Weissenhaus: Keymer beats Caruna in first game of the final

by André Schulz
2/13/2025 – Vincent Keymer won the first game of the final match at the Weissenhaus Freestyle Grand Slam tournament. Keymer defeated Caruana with the white pieces after getting a position edge out of the opening. Magnus Carlsen also won, as he took the lead against Javokhir Sindarov in the match for third place. | Photo: Freestyle Chess / Stev Bonhage

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There is no stopping the local hero

The downside of knockout tournaments is that players who lose a game or a match are eliminated from the tournament for good. With the recently popularised double-elimination format, organisers aim to address this issue and keep players in the competition. However, the system can be somewhat confusing at first.

There is another way to organise an event of this nature, though. At Freestyle Chess in Weissenhaus, placement matches are held at every stage. This ensures that players remain in the tournament and still have something to compete for, namely a higher share of the prize money and Grand Slam points.

On the seventh day of the tournament, spectators watched the first game of the match for tournament victory, featuring Vincent Keymer and Fabiano Caruana; a match for third place between Magnus Carlsen and Javokhir Sindarov; a match for fifth place between Hikaru Nakamura and Nodirbek Abdusattorov; and a match for seventh place between Gukesh Dommaraju and Alireza Firouzja.

Fabiano Caruana | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Keymer is consolidating his status as a formidable Freestyle Chess player. There is no separate rating system yet, but if there were, Keymer might already be leading the rankings. In the semifinal, Germany's number one in classical chess convincingly defeated Carlsen. In fact, the Norwegian found himself in inferior positions throughout most of the match.

In the first game of the final match against Caruana, Keymer seamlessly continued his strong performance. After a few moves, it was difficult to believe that both players had started from the same initial position. Keymer had built a perfectly harmonious position, while Caruana's pieces seemed randomly scattered. Some of his pieces never found active squares.

Keymer, Vincent27311–0Caruana, Fabiano2803
Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour Knock O
Weissenhaus, Germany13.02.2025[Schulz, A]
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nf3 b6 Something resembling an English Opening. 3.b4 Threatens to win a pawn on h7. c5 Active defence. 4.Be5 4.bxc5 bxc5 5.Bxf6 exf6 6.Qxh7 Bc6 with an unpleasant threat on a4. 4.e4 e5 5.b5 4...d6 5.Bxf6 exf6 6.Qxh7 Ng6 7.e3 Given the threat of Bc6-a4, White prepares to castle. 7.bxc5 Bc6 7...cxb4 8.Be2 Rc5?! 8...Bc6 9.0-0 8...d5= 9.Ng3 Qc7 10.d4 Ra5 11.Rc2 Bc6 12.0-0 Ra3 13.h4+-
White has achieved a harmonious position, while Black's pieces are misplaced. 13...Ba4 14.Rcc1 a5 15.h5 Ne7 16.d5 Prevents Nc6. The knight on e7 has no route into play. Rxa2 17.Nd4 Qd7 18.Ra1 Rd2 After 18...Rxa1 19.Rxa1 the bishop on a4 has no squares. 19.h6 gxh6
20.Bh5 Threatens to win the exchange after Bxf7. White is clearly better. Rxd4 Trying to activate the bishop on a4, but Black is in a lost position. 21.exd4 Bb3 22.Qd3 Or 22.Bxf7 Nc8 23.Qg8 a4 24.Nh5 Bxc4 25.Rfe1+- 22...a4 23.Rfb1 White is playing it safe. 23.Bxf7+- 23...Nc8 24.Nf1 b5 25.cxb5 Qc7 25...Nb6 26.Nd2 Bxd5 27.Rxb4+- 26.Ne3 Nb6 27.Rc1 Qb7 28.Bf3 f5 29.Qxf5 Bg7 30.Qf4 Bf8 30...Nxd5 31.Nxd5 Bxd5 32.Qxd6++- 31.Rc6 a3 32.Rxd6+ Nd7 32...Bxd6 33.Qxd6+ Nd7 34.Qxb4+- 33.Ra6 Black has been completely outplayed.
1–0

After losing his match against Keymer, Carlsen delivered a strong and cohesive performance against Sindarov in the battle for third place. Carlsen started off better, and after Sindarov weakened his position along the long diagonal, Carlsen's attack along that line became the factor that decided the game in his favour.

Sindarov, Javokhir27000–1Carlsen, Magnus2833
Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour Knock O
Weissenhaus, Germany13.02.2025[Schulz, A]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.a4 c6 4.b4 Qc7 5.Qb3 Ng6 6.Rb1 d5 7.Ng3 0-0-0 8.Bd3 dxe4 9.Nxe4 Nf4 10.Nxf6 gxf6 11.Bf5+ Kb8 12.g3 Nd5 13.0-0 Nxb4
14.d4? 14.d3 with equal chances. 14.Bxh7 c5 15.d3= 14...c5 15.dxe5 15.dxc5 Bxc5 Black's position is much more harmonious. The bishop on a1 is completely restricted. 15...b6! 16.Rfd1 16.exf6 c4-+ creating major problems for White. 16...Qc6 17.exf6 Bb7
Clears the escape square a8. The threats along the long diagonal decide the game. 17...Qxf3?? 18.Be5++- 18.Bg4 c4 19.Qc3 a5 20.Rxd8+ Rxd8 21.Qe5+ Ka7 22.Qf5 Bc5 23.Bc3 Nxc2 24.Rc1 24.Qxc2 Rd3-+ 24...Ne3 25.fxe3 Bxe3+ 26.Kg2 Bxc1 27.Kh3 Rd3 28.Bd4 Qd5
0–1

Hikaru Nakamura, Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana

Three of the best players in the history of the game analysing a Freestyle Chess position: Hikaru Nakamura, Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Nakamura, playing black, secured a victory over Abdusattorov, while Firouzja failed to make the most of his superior position against Gukesh, and their game ended in a draw.

Hikaru Nakamura | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Alireza Firouzja and Gukesh Dommaraju | Photo: Stev Bonhage

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André Schulz started working for ChessBase in 1991 and is an editor of ChessBase News.
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