The Grenke Freestyle Chess Open was an open Chess960 tournament. It took place from 17 April to 21 April 2025 in Karlsruhe, Germany. It was held concurrently with the Grenke Chess Open as part of the annual Grenke Chess Festival, supplanting the former round-robin Grenke Chess Classic.[1][2][3] It was a part of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, a series of Chess960 tournaments being held throughout 2025.
 Magnus Carlsen, the winner of the Grenke Freestyle Chess Open | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Chess variant (Chess960) |
| Location | Karlsruhe, Germany |
| Dates | April 17–21, 2025 |
Tournament format(s) | 9-round Swiss-system tournament |
| Host(s) | Schachzentrum Baden-Baden Freestyle Chess Operations |
| Venue | Kongresszentrum Karlsruhe |
| Participants | 570 |
| Final positions | |
| Champion |  Magnus Carlsen |
| Runner-up |  Parham Maghsoodloo |
| 3rd place |  Frederik Svane and Andrey Esipenko |
Magnus Carlsen won the tournament with a perfect score, winning all nine of his games.[4] Seven players tied for second place, with Parham Maghsoodloo finishing second with the best tiebreak score. The winner was set to qualify to the Las Vegas Freestyle Chess Grand Slam. Since Carlsen had already qualified from a previous event, the spot was awarded to Maghsoodloo.[5]
Background
editIn 2024, the traditional Grenke Chess Festival returned after a five-year hiatus. The invitational "Classic" tournament was won by Magnus Carlsen, while the Open, which was held concurrently, was won by Hans Niemann, who thereby qualified for the 2025 Classic.[6]
On February 13, 2025, the organizers of the Festival and the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, a series of Chess960 tournaments being held throughout 2025, announced that a Chess960 open would be held in place of the Grenke Chess Classic. The new open is part of the Grand Slam Tour, with the top ten finishers scoring tour points, and the winner qualifying for the upcoming Las Vegas Grand Slam.[7][1][2]
As part of the cooperation, Niemann, who had previously qualified for the now-cancelled Classic, was given a wild card invite to the Paris Grand Slam to compensate.[8] He controversially withdrew from that tournament at the last minute without explanation, leading to doubts about his potential participation in Grenke. He ultimately did arrive to play in the Freestyle Open.[9]
Format
editQualification
editAs an open tournament, any interested chess player can participate. Players are distributed into three sections according to their classical FIDE Elo rating number and their German DWZ rating number.[1][10]
- Freestyle Open A: FIDE Elo or DWZ > 1950
- Freestyle Open B: FIDE Elo and DWZ < 2000
- Freestyle Open C: FIDE Elo < 1600 and DWZ < 1400
As of 10 April 2025, 466 players have registered with 251 of them playing in the Freestyle Open A section.[11]
Tournament
