Keymer Leads Vs. Caruana In Final; Carlsen, Nakamura Also Win

GM Vincent Keymer has taken the lead in the 2025 Weissenhaus Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Final after winning game one against GM Fabiano Caruana. He is a draw away from winning the $200,000 prize on Friday. In the match for third place, GM Magnus Carlsen, with the black pieces, outclassed GM Javokhir Sindarov and won the first game.

In the match for fifth place, GM Hikaru Nakamura outplayed GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov in an endgame with two knights against two bishops. The only game to end in a draw occurred in the match for seventh, where GM Alireza Firouzja squandered a seemingly easily winning position against World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju.

The Final of the 2025 Weissenhaus Freestyle Chess Grand Slam concludes on Friday, February 14 at 7 a.m. ET / 13:00 CET / 5:30 p.m. IST.

• Final Day 1 Results & Standings
• Keymer 1-0 Caruana
• Sindarov 0-1 Carlsen
• Abdusattorov 0-1 Nakamura
• Firouzja ½-½ Gukesh

Final Day 1 Results

 
Main Bracket

The penultimate day brought together the minds of the world numbers one, two, and three as they discussed plans for their upcoming games. Also working as a team, we saw Keymer, Sindarov, and Abdusattorov on another board. Firouzja and Gukesh worked alone.

Keymer 1-0 Caruana

Keymer has liked the positions he's gotten with the white pieces, and Thursday was no exception. He indicated one of Black's main problems was that due to the weakness of the f7-square, Black would have a difficult time developing the h8-knight. h7 was a weakness as well, as we saw in the game.

"My feeling is that the starting position again was really, really dangerous again," says an optimistic Keymer in the confessional booth!https://t.co/0KpIwPKJg8#FreestyleChess pic.twitter.com/3FfTbxtqoz

— chess24 (@chess24com) February 13, 2025

The German number-one, coming off of wins against Firouzja and then Carlsen, played energetically in the opening, including 4.Be5 d6 5.Bxf6 before grabbing a pawn in the corner, a greedy decision that never backfired. After six moves, reaching the following position, both players had already used half an hour—a third of their allotted time.

Caruana ultimately settled on a plan of ...cxb4, ...Rc5, ...Ra5, and ...Ra3, an aesthetic yet time-consuming maneuver with the rook. Keymer told WIM Fiona Steil-Antoni, "After that, the position is both quite bad and a little bit difficult to play for him, which is a very unpleasant combination, and for me most things were coming very naturally so I could also play quicker and my moves were easier to find."

After that, the position is both quite bad and a little bit difficult to play for him.

—Vincent Keymer

GM Rafael Leitao lets us in on the subtleties of this fantastic victory below.

Keymer said in the interview that even before he got to the Final, he was already playing for the biggest payout in any tournament of his career. Of course, the $200K prize is a huge bonus, but this would also be his first time winning an event of this caliber. 

He does, of course, still need to secure a draw with the black pieces against Caruana on Friday.

Keymer will also play at the Freestyle Chess event held at the GRENKE Chess Open this year. He said that the tournament holds a special place in his heart as it brings back good memories: "My first game against Magnus was there [in 2018]. Already as a quite small child I was already allowed to play all the top guys, which was amazing."

The GRENKE Chess Open will return this year at Easter in Karlsruhe, and a #FreestyleChess Open will be held at the same time — with qualification to the New York Grand Slam and #FreestyleChess Tour points up for grabs! Carlsen & Keymer will be among the participants pic.twitter.com/xp8jrARXQ3

— chess24 (@chess24com) February 13, 2025

Sindarov 0-1 Carlsen

The match for third place still has great importance, besides the $100,000 prize compared to $60,000 for fourth place. The third-place finisher earns entry to the next Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour event, which takes place in Paris this April—although even if Carlsen were to lose the match, he would still qualify by one of the three rating spots.

Carlsen told Steil-Antoni after the game that, except for his game against Abdusattorov, he's been struggling with the black pieces: "I don't know if I'm getting unlucky with some of the positions, maybe I'm just in my own head, but I couldn't see what to do." 

He sacrificed a pawn out of the opening, a "pure bluff" that Sindarov should have taken but didn't. Carlsen explained, "I went for a very committal choice, locking in my own bishop, but I don't think it was a good one at all... the pawn sacrifice was a pure bluff, more or less."

