Carlsen, Aronian With One Foot In Freestyle Chess Final

GM Magnus Carlsen won what he described as "a very interesting, strategic game" to take the lead against GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov in the 2024 Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challenge Semifinals. GM Levon Aronian also left GM Fabiano Caruana needing to win on demand, while in the consolation bracket the misery continued for GMs Ding Liren and Gukesh Dommaraju, who crashed to defeat against GMs Alireza Firouzja and Vincent Keymer respectively. 

The second day of the Semifinals begins on Wednesday, February 14, at 7 a.m. ET / 13:00 CET / 5:30 p.m. IST.  

All four games were decisive as the Semifinals began in Weissenhaus.

Semifinals Day 1 Results

• Carlsen 1-0 Abdusattorov
• Aronian 1-0 Caruana
• Ding 0-1 Firouzja
• Gukesh 0-1 Keymer

Carlsen 1-0 Abdusattorov

Carlsen suffered defeat on each of the first three days in Germany and it was beginning to feel as though his love for Chess960 was unrequited. That all changed when he hit back with three wins in a row against Firouzja to qualify for the Semifinals, and now he only needs a draw on Valentine's Day to reach the Final after winning a second classical game in a row.

He said of the victory over 19-year-old phenomenon Abdusattorov: "I’m happy that at least I managed to think on my own from move one and do something a little bit different from what the others did. I would not call it a masterpiece by any means, but I would say that it was definitely a very interesting, strategic game—and that’s what we’re all here for!"

I'm happy that at least I managed to think on my own from move one and do something a little bit different from what the others did.

—Magnus Carlsen

Carlsen played 1.g4!?, which in a normal chess game is a famous—and famously dubious—opening named after Swiss IM Henri Grob (1904-1974). 

After a long think, Magnus plays "the Grob", 1.g4! https://t.co/FaCWdxh9kZ #FreestyleChess pic.twitter.com/shWmG9lhKv

— chess24.com (@chess24com) February 13, 2024

As it turned out, however, Carlsen had actually used that not-strictly-appropriate name on his scoresheet, where he also misevaluated the current year.

Proof that Magnus Carsen is from another timeline, where it is still 2023. https://t.co/GPmow3yrRv

— Anish Giri (@anishgiri) February 13, 2024

That was just the prelude to more mayhem, however. Carlsen made an early confessional appearance and said of his earlier analysis with Aronian in the tournament: "Levon would always mock me for wanting to sacrifice a pawn on the first few moves!" For the Semifinals he'd analyzed alone, and in the absence of any wise counsel he went for the pawn sacrifice 3.d4!?, which he later confessed was "maybe a bit overenthusiastic."

There was no way Abdusattorov could have predicted any of this, however, and his 3...Nb6?! failed to punish his opponent's excesses. What followed was a rollercoaster, though as Carlsen noted, that's through the eyes of computer-armed spectators. He explained: "It doesn’t feel as much of a rollercoaster for the players, as we don’t know the swings."

An intense battle seemed to work out in Carlsen's favor, with GM Peter Leko singing the praises of the position that arose. 

Leko: "When you look at this picture then every single decision that Magnus has made in this game makes perfect sense—it's like a symphony, it's all connected. He's very happy and Nodirbek needs all his crazy skills to create some complications here!"#FreestyleChess pic.twitter.com/DrWAxmMeDU

— chess24.com (@chess24com) February 13, 2024

"You have strategic plans, but these guys are too good, so they always find ways to make it very difficult," was Carlsen's more sober assessment, and there were more twists ahead before the game suddenly resolved in the world number-one's favor when Abdusattorov picked the wrong moment to swap off queens. 

That huge battle is our Game of the Day and has been analyzed by GM Rafael Leitao below:

Magnus Carlsen has now won four Chess960 games in a row after winning a wild battle to take the lead against Nodirbek Abdusattorov! "A stunning positional masterpiece" says Peter Leko#FreestyleChess pic.twitter.com/i32E3wMILz

— chess24.com (@chess24com) February 13, 2024

We're currently on course for a Carlsen-Aronian Final, after Aronian managed to outplay Caruana almost from start to finish. 

Aronian 1-0 Caruana

Aronian is not only managing to play well but to entertain, and in his first confessional appearance of the day he explained: "My daily routine of preparation is analyzing some different lines for 10 minutes with somebody, or all alone, and then playing something completely different!"

Aronian had analyzed 1.d4!? with Ding, who went on to play the move, but he decided against it himself: "As it is in science, a negative result is also a result!"

As it is in science, a negative result is also a result!

—Levon Aronian

He rightly switched to 1.e4, and as early as move four was posing problems. Caruana found himself giving up his light-squared bishop, missed some chances to expand with f5, and then allowed White's dark-squared bishop to survive in what Aronian labeled "positional suicide." What followed was an extremely impressive win where it was hard to pinpoint exactly where Caruana had gone wrong:

By the end there was no stopping Aronian's d-pawn, while as Carlsen had earlier commented, "the board is just way too big, so there’s just never going to be any perpetual."

Caruana resigns against Aronian and Leko thinks he's wondering, "Where did I go wrong?"
Caruana and Abdusattorov must now win on demand tomorrow to force tiebreaks for a place in the Final!#FreestyleChess pic.twitter.com/ydnPrkSkT3

— chess24.com (@chess24com) February 13, 2024

That means both Carlsen and Aronian "only" need a draw in game two to reach the final, but they can expect a huge battle ahead.

Ding 0-1 Firouzja

We might not expect huge battles in the remaining bracket, where the quarterfinal losers are competing for at best $15,000 and fifth place, but there is a twist: tournament sponsor Jan Buettner announced before the games that the event would return in February 2025, with the top-five finishers invited. That wasn't all, as he also announced plans for a Freestyle Chess tour, with further events in the U.S. in May, India in August, and Cape Town, South Africa in November.

That meant there was added motivation for the players to fight for the fifth spot by winning their two remaining matches, but everything went with the momentum of the tournament so far. Ding perhaps suffered his worst calamity yet, as he found himself losing (sacrificing!?) a piece by move six. In his best form he might have put up resistance in what followed, but instead Firouzja powered to victory.

Another player who has been struggling after a great start is Gukesh, who now has five losses and one draw since he won three games in a row at the end of day one.

Gukesh 0-1 Keymer

Keymer was having a great tournament until he suddenly crashed to a 20-move loss to Aronian, but he shrugged that off to hit back and win in 22 moves with the black pieces. A miss on move eight seemed to condemn Gukesh to a world of hurt.

That means that Abdusattorov, Caruana, Ding, and Gukesh must all win on demand on Wednesday to force tiebreaks—drama is guaranteed!

The Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challenge takes place February 9-16, 2024 in the Weissenhaus Private Nature Luxury Resort, Germany. All games are Chess960. It starts with a seven-round rapid tournament to decide pairings before a classical knockout tournament with two-game matches. A tie is decided by two 15+10 rapid games, then, if needed, two 5+2 blitz games, then finally an armageddon game. The prize fund is $200,000 with $60,000 for first place.

Previous posts:

• Day 4: Carlsen Storms Back To Join Abdusattorov, Caruana, Aronian In Semis
• Day 3: Carlsen, Ding Defeated In First Classical Chess960 Games
• Day 2: Abdusattorov Beats Carlsen To Win Rapid, Plays Ding In Quarterfinals
• Day 1: Gukesh Beats Carlsen As Keymer Takes Early Freestyle Chess Lead
• Carlsen, Ding, Caruana In New $200,000 Classical Fischer-Random Event