32,5
24 Neef, Maximilian 5,5 32
Nothnagel, Marian Can 5,5 32
26 Beerdsen, Thomas 5,5 31,5
Degraeve, Remy 5,5 31,5
28 Eljanov, Pavel 5,5 31
Eugene, Floryan 5,5 31
Buckels, Valentin 5,5 31

...998 players

All available games - Classical Chess

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Topics: grenke Open 2026, Vincent Keymer
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