Keymer Wins Super Chess Classic With Final-Round Victory

GM Vincent Keymer has won the Super Chess Classic Romania 2026 and its $100,000 first place prize after defeating GM Jorden van Foreest in the only decisive game of the ninth and final round, avoiding playoffs. GM Fabiano Caruana, who entered the day sharing the lead with Keymer, missed a big chance to gain an advantage over GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave before a draw which clinched second place for Caruana. The other two games were relatively quick draws; GM Anish Giri and GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu were already eliminated from first-place contention, and GM Javokhir Sindarov vs. GM Wesley So also saw few fireworks.

There was just one decisive game, but it also decided the tournament. Keymer's win was in fact his first victory ever over Van Foreest in a classical game, after three defeats.

Round 9 Results

Standings After Round 9

Five players entered the day with a chance of at least forcing a playoff to win the tournament. The only game that included none of them was Giri vs. Praggnanandhaa, and neither player tried to gain much of an advantage on the board, as they each still had over an hour on their clocks when the position repeated for a third time on move 31. Their game was also the only one of the round that did not begin with 1.e4, instead going into a Classical Nimzo-Indian.

Sindarov and So, on 4.5 points each, did have a chance of tying for first place. They nonetheless opened with the Berlin Defense (albeit not the infamous 14-move drawing line). Except for one brief moment where So had to find 16...Qf6! rather than the automatic but much worse options of recapturing on c8, there was little drama here as well.

So's method of forcing the draw with 37...b5—where White's passed a-pawn was nonetheless a nonthreat after 38.Bxe6 Kxe6 39.a5 Kd7 and White's king can never break into Black's camp—also caught the attention of commentators.

And that left the games involving the co-leaders. If both Keymer and Caruana lost, Van Foreest would win the tournament. If both Keymer and Caruana won or they both drew, they would contest a playoff to break the continuing tie for first place. And if only one of Keymer and Caruana won, that player would take the tournament outright.

For a brief moment, it indeed appeared both Keymer and Caruana might win, but it was not to be for the American player, and the final of those three scenarios above is what played out.

Vachier-Lagrave ½-½ Caruana

As he often does, Caruana seemed to catch his opponent in the opening, which was a Four Knights Sicilian. The knight maneuver 10...Ne3 11.Qd3 Nf5 12.g4 Nd4 caused Vachier-Lagrave to take some time, while giving Caruana a position that commentator GM Peter Svidler called "very risky for Black, but it leads to incredibly alien-looking, very double-edged positions." Caruana only paused for his 15th move after Vachier-Lagrave's apparently unexpected but somewhat inaccurate 15.h3. By the time 18...O-O-O came around, Black had the practical chances. Then, on each player's 24th move, came the critical moment.

At this point, Keymer already seemed well on his way to beating Van Foreest, all but turning the game into a must-win for Caruana—and Vachier-Lagrave's 24.Bc3? gave Caruana the opportunity.

The right move was 24...c5!, when 25.Qxb7+ Qxb7 26.Bxb7 Ne2+! is effectively winning for Black. Instead, Caruana took 19 minutes and settled on 24...Bc8?, and the game was again equal. Unlike even five or six moves earlier, there wasn't much in the position for Black to latch onto to try to win either. Only 12 moves later, they drew by repetition.

Only after the game was over did Caruana realize what had happened. "It's a very strange blunder because it's not too difficult," he lamented in the postgame interview. "I just didn't spot this move [26...Ne2+]."

That left Keymer vs. Van Foreest, which was still ongoing, but with the competitive portion of the game—and therefore, in effect, the competitive portion of the tournament—already over.

Keymer 1-0 Van Foreest

The short story of this game is that Keymer was already pushing for the win ("straight up not good" was Svidler's analysis of Van Foreest's 11...Nh5) when 15...Qa5?, which Van Foreest banged out in less than a minute, was all but losing. After 16.Nd5!! Qxa4 17.Bxd4 exd4 18.Nb6, White's knight is easily extricated from the corner, and Keymer was up an exchange for nothing. Van Foreest fought on for nearly 30 more moves, but for naught. 

For the long story of this game, let's go to GM Rafael Leitao with our Game of the Day analysis!

"I still haven't fully gathered what has actually happened," said the victor after his first-ever classical tournament as a full Grand Chess Tour participant ended in a major success. "It's been an amazing event for me." Entering the final round, "You can guess that [Caruana] doesn't have too great a chance of winning the game with Black, but I'm not the kind of player who says I will make a draw and that's it. It's just... I cannot [do it]."

I'm not the kind of player who says I will make a draw and that's it. It's just... I cannot.

- Vincent Keymer

Keymer even partially credited doing less preparation, not more, for his victory, instead choosing to "focus on having enough mental energy for the big fights." Naturally, he gave even more credit to his coach GM Peter Leko and his father Christof.

While this tournament is over, Keymer does not have that much time to savor the victory. On May 25, Norway Chess begins. Three other players from this event are also on the schedule—assuming GM Alireza Firouzja, whose sprained ankle led to his withdrawal from the Super Chess Classic, can sufficiently recover to make the trip. (Firouzja forfeited his game in this ninth round in Romania to GM Bogdan Daniel Deac, who was not in contention regardless.) The remainder of the Norway field is made up of So, Praggnanandhaa, world number-one GM Magnus Carlsen, and World Champion GM Gukesh Dommaraju.

Another gauntlet awaits Keymer in his next tournament. For now, at least briefly, he can enjoy this one.

The 2026 Super Chess Classic Romania was the second event on the 2026 Grand Chess Tour and ran from May 13 to 23 at the Museum of the National Bank of Romania in Bucharest. It was a 10-player round-robin with a time control of 90 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 30 more minutes for the rest of the game, plus a 30-second increment starting on move one. The prize fund was $475,000.

Previous Coverage:

• Round 8: Caruana, Keymer Lead Ahead Of Final Day As Van Foreest, Giri Falter
• Round 7: Sindarov's 1st Win Since Candidates Sees Caruana, Van Foreest Catch Keymer
• Round 6: Keymer Extends Lead Without Playing After Firouzja Drops Out
• Firouzja Withdraws From GCT Romania After Ankle Injury
• Round 5: Firouzja Pulls Off Great Escape From Bed
• Round 4: Keymer Grabs Sole Lead As Firouzja Misses Game Due To 'Medical Issue'
• Round 3: Giri Strikes With Late Win Over Firouzja, Completing Dutch Double
• Round 2: Pragg Ends Sindarov's 53-Game Unbeaten Streak; MVL, Keymer Also Win
• Round 1: Pragg Escapes Vs. Firouzja As Super Chess Classic Begins In Bucharest
• Wildcard Niemann Wins Super Rapid & Blitz Poland 2026 With Clutch Finale