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Firouzja Wins Rapid As Aronian, Fedoseev Knocked Out
Alireza Firouzja beat Javokhir Sindarov in the last round to get first pick of an opponent for the Quarterfinals. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Freestyle Chess.

Firouzja Wins Rapid As Aronian, Fedoseev Knocked Out

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Colin_McGourty
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GM Alireza Firouzja beat GM Javokhir Sindarov in the final round to win the 2025 Weissenhaus Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Round-Robin and get first pick of an opponent for Sunday's Quarterfinals. Big guns GMs Magnus Carlsen (who beat World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju) and Hikaru Nakamura stormed into the knockout with 3.5/4 on day two, while GMs Levon Aronian and Vladimir Fedoseev finished in the last two spots and are out of the running for the $200,000 top prize.

It's Firouzja vs. GM Vincent Keymer, Sindarov vs. Nakamura, GM Fabiano Caruana vs. Gukesh, and Carlsen vs. GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov in the Quarterfinals.

Holly Buettner presides over the drawing of positions. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Freestyle Chess.

Day three of the 2025 Weissenhaus Freestyle Chess Grand Slam begins on Sunday, February 9, at 7 a.m. ET / 13:00 CET / 5:30 p.m. IST.  

Round-Robin Final Standings

Firouzja Snatches First As Carlsen, Nakamura Cruise

Sindarov and Caruana had done the job of qualifying with 4.5/5 on day one, so that they could be excused for taking things easy on day two. The U.S. champion did slow down, making four draws and losing one hard-fought 76-move clash with Nakamura to finish third, but 19-year-old Sindarov kept pushing. He missed a win against Nakamura, then defeated Abdusattorov and, still unbeaten, led by a point going into the final round.

His opponent, however, was second-placed Firouzja, who didn't want to end with a whimper! "I think it’s very sharp, it could go really wrong for me, but I wanted to win!" he said in the post-game interview, and in the end his plan of starting 1.g4, with the intention of pushing g5 later, would work to perfection.

I think it's very sharp, it could go really wrong for me, but I wanted to win!

—Alireza Firouzja on his game against Javokhir Sindarov

Firouzja explained why he analyzed with other players on day two despite saying the quality was low: "I just cared less—I wanted to socialize a bit!" Photo: Stev Bonhage/Freestyle Chess.

That's our Game of the Day, with analysis by GM Rafael Leitao below. 

Despite winning the preliminary event, Firouzja felt he could have done better on the final day:

I had many winning positions; I missed a lot. Against Magnus I was a piece up, I didn’t win. Against Abdusattorov also I got very good chances at the end. The whole tournament I missed my chances.

It was hard to deny, with Carlsen only escaping when Firouzja stumbled into a draw by perpetual check.

Carlsen said of day two, "There was one game where I was completely outplayed against Alireza, but the other ones I feel like I played alright," while describing his first day, when he finished on 2/5, as "tough." He added, "It’s really, really difficult to play this format—I feel like I was in time trouble in a lot of games, and I was rarely in control at all."

On day two there was no problem with results, as the draw against Firouzja was accompanied by wins over Abdusattorov, Aronian, and finally the world champion, Gukesh.

Carlsen told GM David Howell that he was happy with his opening and getting in the e5-break, but was then met in kind with 14.d4!?.

He commented:

Somehow I’d seen that he can play d4, but I was 1) hoping maybe he wouldn’t play it, 2) hoping that I would find something, and I checked it briefly afterwards, actually there is something with Qe8 and Nb5, but that’s really, really difficult to find.

Carlsen won their first clash since Gukesh became world champion. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Freestyle Chess.

Instead the game was suddenly equal, or slightly better for White, but the former classical world champion suggested that the current champion still has some things to learn.

After that, I was a little disappointed because the position was just equal and obviously after that, I think it was just a lack of experience on his part because he just took too many chances. He was really brave, and then when it was time to be brave again, he retreated, but by the time he retreated, it was very difficult to hold his position in practice, and at that point I thought my winning chances were great. 

I think it was just lack of experience on his part because he took too many chances.

—Magnus Carlsen on Gukesh Dommaraju

When things ultimately collapsed, it was fast.

That was only the second loss for Gukesh, who made many remarkable escapes, but he also didn't win a game, so his qualification wasn't sure until events elsewhere in that final round.

The player who matched Carlsen's 3.5/4 on day two was Nakamura, who after a shaky first game against Sindarov beat Caruana, Keymer, and Fedoseev in a row. He explained how things had improved:

I think yesterday I did not play particularly well, I was trying to get into the rhythm, but I think every game I played at some point I was losing, maybe even winning at some point too—it was very choppy! I think today I really stabilized and I just played simple chess for the most part, and good things seemed to happen. 

I think today I really stabilized and I just played simple chess for the most part, and good things seemed to happen.

—Hikaru Nakamura

Nakamura also recapped his games against Caruana and Keymer.

Nakamura tied Carlsen on a +2 score, while the remaining players all scored less than 50%.

