Sindarov Upsets Nakamura, Joins Carlsen, Caruana, Keymer In Semifinals

GMs Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, Vincent Keymer, and Javokhir Sindarov are through to the 2025 Weissenhaus Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Semifinals. Carlsen won for the second time against GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov, as did Caruana against World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju (in just 18 moves). After a back-and-forth struggle that's our Game of the Day, Keymer ultimately forced a draw from a winning position against GM Alireza Firouzja to win the match. Lastly, GM Javokhir Sindarov upset the Fischer Random World Champion Hikaru Nakamura by winning the rapid playoffs 1.5-0.5, after two draws in the classical portion.

GM Levon Aronian won the consolation match for ninth place against GM Vladimir Fedoseev after playing a brilliant piece sacrifice out of the opening. In a pawn-up endgame, he settled for a draw since it was enough.

Day five of the 2025 Weissenhaus Freestyle Chess Grand Slam, featuring the Semifinals, begins on Tuesday, February 11 at 7 a.m. ET / 13:00 CET / 5:30 p.m. IST.  

• Knockout Day 2 Results
• Abdusattorov 0-1 Carlsen
• Keymer ½-½ Firouzja
• Caruana 1-0 Gukesh
• Nakamura ½-½ Sindarov, 0.5-1.5 in tiebreaks
• Fedoseev ½-½ Aronian

Knockout Day 2 Results

Main Bracket

Caruana 1-0 Gukesh

This was the fastest game of the day after the opening didn't go well for Gukesh, who was in must-win situation. It was over after about two hours, and 18 moves.

"It really came down to yesterday," said Caruana. He summarized the entire game as follows:

I mean the game today of course he probably could have posed more problems for me. He tried to sacrifice a pawn and create some imbalances, but I don't think it was the situation to do so. It was right out of the opening and I didn't make any mistakes... my position didn't deserve that violent treatment, I thought.

Black temporarily sacrificed a pawn with 5...f5 and should have grabbed the a2-pawn on the very next move. After 6...g6? 7.Nd4, Black stayed a pawn down for the long haul, and Caruana consolidated the advantage. Unable to muddy the waters, Gukesh resigned after the American managed to castle, a pawn up with no weaknesses. "Barring a medical emergency," Caruana predicted his chance of losing the position was "about zero."

Gukesh isn't eliminated yet and will play against Nakamura in a match for 5th-8th place, while Firouzja will play Abdusattorov.

Abdusattorov 0-1 Carlsen

Like Gukesh, the younger player was in a must-win situation. Needing a draw with the black pieces, Carlsen said he felt "refreshed" going into the game knowing that there was no way to force a draw out of the opening in Chess960:

It's kind of refreshing to go into a second game as Black and not thinking about what opening you're going to play or how you're going to play for a draw because there is no such thing as playing for a draw. You just have to play the whole game.

You just have to play the whole game.

—Magnus Carlsen

Instead of preparing openings the night before, he let off steam playing a different game entirely, although he said he didn't stay too long. "I'm a married man and I went home at 10:30 and let the others play late into the night, but it was fun... I always enjoy those little cash games with friends."

Traveling all the way to #Weissenhaus in order not to miss the poker, classic @DanielRensch pic.twitter.com/t9IoUiREyw

— Peter Doggers (@peterdoggers) February 9, 2025

The former world champion marched to the beat of his own drum on the first move. After five minutes of thinking and observing the other games, he was the only one to play 1...f6, a deep move that was one of the engine's top choices, even if GM Ben Finegold disagreed. 

Never play f6

— Ben Finegold Ⓥ (@ben_finegold) February 10, 2025

Not long after that, he explained from the confessional that he was happy with the opening outcome:

I must admit that I'm a little bit surprised that the players playing White talked for 10 minutes and all came up with the same first move—didn't seem that obvious to me... It doesn't look super dangerous to me, so I'm reasonably satisfied so far!

By 5...Na4, GM Peter Leko said he already preferred Black's position. Abdusattorov sacrificed a pawn with 10.f4, but never quite managed to steer the game into the "deep dark forest" of complications. Ultimately, Carlsen traded queens and won a pawn-up endgame.

Carlsen plays Keymer next. Perhaps alluding to the fact that he dodged playing Nakamura in the Quarterfinals, and now avoids playing Firouzja, he said with a smile: "Of course I don't mind the bracket turning out the way it has for me so far."

Keymer ½-½ Firouzja

After losing with the white pieces on the previous day, Firouzja certainly had several chances to win Monday's game and force tiebreaks. Carlsen commented, "It was a bit surprising that he [Keymer] won so easily yesterday. I think the game today probably could have gone differently and Alireza will certainly be kicking himself for the opportunities that he missed." 

Alireza will certainly be kicking himself for the opportunities that he missed.

—Magnus Carlsen

The early surprise was Keymer's 7.Nb5, a move he called "completely unnecessary," which was based on a miscalculation or hallucination. He explained that he thought he would both get Bxb6 and his knight back to c3 in one move, and he also forgot Black had the a4-square for his knight. After the standard response 7.a6, this move turned out to be waste of time and the knight moved right back.

