Weissenhaus Day 1: Caruana and Sindarov share the lead, Carlsen struggles

Warming up!

The first five rounds of the all-play-all qualifying stage at the Freestyle Chess tournament in Weissenhaus took place on Friday, marking the start of the battle for the eight available spots in the knockout stage. Set in a luxurious venue, ten elite players competed under a 10+10 rapid time control, which, combined with the unpredictability of the Freestyle Chess starting positions, led to a number of blunders and tactical mishaps. Even experienced players such as Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian fell victim to early mistakes, finding themselves in clearly inferior positions even before reaching move 15.

Two players emerged as the early leaders: Fabiano Caruana and Javokhir Sindarov, who both scored an impressive 4½/5 points. Following behind in sole third place is Nodirbek Abdusattorov on 3½ points, while Alireza Firouzja sits in fourth place with 2½ points.

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.

The remaining six players all ended the day with a minus score, including world number one Magnus Carlsen, world champion Gukesh Dommaraju, Hikaru Nakamura and Vincent Keymer, who each have 2 points. Vladimir Fedoseev and Levon Aronian, with only 1 point, are in real danger of missing out on the knockout stage.

Much attention was naturally drawn to Magnus Carlsen's performance. The Norwegian, who won last year's G.O.A.T. Challenge at the same venue, had a slow start - something not uncommon in his career, as he often improves as events progress. On Friday, he played a decisive role in shaping the standings, as all five of his games ended with a winner. He scored two victories but also suffered three losses, including consecutive defeats against Sindarov and Fedoseev, the two players who qualified via the online play-in event.

With four rounds to be played (on Saturday) in the qualifying stage, much can change in the standings. While Caruana and Sindarov have all but secured their spots in the deciding stage, the fight for places in the knockout remains open, with players such as Carlsen, Nakamura and Gukesh needing a solid second day to secure qualification. Meanwhile, Fedoseev and Aronian will need a significant turnaround if they are to avoid elimination before the classical phase of the tournament begins.

Analyses by Karsten Müller

Keymer 0 - 1 Sindarov

Keymer, Vincent

0–1

Sindarov, Javokhir

Weissenhaus Freestyle Grand Slam 07.02.2025[Mueller,Karsten]

Domination dance. Usually a bishop is stronger than a knight in a pawn race on both wings, but in this case White can defend: 53.Nd5 The knight must return. As 53.a5? runs into Bxa5 54.Kxa5 Kxg2-+ 53...Kxg2 54.f4? Now Black's g-pawn will decide the day. 54.a5? is also wrong due to Bxa5 55.Kxa5 Kxf3-+ But 54.Ne3+ draws due to Kxf3 55.Nxf5 g4 56.a5 Bf2 57.a6 Kf4 58.Nh4= 54...g4 55.Ne3+ Kf3 56.Nxf5 Kxf4 57.Nd4 57.Ng7 is met by the domination dance: Kg5! 58.Ne6+ Kf5 59.Ng7+ Kf6 60.Nh5+ Kg5-+ and finally the knight is outfoxed. 57...Bf2

Good preparation. The direct 57...g3?? runs into 58.Ne2+= 58.Ne6+ Ke5 59.Nf8 Kf5 Of course not 59...g3?? 60.Ng6+ Ke4 61.Nh4= 60.a5 g3 0–1

The Keymer Variation - 1.Nf3 d5 2.e3

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.

Vincent Keymer and Javokhir Sindarov | Photo: Abhyudaya Ram

Abdusattorov ½ - ½ Caruana

Abdusattorov, Nodirbek2766

½–½

Caruana, Fabiano2803

Freestyle Chess GST Weissenhaus RR 2025 07.02.2025[Mueller,Karsten]

1.e4 e5 2.g3 g6 3.f4 d6 4.d3 Ne7 5.Nf3 Ne6 6.fxe5 dxe5 7.Ne3 Nc6 8.Bd2 Ned4 9.Nxd4 exd4 10.Nd5 Ne5 11.Qe2 c6 12.Nf4 g5 13.Ng2 h6 14.Rf1 Bg4 15.Qf2 Bh3 16.Rg1 Re6 17.Ne1 Rf6 18.Nf3 Rxf3 19.Bxf3 Qf6 20.Bf4 gxf4 21.gxf4 Qxf4 22.Rg8+ Kc7 23.Rxa8 Nxf3 24.Qg3 Be5 25.Qxf4 Bxf4 26.c3 dxc3 27.bxc3 Ne1 28.d4 Bxh2 29.0-0-0 Nf3 30.Rh8 Bf4+ 31.Kc2 Bg5 32.Rh7 Be6 33.Rf1 Nh4 34.Kd3 b5 35.Rfxf7+ Bxf7 36.Rxf7+ Kb6 37.e5 Ng6 38.Rh7 Nf4+ 39.Ke4 Nd5 40.Kd3 a5 41.Rf7 a4 42.Rg7 Be7 43.Rh7 h5 44.c4 bxc4+ 45.Kxc4 h4 46.Rh8 a3 47.Rh7 Kc7 48.Rh6 Kd7 49.Rh7 Nf4 50.Rf7 Nd5

