More than 3,500 players convened in Karlsruhe, Germany over the Easter weekend to take part in the Grenke Chess Festival. The flagship event was the Freestyle Chess Open, and Magnus Carlsen’s advocacy for Freestyle chess (also known as Fischer-Random, or Chess960), in which the pieces on the back rank are rearranged randomly at the start of the game, has given a huge boost to the popularity of this variant. His 9/9 winning score last year was astonishing even by Carlsen’s standards, but this time he had to settle for shared third place on 7/9, alongside other elite players including Nepomniachtchi and Abdusattorov. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Germany’s top player Vincent Keymer both finished ahead on 7.5/9, with the latter taking the title on tiebreak.
Keymer could be thankful for a lucky break in an early round, in which he had overplayed his hand trying to win an equal position, but got away with it. We join the game after 68 Qe1-a5, a big mistake from Keymer, as eliminating the passed pawn with 68 bxa4 was essential.
Vincent Keymer-Georg Meier
Freestyle Chess Open, Karlsruhe, April 2026
68…a3? Advancing the pawn too early. Instead, 68…Nd1!! threatens Qc5-g1 mate, and if 69 Qxc5 Bxc5 70 Bxd1 (to prevent Nd1-e3+) a3 71 Ba5 Bd4 the a-pawn cannot be stopped. 69 Qa4? Preparing a check on d7, but missing something much stronger: 69 Bf6+! Kxf6 70 Qd8+ and the queen combines with the Bc2 to wiggle closer and force mate, e.g. 70…Kf7 71 Qd7+ Kf6 72 Qe6+ Kg7 73 Qe7+ Kh6 74 Qf6 Ne4 75 Qh8# Ne4 70 Qd7+ Kh6! Hiding the king looks natural, but in fact it was safer anywhere on the back rank. White has lots of checks but nothing more, so the game would end in a draw. 71 Bg5+ Nxg5 72 hxg5+ Kxg5 73 Qd8+! Such an easy move to overlook, as moments ago this square was occupied by a bishop. Kh6 74 Qh8+ Black resigns before mate with Qh8-h4
Keymer stormed to 6/6 before drawing his last three, including Carlsen. He missed a chance to extend his lead even further in the game below. Sarana has just played Nd8-f7, hoping to fend off mate on the kingside.
Vincent Keymer-Alexey Sarana
Freestyle Chess Open, Karlsruhe, April 2026
40 exf7+? Keymer must have considered 40 Rxg5+! but mistakenly concluded that it would lead to a draw. For example, after 40…Nxg5+ 41 Qxg5+ Kf8 42 Qh5 (to threaten Qh5-f7#) Kg7, there is a perpetual check with Qh5-f7-h5 etc. But the exquisite 43 f6+! forces mate, e.g. 43…Kxf6 44 Qh6# or 43…exf6 44 Qf7+ Kh6 45 Qxf6#. Kxf7 41 Qxg5 Qxd4 White’s queen and rook are oddly tangled, so the win has evaporated. 42 Rh6 Qc3+ 43 Kh2 Qe5+ 44 Kh3 Qc3+ 45 Kh2 Qe5+ Draw agreed
Comments