editIn each of the three sections, a 9-round Swiss-system tournament will be held. For each round, a random position from the 960 possible starting positions of Chess960 is drawn, which all the games in that round will use, excluding the standard chess starting position. A position that is drawn in one round is be excluded for all subsequent rounds. All games use a time control of 90 minutes with an increment of 30 seconds per move.[10]
Before rounds 2-5, any player may switch from the Grenke Chess Open to the Freestyle Open, with points from the former tournament carried over.[10]
Prize money and grand slam points for the Freestyle Open A section will be awarded as follows:[10]
| Place | Prize money | Grand slam points |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | €60,000 | 25 |
| 2nd | €40,000 | 18 |
| 3rd | €30,000 | 15 |
| 4th | €20,000 | 12 |
| 5th | €15,000 | 10 |
| 6th | €12,000 | 8 |
| 7th | €10,000 | 6 |
| 8th | €8,000 | 4 |
| 9th | €5,000 | 2 |
| 10th | €3,000 | 1 |
| 11th | €2,000 | 0 |
| 12th | €1,000 | 0 |
| 13th | €500 | 0 |
| 14th | €300 | 0 |
| 15th | €200 | 0 |
Results
editFinal classification
edit| Rank | Player | Rating | Round 1 |
Round 2 |
Round 3 |
Round 4 |
Round 5 |
Round 6 |
Round 7 |
Round 8 |
Round 9 |
Total | Tie |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magnus Carlsen (NOR)
|
2837 | 1 (W256) | 1 (B84) | 1 (W22) | 1 (B32) | 1 (W38) | 1 (B80) | 1 (W2) | 1 (B9) | 1 (W13) | 9 | 52½ |
| 2 | Parham Maghsoodloo (IRN)
|
2684 | 1 (W233) | ½ (B223) | 1 (W288) | 1 (B48) | 1 (W47) | 1 (B10) | 0 (B1) | 1 (W27) | ½ (B5) | 7 | 52½ |
| 3 | Andrey Esipenko (FIDE)
|
2696 | 1 (W141) | 1 (B74) | ½ (W48) | ½ (B56) | 1 (W69) | 1 (B38) | 1 (W11) | 0 (B13) | 1 (W28) | 7 | 52 |
| 3 | Frederik Svane (GER)
|
2668 | 1 (W145) | 1 (B43) | ½ (W52) | 1 (B49) | 0 (W28) | 1 (B86) | 1 (W64) | 1 (B12) | ½ (W20) | 7 | 52 |
| 5 |  Leinier Dominguez Perez (USA)
|
2738 | 1 (W293) | 1 (B189) | ½ (W39) | ½ (B40) | 1 (W63) | ½ (B18) | 1 (W56) | 1 (B30) | ½ (W2) | 7 | 50½ |
| 5 |  Alexey Sarana (SRB)
|
2672 | 1 (B231) | 1 (W78) | 1 (B187) | 1 (W55) | ½ (B10) | ½ (W25) | ½ (B27) | ½ (W8) | 1 (B44) | 7 | 50½ |
| 7 |  Erigaisi Arjun (IND)
|
2782 | 1 (B123) | ½ (W35) | 1 (B81) | 0 (W31) | 1 (B87) | ½ (W89) | 1 (B60) | 1 (W17) | 1 (B36) | 7 | 50 |
| 7 | Fabiano Caruana (USA)
|
2776 | 1 (W292) | 1 (B50) | 0 (W32) | 1 (B117) | 1 (W186) | 1 (B24) | ½ (W28) | ½ (B6) | 1 (W37) | 7 | 50 |
| 9 |  Rauf Mamedov (AZE)
|
2657 | 1 (B102) | 1 (W72) | 1 (B58) | ½ (W41) | ½ (B16) | 1 (W35) | 1 (B25) | 0 (W1) | ½ (B15) | 6½ | 56 |
| 10 | Leon Luke Mendonca (IND)
|
2643 | 1 (W201) | 1 (B90) | 1 (W26) | 1 (B15) | ½ (W6) | 0 (W2) | ½ (B14) | 1 (W35) | ½ (B19) | 6½ | 54 |
| 11 | Pranesh M (IND)
|
2572 | 1 (W180) | 1 (B122) | 1 (W20) | ½ (B12) | ½ (W37) | 1 (W23) | 0 (B3) | 1 (W80) | ½ (B16) | 6½ | 53 |
| 12 |  Javokhir Sindarov (UZB)
|
2706 | 1 (B93) | 1 (W155) | 1 (B42) | ½ (W11) | 0 (B25) | 1 (W58) | 1 (B31) | 0 (W4) | 1 (B55) | 6½ | 52½ |
| 13 | Vincent Keymer (GER)
|
2718 | 1 (B172) | ½ (W81) | 1 (B115) | 1 (W118) | ½ (B18) | ½ (W31) | 1 (B114) | 1 (W3) | 0 (B1) | 6½ | 52 |