Aronian, Fedoseev Eliminated

Day two began with Aronian and Fedoseev a point adrift of the rest on 1/5, in the only two spots that wouldn't give entry to the Quarterfinals on Sunday. It didn't help that they also lost in the first game of the day, with Aronian demonstrating how out of form he was by missing a swindle against Keymer.

23...Rf3+! 24.Kxf3 Nd4+ would have won the white queen and the game, but Aronian thought 23 seconds and, with four seconds remaining, played 23...Ne5?? instead. The idea was the same, but Keymer could defend.

Carlsen, who would exploit a blunder by Aronian himself, summed up about the player who had finished third in Weissenhaus in 2024:

Obviously Levon had some very, very inspired moments last year as well, so he would certainly have hoped to do better, but it seemed that he was just not on his game at all, and that’s unfortunate for him, of course. For him it was just never close.

Fedoseev, meanwhile, won the head-to-head clash against Aronian and briefly threatened to beat and catch Gukesh before that game ended in a rollercoaster draw.

Aronian and Fedoseev had trained together the day before, and Levon was all smiles despite losing their game. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Freestyle Chess.

Going into the final round, Aronian's chances had vanished, but Fedoseev could still catch Abdusattorov, Keymer, and Gukesh, if things went his way. First, he needed to win or at least draw his game, but the tension didn't last long, since Nakamura was essentially winning by move six and went on to convert the advantage.

That meant Fedoseev's impressive run to qualify hadn't continued in the main event, but there will still be some more chess for Fedoseev and Aronian, since they play a match for ninth place alongside the quarterfinalists.

No Carlsen-Nakamura Quarterfinal

The pace changes now in Weissenhaus, with the remaining six days dedicated to two-game matches, which will be played with 90 minutes on the clock and a 30-second increment. Faster time controls—10+10, 5+2, and armageddon—will be used only if the players are tied after the long games. Carlsen is eager for the switch:

I’m very much looking forward to having time on the clock. I love delving deeply into the positions from the start, but when you’re playing this fast rapid at some point you just have to start blitzing and then it’s difficult, but the classical time control is going to be awesome. 

Nakamura echoed that sentiment:

I’m just happy that it’s going to be slow chess, where I have time to think. The fact that I can spend time to think means that I shouldn’t make some huge blunder and lose a game unnecessarily. If I get outplayed, I get outplayed, but it’s going to be fun no matter what. 

If I get outplayed, I get outplayed, but it's going to be fun no matter what.

—Hikaru Nakamura

Who would the players face in the Quarterfinals, however? That depended solely on the top-three finishers, Firouzja, Sindarov, and Caruana, who got to choose from the players ranked fifth-eighth. That meant they couldn't actually pick fourth-placed Carlsen, though Firouzja clarified he wouldn't choose the world number-one even if he could! 

Firouzja had lost to Carlsen in the Quarterfinals in 2024, though only after taking the lead.

It looked as though one quarterfinal pairing was almost inevitable, with Carlsen commenting, "I would not bet any money about me playing anyone else but Hikaru in the Quarterfinals," though it turns out he could have won big! Let's take the players in turn.

Firouzja began proceedings, which took place at dinner, by choosing Keymer.

Next up was Sindarov, who understandably didn't want to play his compatriot Abdusattorov, but then shocked observers—including Carlsen—by picking reigning FIDE Fischer Random world champion and world number-two Nakamura.

Nakamura had been so sure he'd face Carlsen that he didn't attended the selection ceremony.

It was hardly an easy choice for Sindarov, however, since the alternative was Gukesh. Although the world champion had struggled in the qualifier, he does know a thing or two about chess at classical time controls. Nevertheless, Caruana accepted the challenge! 

That left two players, Carlsen and Abdusattorov, who will face off in the final quarterfinal.

The action starts Sunday!  

    How To Watch
    You can review the 2025 Weissenhaus Freestyle Chess Grand Slam on the Chess.Com or Chess24 YouTube, or Chess.com or Chess24 Twitch channels, as well as on GM Hikaru Nakamura's Kick channel. You can also check out the games on our dedicated events page.
    GMs David Howell and Daniel Naroditsky, IMs Tania Sachdev and Levy Rozman, and James Dash hosted the community broadcast.
    GMs Judit Polgar, Peter Leko, and Niclas Huschenbeth hosted the expert broadcast.

    The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam starts with the $750,000 first of five legs in Weissenhaus, Germany, on February 7-14. The 10 players first play each other once in 10+10 rapid chess, with the bottom two eliminated and the top players choosing their opponents in the knockout. Each knockout round consists of two-game 90+30 classical chess matches. In case of a tie, two 10+10 games are played. If still tied, two 5+2 games are played, then a single armageddon game. All games are played in freestyle chess.  

    Previous coverage:

    Colin_McGourty
    Colin McGourty

    Colin McGourty led news at Chess24 from its launch until it merged with Chess.com a decade later. An amateur player, he got into chess writing when he set up the website Chess in Translation after previously studying Slavic languages and literature in St. Andrews, Odesa, Oxford, and Krakow.

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