Freestyle Chess Paris: Carlsen and Nakamura reach the final

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
4/13/2025 – Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura reached the final of the Paris Freestyle Chess Grand Slam after winning their respective semifinal matches against Fabiano Caruana and Vincent Keymer. Both matches were decided without the need for tiebreaks, with Carlsen and Nakamura each scoring 1½–½. Meanwhile, Arjun Erigaisi and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave forced tiebreaks in their placement matches and advanced to the battle for fifth place. Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu secured ninth place by defeating Richard Rapport. | Photo: Lennart Ootes
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Carlsen beats Caruana, Naka beats Keymer

The final of the 2025 Paris Freestyle Chess Grand Slam is set to feature the world’s top two players, as Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura both won their semifinal matches on Saturday to book their place in Sunday's final.

Magnus Carlsen defeated Fabiano Caruana 1½–½ in their match. The deciding encounter saw Carlsen dominate the early middlegame, gaining space and initiative. Caruana spent over half an hour considering his response to 11.h4 and eventually opted for the bold 11...Qb8!? - a move which initially looked questionable but soon showed deep positional intent.

Despite navigating his way into a complex endgame, Caruana struggled with time pressure, and Carlsen capitalised with a strong sequence starting with 25.c5. The game ended after 44 moves with Carlsen securing the win and the match.

Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana

Magnus Carlsen v. Fabiano Caruana | Photo: Stev Bonhage

Hikaru Nakamura also progressed with a 1½–½ score, ending Vincent Keymer's unbeaten classical run in freestyle chess. Keymer opened with the unusual 1.d4 d5 2.b3, a line which Nakamura admitted had concerned his colleagues during earlier preparation.

While the computer initially approved of Keymer's handling of the position, Nakamura gradually took control. A key moment came with 14...0-0-0, repositioning his king to safety and shifting the momentum firmly in his favour.

Keymer was unable to recover, and Naka claimed the full point to secure his place in the final.

Freestyle Chess Grand Slam 2025

Elite analysis amid chess enthusiasts | Photo: Stev Bonhage

In the placement matches, Arjun Erigaisi and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave both won their second games to level their matches and force tie-breaks. Arjun's win, hailed by commentators as the standout performance of the day, helped carry that momentum into the rapid games, where both players advanced to the match for fifth place.

Elsewhere, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu defeated Richard Rapport to take ninth place in the overall standings.

The final day of the tournament will feature Carlsen v. Nakamura for the title, Caruana v. Keymer in the third-place match, and Arjun v. Vachier-Lagrave for fifth.

Praggnanandhaa 1-0 Rapport

Analysis by GM Karsten Müller

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, Richard Rapport

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu v. Richard Rapport | Photo: Stev Bonhage

All games - Knockout stage

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Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.