| 14 | Wesley So (USA)
|
2748 | 1 (W208) | 1 (B63) | 0 (W47) | ½ (B43) | 1 (W65) | 1 (B49) | ½ (W10) | ½ (B40) | 1 (W56) | 6½ | 50½ |
| 14 |  Richard Rapport (HUN)
|
2722 | 1 (B108) | 1 (W120) | 1 (B114) | 0 (W10) | ½ (B55) | 1 (W84) | ½ (W18) | 1 (B53) | ½ (W9) | 6½ | 50½ |
| 16 |  Yangyi Yu (CHN)
|
2714 | 1 (W232) | 1 (B69) | 1 (W186) | ½ (B47) | ½ (W9) | ½ (B39) | ½ (W40) | 1 (B42) | ½ (W11) | 6½ | 50 |
| 16 |  David Anton Guijarro (ESP)
|
2639 | 1 (W204) | 1 (B73) | ½ (W33) | ½ (B82) | 1 (W88) | ½ (B26) | 1 (W34) | 0 (B7) | 1 (W63) | 6½ | 50 |
| 18 | Rasmus Svane (GER)
|
2625 | 1 (W212) | 1 (B277) | ½ (W34) | 1 (B151) | ½ (W13) | ½ (W5) | ½ (B15) | ½ (B26) | 1 (W67) | 6½ | 49½ |
| 19 |  Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA)
|
2722 | 1 (W128) | 0 (B41) | 1 (W123) | 1 (B135) | ½ (W57) | 1 (B62) | 1 (W39) | ½ (B37) | ½ (W10) | 6½ | 49 |
| 19 | Ray Robson (USA)
|
2692 | 1 (B129) | 1 (W230) | 0 (B11) | 1 (W116) | ½ (B187) | ½ (W60) | 1 (B81) | 1 (W25) | ½ (B4) | 6½ | 49 |
| 19 | Alexander Grischuk (FIDE)
|
2682 | 1 (B143) | 1 (W153) | 0 (B55) | 1 (W72) | ½ (B84) | ½ (W45) | 1 (B155) | 1 (W51) | ½ (B23) | 6½ | 49 |
| 22 |  Nils Grandelius (SWE)
|
2640 | 1 (B291) | 1 (W257) | 0 (B1) | 1 (W90) | 0 (B35) | 1 (W92) | 1 (B103) | ½ (W43) | 1 (B58) | 6½ | 48½ |
| 23 | Grigoriy Oparin (USA)
|
2660 | 1 (W182) | 1 (B107) | 0 (W38) | 1 (B166) | 1 (W159) | 0 (B11) | 1 (W117) | 1 (B61) | ½ (W21) | 6½ | 48 |
| 24 | Murali Karthikeyan (IND)
|
2651 | 1 (W196) | 1 (B175) | 0 (W41) | 1 (B77) | 1 (W152) | 0 (W8) | 1 (B153) | 1 (B38) | ½ (W26) | 6½ | 47½ |
| 25 |  Paulius Pultinevicius (LTU)
|
2558 | 1 (open) | ½ (open) | 1 (open) | 1 (open) | 1 (W12) | ½ (B6) | 0 (W9) | 0 (B20) | 1 (W88) | 6 | 55½ |
| 26 | Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE)
|
2757 | 1 (B79) | 1 (W60) | 0 (B10) | 1 (W153) | 1 (B41) | ½ (W17) | ½ (B46) | ½ (W18) | ½ (B24) | 6 | 54 |
| 27 | Matthias Blübaum (GER)
|
2662 | 1 (W148) | 1 (B98) | ½ (W49) | 1 (B52) | 1 (W29) | ½ (B28) | ½ (W6) | 0 (B2) | ½ (W50) | 6 | 53½ |
| 27 |  Baadur Jobava (GEO)
|
2600 | 1 (B138) | ½ (W85) | 1 (B94) | 1 (W44) | 1 (B4) | ½ (W27) | ½ (B8) | ½ (W36) | 0 (B3) | 6 | 53½ |
| 29 | Josefine Heinemann (GER)
|
2342 | 1 (open) | ½ (open) | 1 (open) | 1 (open) | 0 (B27) | ½ (W42) | ½ (B89) | 1 (W118) | ½ (B31) | 6 | 52½ |
| 30 |  David Navara (CZE)
|
2665 | 1 (B162) | 1 (W76) | ½ (B51) | ½ (W35) | ½ (B58) | 1 (W41) | 1 (B55) | 0 (W5) | ½ (B45) | 6 | 51½ |
| 30 | Aryan Chopra (IND)
|
2620 | 1 (W65) | ½ (B82) | 1 (W190) | 1 (B7) | ½ (W34) | ½ (B13) | 0 (W12) | 1 (B57) | ½ (W29) | 6 | 51½ |
| 32 | Etienne Bacrot (FRA)
|
2633 | 1 (B234) | 1 (W140) | 1 (B8) | 0 (W1) | ½ (B60) | ½ (W81) | 0 (B43) | 1 (W92) | 1 (W95) | 6 | 51 |
| 33 | Levon Aronian (USA)
|
2747 | 1 (B169) | 1 (W124) | ½ (B17) | ½ (W39) | ½ (B42) | ½ (W51) | ½ (B45) | 1 (W71) | ½ (B40) | 6 | 50½ |
| 33 | Hans Moke Niemann (USA)
|
