The knockout stage of the Freestyle Chess tournament in Weissenhaus began on Sunday, with the first classical games of the quarterfinals and the ninth-place playoff taking place. Following the round-robin stage, which was won by Alireza Firouzja, the top eight players advanced to the main phase of the event, while Levon Aronian and Vladimir Fedoseev, who finished ninth and tenth, are facing each other in a separate match to determine their final standings. Like the quarterfinals, their match follows a two-game classical format, with rapid and blitz tiebreakers if necessary.
Three players took the lead in their matches, as Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana and Vincent Keymer all scored wins on the first day of the knockout. Hikaru Nakamura and Javokhir Sindarov, meanwhile, remain level after drawing their encounter. Carlsen's victory over Nodirbek Abdusattorov came in just 23 moves, with the Uzbek grandmaster making a mistake as early as move three. Caruana got the better of world champion Gukesh Dommaraju in a tense, double-edged battle, while Keymer capitalised on Firouzja's overly ambitious opening play to take the lead in their match.
Nakamura had a strong position against Sindarov but was unable to convert his advantage in an endgame with knight against bishop. However, having played with the black pieces, he will now get the opportunity to push for a win with white in the second game.
Meanwhile, in the ninth-place playoff, Aronian claimed a clear victory over Fedoseev with the white pieces, putting himself in a strong position ahead of their second encounter.
Sunday's starting position led to dynamic, tactical struggles across the board. Every player with the white pieces opted for 1.f4, immediately opening the diagonal for their dark-squared bishop to target the weak a7-square.
This led to active play, with most games featuring direct fights for the initiative, as players sought attacking chances early on. With the first classical encounters completed, the players now turn their focus to the second games, where those trailing in their matches will need to strike back to stay in contention.
Javokhir Sindarov | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Gukesh Dommaraju facing Fabiano Caruana | Photo: Stev Bonhage
Replay all games of the rapid round-robin on Live.ChessBase.com