Sindarov's mysterious 6.Rb1?, instead of taking the pawn, raised eyebrows in the commentary and was the first clear mistake. Carlsen said that his opponent "found it hard to make committal decisions and eventually he let me back into the game and that very bishop that was locked in became the strongest piece on the board."

During the game in the confessional, Carlsen likened the a8-bishop to an "ugly duckling" that eventually became a "beautiful swan."

"I think my position has been quite suspicious most of the game... but I feel like he's drifted a lot in the last few moves and the ugly duckling of a bishop that I've had hidden in the corner is about to become a beautiful swan!"
https://t.co/90tyF2vuQi… #FreestyleChess pic.twitter.com/zL0ZXD17uC

— chess24 (@chess24com) February 13, 2025

"Once I got a bit of a foothold in the game I felt very good," Carlsen said, "I felt like he wasn't completely feeling the position, and I don't think he was on top of his game."

Carlsen is a draw away from taking the third prize. He also spoke in his interview about Keymer's play, saying, "He has a very good feeling for the opening and it's funny that already, like a move in, I was quite unhappy because I didn't see how to break the symmetry." He was full of praise: "He was a lot better with the time ticking down. That is obviously not a great sign, but it is what it is, and it was certainly deserved that he went through."

He was a lot better with the time ticking down. 

—Magnus Carlsen on Vincent Keymer

As for one other topic, GM Hans Niemann has qualified for the upcoming Paris event after winning the GRENKE Open last year—and we have covered that in a separate article here. Prompted for a comment, Carlsen responded curtly: "He won the GRENKE Open last year, that's why I guess." The last time they played was at the 2024 FIDE World Blitz Championship Quarterfinals, where Niemann struck blood in game two but went on to lose the match.

Abdusattorov 0-1 Nakamura

Abdusattorov and Nakamura play for fifth place, which is the difference between $50,000 and $40,000. The first classical game was a breath of fresh air for Nakamura.

After he had squandered several winning positions against Sindarov and ultimately lost the match, he hinted at the possibility of retiring, citing that his poor form extended all the way to the FIDE World Rapid & Blitz in December: "I wish I had something better to say, but I'm at a loss for words... something's wrong with my brain, it just doesn't work the way it once did."

But the last two days have seen a rejuvenated Nakamura who, after relegating Gukesh to the match for seventh, has once again found his form. In the endgame against Abdusattorov, he maneuvered his two knights against the pair of bishops—the bishop pair is often considered to be an advantage—to win a pawn and, eventually, a second.

Can he keep up the good spirits for one more day? He'll have to if he's to win the match. You can also listen to Nakamura's analysis directly in the recap video below.

Firouzja ½-½ Gukesh

The good news for Gukesh is that he saved a position the Chess24 commentators deemed resignable and is, therefore, fortunate to enter day two with an even score. The bad news is that it's an underwhelming performance from the new world champion, who has lost six games, drawn 10, and won zero.

It's hard not to compare his performance with that of his predecessor, GM Ding Liren, who in 2024 finished in last place in a field of eight, without a win. Should Gukesh lose, he will also finish in eighth place—though there are 10 players this year.

2024 Final Standings

It's not only Nakamura who's been spoiling winning positions in this event. Firouzja was so winning that, in fact, the commentators pointed out that many players would have resigned, specifically naming GM Vasyl Ivanchuk as one of them, and went on to analyze Nakamura's game instead. They were shocked, about half an hour later, when this game was suddenly equal.

"How many of us would say there was even 1% chance?" Polgar asked after the game, with the three grandmasters all agreeing that they wouldn't. 

It's a miracle for Gukesh, who will have to muster all of his remaining strength after this weeklong tournament, to win his last match—and his first game. Seventh receives $40,000 and eighth $20,000. 

Tune in on Friday to see the event's last day!

Previous coverage:

• Weissenhaus Day 6: Keymer Defeats Carlsen, Caruana Wins Marathon Vs. Sindarov
• Weissenhaus Day 5: Keymer Beats Carlsen In Semifinal Game 1
• Weissenhaus Day 4: Sindarov Upsets Nakamura, Joins Carlsen, Caruana, Keymer In Semifinals
• 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