2736 | 1 (B142) | 1 (W71) | ½ (B18) | 1 (W51) | ½ (B31) | ½ (W114) | 0 (B17) | 1 (W120) | ½ (B48) | 6 | 50½ |
| 33 |  Cem Kaan Gokerkan (TUR)
|
2489 | 1 (W216) | ½ (B7) | 1 (W284) | ½ (B30) | 1 (W22) | 0 (B9) | 1 (W65) | 0 (B10) | 1 (W83) | 6 | 50½ |
| 36 |  Jorden Van Foreest (NED)
|
2681 | 1 (W147) | 1 (B117) | 1 (W61) | 0 (B38) | 1 (W134) | ½ (B56) | 1 (W48) | ½ (B28) | 0 (W7) | 6 | 50 |
| 36 | Amin Tabatabaei (IRI)
|
2661 | 1 (B127) | 1 (W116) | ½ (B118) | 1 (W223) | ½ (B11) | ½ (W53) | 1 (B67) | ½ (W19) | 0 (B8) | 6 | 50 |
| 36 |  Victor Mikhalevski (ISR)
|
2513 | 1 (B224) | 1 (W222) | 1 (B23) | 1 (W36) | 0 (B1) | 0 (W3) | 1 (B164) | 0 (W24) | 1 (B97) | 6 | 50 |
| 39 | Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus (TUR)
|
2618 | 1 (B253) | 1 (W125) | ½ (B5) | ½ (B33) | 1 (W82) | ½ (W16) | 0 (B19) | 1 (W115) | ½ (B43) | 6 | 49½ |
| 39 | Gata Kamsky (USA)
|
2603 | 1 (B228) | 1 (W238) | ½ (B44) | ½ (W5) | ½ (B45) | 1 (W115) | ½ (B16) | ½ (W14) | ½ (W33) | 6 | 49½ |
| 39 |  Juraj Druska (SVK)
|
2442 | 1 (B220) | 1 (W19) | 1 (B24) | ½ (B9) | 0 (W26) | 0 (B30) | 1 (W137) | ½ (W59) | 1 (B91) | 6 | 49½ |
| 42 |  Kacper Piorun (POL)
|
2577 | 1 (W113) | 1 (B137) | 0 (W12) | 1 (B277) | ½ (W33) | ½ (B29) | 1 (W82) | 0 (W16) | 1 (B85) | 6 | 49 |
| 42 | Jonas Hacker (GER)
|
2370 | 1 (B154) | 0 (W4) | 1 (B224) | ½ (W14) | 1 (B127) | ½ (W68) | 1 (W32) | ½ (B22) | ½ (W39) | 6 | 49 |
| 44 |  Quang Liem Le (VIE)
|
2729 | 1 (W171) | 1 (B86) | ½ (W40) | 0 (B28) | 1 (W190) | ½ (B50) | 1 (W69) | 1 (B68) | 0 (W6) | 6 | 48½ |
| 45 | Tobias Kölle (GER)
|
2459 | 1 (W163) | ½ (B289) | ½ (W64) | 1 (B122) | ½ (W40) | ½ (B21) | ½ (W33) | 1 (B125) | ½ (W30) | 6 | 48 |
| 46 |  Daniel Dardha (BEL)
|
2650 | 1 (B178) | ½ (W94) | 1 (B85) | 1 (W121) | 0 (B80) | 1 (W57) | ½ (W26) | ½ (B50) | ½ (W49) | 6 | 47½ |
| 46 | Dmitrij Kollars (GER)
|
2623 | 1 (B248) | 1 (W194) | 1 (B14) | ½ (W16) | 0 (B2) | 0 (W67) | ½ (B94) | 1 (W160) | 1 (B81) | 6 | 47½ |
| 46 |  Francesco Sonis (ITA)
|
2576 | 1 (B296) | 1 (W105) | ½ (B3) | 0 (W2) | 1 (B125) | 1 (W151) | 0 (B36) | 1 (W116) | ½ (W34) | 6 | 47½ |
| 46 | Casper Schoppen (NED)
|
2529 | 1 (B150) | 1 (W193) | ½ (B27) | 0 (W4) | 1 (B144) | 0 (W14) | 1 (B151) | 1 (W70) | ½ (B46) | 6 | 47½ |
| 46 |  Bibisara Assaubayeva (KAZ)
|
2494 | 1 (B149) | 0 (W8) | ½ (B142) | 1 (W158) | 1 (B126) | ½ (W44) | 1 (B83) | ½ (W46) | ½ (B27) | 6 | 47½ |
| 51 |  Denis Kadric (MNE)
|
2533 | 1 (W179) | 1 (B133) | ½ (W30) | 0 (B34) | 1 (W197) | ½ (B33) | 1 (W88) | 0 (B21) | 1 (W96) | 6 | 47 |
| 52 |  Leon Livaić (CRO)
|
2536 | 1 (B211) | 1 (W225) | ½ (B4) | 0 (W27) | 1 (B121) | ½ (W59) | ½ (B70) | ½ (W85) | 1 (B93) | 6 | 45 |
| 53 | Daniel Fridman (GER)
|
2582 | 1 (W273) | ½ (B151) | ½ (W99) | 1 (B257) | 1 (W119) | ½ (B37) | ½ (W80) | 0 (W15) | 1 (B90) | 6 | 42½ |
| 54 | Dennis Wagner (GER)
|
2607 | 1 (W202) | ½ (B190) | 0 (W82) | 1 (B284) | 0 (W151) | 1 (B256) | ½ (B90) | 1 (W105) | 1 (W107) | 6 | 38½ |
| Sources:[4][12] | |||||||||||||
Notes:
- Only players with a score of at least 6 points are listed.