After seven more moves, Black castled kingside and was clearly better, even if there was no immediate knockout. Keymer said, "The position is really quite sad for White, that's for sure." Firouzja went straight for the attack, pushing his pawns ...b5-b4, and huge complications arose. GM Rafael Leitao takes us through the hotly contested Game of the Day below, where Keymer ultimately forced a draw instead of winning with the extra piece.

As for playing Carlsen next, Keymer didn't seem intimidated or nervous. As many young players of his generation, he looks forward to the challenge: "Of course I know how strong he is, but it's a new chance and also here at Freestyle Chess a lot can happen, so I'm looking forward to a big fight."

I'm looking forward to a big fight.

—Vincent Keymer

The last time they played in a classical knockout format was the 2023 World Cup. There, Keymer shocked the world when he won the first game, even if he ultimately lost the match.

Nakamura 1.5-2.5 Sindarov

Nakamura vs. Sindarov was the closest match and the only one that didn't feature a decisive result in the classical games. After a draw in their classical game, it was Sindarov who pulled off the upset in the tiebreaks. 

It's a sad outcome for Nakamura, who as Leko pointed out, was better or winning in almost every single game. Granted, although the world number-two won a pawn in the second classical game, Sindarov was never in objective trouble as they played a nearly perfect game—nearly 98 percent accuracy from both sides!

In the rapid games, we can clearly say that Nakamura was winning in both. After 11.Bc4? 12.b3 Bxd3, White won the bishop pair and repaired his pawn structure for free. In a few moves, he was winning.

Had he found the curtain-closer 20.Qb5, odds are Nakamura would have won. But as it happened, after 20.Bd4? the Fischer Random world champion lost control and went on to lose very quickly.

In a must-win situation with the black pieces, Nakamura sacrificed a wing pawn out of the opening, something GM Judit Polgar dubbed the "Weissenhaus Gambit."

"I want to see his [Sindarov's] heartrate reaching 150 after ...b5!" says Leko! Polgar calls it the "Weissenhaus Gambit"!https://t.co/aIwdvHNMSw#FreestyleChess pic.twitter.com/8GqJlY73lw

— chess24 (@chess24com) February 10, 2025

It paid off and, after a tactical skirmish, Nakamura found the only winning move 20...d4!. From there, he converted the advantage flawlessly, until with 26 seconds, he again lost control. 31...Ke8 would have won routinely, as White would run out of threats, but after 31...Rb8? 32.Bxa7, the game spiraled out of control and the desired result landed in Sindarov's lap. 

When Sindarov made his last move of the game, his heartrate was at an appalling 173 beats per minute. He accepted the draw in a winning position.

It's a bitter ending for Nakamura, who will not make it into the Semifinals. As for Sindarov, who only replaced GM Viswanathan Anand at the last moment, it's a continuation of an incredible run against the world's elite.

You can listen to Nakamura's thoughts about the match in the video below.

Fedoseev ½-½ Aronian

Even though it was Fedoseev in a must-win situation, we can credit Aronian for bringing all the fireworks into their second game. GM Niclas Huschenbeth awarded the move of the day to 11...d5!!, a long-term piece sacrifice that would open the d-file and give Black plenty of play against the enemy king.

Aronian certainly could have won, but the match situation dictated that the half-point was enough, so he steered the masterpiece to a peaceful end. Check out this riveting attack:

The tournament is over for Aronian and Fedoseev, who will switch to media duties, but the remaining players are all still competing for money as well as points that will go toward the season-long race for the title of Freestyle Chess Champion, a new title introduced by the organization on Monday. The Semifinals on Tuesday will feature two clashes of generations, with Carlsen vs. Keymer and Caruana vs. Sindarov on the other board. 

It doesn't get any easier in the matches for fifth-eighth place. There, we will see Firouzja vs. Abdusattorov and Nakamura vs. Gukesh. Don't miss it!

Previous coverage:

• Weissenhaus Day 3: Carlsen, Caruana, Keymer Win; Nakamura Lets Sindarov Escape
• Weissenhaus Day 2: Firouzja Wins Rapid As Aronian, Fedoseev Knocked Out
• Weissenhaus Day 1: Caruana, Sindarov Beat Carlsen To Lead Weissenhaus Grand Slam
• Play-In KO 2: Fedoseev Joins Carlsen & Co. In Weissenhaus After Winning Armageddon Thriller
• Play-In KO 1: Nepomniachtchi In Semifinals After Niemann Blunders Mate-In-1
• Play-In Swiss: Fedoseev, Lazavik, Sindarov, Bortnyk Keep Weissenhaus Hopes Alive
• Chess.com Officially Partners With Freestyle Chess To Support 2025 Grand Slam Tour
• $12 Million Raised For 'Revolutionary' Freestyle Series Of Tournaments