51.Rh7 An active rook and dangerous rook's pawns. Usually two minor pieces are stronger than a single rook. But in an endgame matters can be different, if the rook is active and has targets: Nb6+ 51...Nb4 wins as well thanks to Black's rook's pawns, e.g. 52.Kb3 Nd3 53.Kc4 Nc1 54.d5 cxd5+ 55.Kxd5 Nxa2 56.e6+ Kd8 57.Rh8+ Kc7 58.Re8 Nc3+ 59.Kd4 Bf6+-+ 52.Kd3 Ke6 53.Rh6+ Kd7 54.Rh7 Na8? This retreat goes too far. The active approach 54...Ke6 wins, e.g. 55.Rh6+ Kf5 56.Rxc6 Nd5 57.Rc1 h3 58.Rh1 Bh4 59.Kc4 59.Rxh3 Nf4+-+ 59...Nf4 60.Kc5 Nd3+ 61.Kd6 Nf2 62.Rb1 h2 63.e6 h1Q 64.Rxh1 Nxh1 65.e7 Bxe7+ 66.Kxe7 Ke4-+ 55.Kc4 Nc7 56.Rh6 Na6 57.Kb3 Nb4 57...Nc7 is met by 58.Kc4 Ne6 59.d5 cxd5+ 60.Kxd5 Nf4+ 61.Ke4 Ne2 62.Ra6 Nc3+ 63.Kf5 Nxa2 64.e6+ Kc8 65.Ra8+ Kb7 66.Re8 Bd6 67.e7= 58.Kxa3 Nc2+ 59.Kb2 Nxd4 60.a4 c5 61.a5 Nc6

62.a6! The dangerous a-pawn must be preserved. Kc7 63.Kc3 Now the king can join the party as well. Nxe5 64.Rh7 White's rook is as strong as Black's minor pieces now. Nc6 65.Kc4 Kb6 66.Rh6 Kc7 67.Kb5 Na7+ 68.Kc4 Nc8 69.Rh7 Kb6 70.Rh6+ Kc7 70...Ka5 71.Re6 Bf8 72.Rf6 Nb6+ 73.Kd3 c4+ 74.Ke2 Bc5 75.a7 Na8 76.Rc6 Bxa7 77.Rxc4 h3 78.Rh4= 71.Rh7 Kb6 72.Rh6+ Nd6+ 73.Kd5 Kxa6 74.Re6 Bf8 75.Rf6 Be7 76.Re6 Bf8 77.Rf6 and a draw was agreed as Black's bishop cannot escape the rook hunt. ½–½

Navigating the Ruy Lopez Vol.1-3

The Ruy Lopez is one of the oldest openings which continues to enjoy high popularity from club level to the absolute world top. In this video series, American super GM Fabiano Caruana, talking to IM Oliver Reeh, presents a complete repertoire for White.

Pre-game analysis | Photo: Abhyudaya Ram

Standings after round 5

Rk.		Name	Rtg.	Nt.	Pts.	n	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	TB	Perf.
1		Caruana,F	2803		4.5	5			1	½			1		1	1	8.75	3132
2		Sindarov,J	2700		4.5	5					½		1	1	1	1	7.00	3128
3		Firouzja,A	2760		3.5	5	0				1	½		1	1		6.00	2921
4		Abdusattorov,N	2766		2.5	5	½				½	½		0		1	5.25	2767
5		Gukesh D	2777		2.0	5		½	0	½		½			½		5.00	2683
6		Nakamura,H	2802		2.0	5			½	½	½		0		½		4.50	2704
7		Carlsen,M	2833		2.0	5	0	0				1		1		0	4.00	2680
8		Keymer,V	2731		2.0	5		0	0	1			0			1	3.50	2685
9		Aronian,L	2745		1.0	5	0	0	0		½	½					2.00	2528
10		Fedoseev,V	2724		1.0	5	0	0		0			1	0			2.00	2527
TBs: Sonneborn-Berger

All games

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