- For tie-breaks, the Buchholz system was used.
- The first letter in the brackets denotes if the player had the white or the black pieces in that round. The number after that denotes the final rank of the opponent.
- If a player switched from the Grenke Chess Open to the Freestyle Open during the tournament, points carried over are denoted as "(open)".
Since Carlsen had already qualified to the Las Vegas tournament, it was initially announced that a tiebreaker would be played between the seven players who tied for second place to determine the qualifier. The following day it was confirmed that Maghsoodloo was awarded the qualification spot.[13]
Tour standings after the tournament
edit| Pos. | Player | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 | Magnus Carlsen
|
65 |
 1
|
2 | Fabiano Caruana
|
39 |
 1
|
3 | Vincent Keymer
|
37 |
|
|
4 | Hikaru Nakamura
|
28 |
| 8
|
5 | Parham Maghsoodloo
|
18 |
| Sources:[4][12] | |||
Note: Only the top five positions are included.
References
edit- ^ a b c "Grenke Freestyle Chess Open and Grenke Chess Open 2025". Freestyle Chess. 2025-02-14. Retrieved 2025-04-11.
- ^ a b Levin, Anthony (2025-02-14). "Keymer Leads Vs. Caruana In Final; Carlsen, Nakamura Also Win". Chess.com. Retrieved 2025-04-11.
- ^ Ketterer, Frank (2025-04-11). "In Karlsruhe können sich Schach-Amateure mit der Weltelite messen". Badische Neueste Nachrichten (in German). Retrieved 2025-04-11.
- ^ a b c Colodro, Carlos Alberto (2025-04-22). "Carlsen scores perfect 9/9 to win Grenke Freestyle Open". ChessBase. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
- ^ Schormann, Conrad (2025-04-22). "Magnus Carlsen Achieves the Impossible: 9/9 in Karlsruhe". Freestyle Chess. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
- ^ McGourty, Colin (February 2, 2024). "Carlsen, Ding To Clash As GRENKE Chess Classic Returns".
- ^ "Cooperation Freestyle Chess and grenke Chess Open". ChessBase. 2025-02-13. Retrieved 2025-04-18.
- ^ Svensen, Tarjei J. (2025-02-14). "Niemann Given Surprise Paris Freestyle Wildcard, Set To Face Carlsen". Chess.com. Retrieved 2025-04-18.
- ^ Levin, Anthony (2025-04-17). "No Surprises: Carlsen, Arjun, Caruana Start With Wins". Chess.com. Retrieved 2025-04-18.
- ^ a b c d "grenke Freestyle Chess Open in Karlsruhe (Tournament Announcements and Regulations)" (PDF). Grenke Chess Open. Retrieved 2025-04-11.
- ^ "grenke Chess Open & grenke Freestyle Chess Open: Registrations". ChessTech News. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
- ^ a b "grenke Freestyle Chess Open 2025 A-Open: Final Ranking crosstable after 9 Rounds". Chess-Results.com. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
- ^ Levin, Anthony (2025-04-21). "Grenke Chess Freestyle Open 2025 Day 5: Carlsen Wins With Shining 9/9 Perfect Score". Chess.com. Retrieved 2025-04-24.