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Vincent Keymer is the winner of the Freestyle Chess Tournament in Weissenhaus. In the second final game against Fabiano Caruana, the German grandmaster neutralised Caruana's play from the get-go. Playing black, Keymer gained a pawn with a controlled offensive plan. Caruana later found an attacking idea, but it was fended off by the eventual champion.
The German star had what was an objectively better alternative in defence, but it was overly risky. Thus, the 20-year-old from Mainz opted for the safe route and led the game to a draw. On move 31, Caruana stopped his attempts to win and agreed to split the point in an endgame with rook and bishop.
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Draw agreed | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Fabiano Caruana | Photo: Stev Bonhage
In the round-robin tournament at the beginning of the competition, which was played with a rapid time control, Keymer did not have a particularly remarkable performance, as he qualified for the knockout phase in sixth place.
In the knockout, the first three players in the qualifying tournament were allowed to choose their opponents for the quarterfinals. As the winner of the round-robin tournament, Firouzja chose Keymer as his opponent, but the German ace proved to be a much tougher opponent than Firouzja might have expected given the long thinking time. Keymer won the first game against the French representative and settled for a draw in the second in a winning position.
The young German grandmaster continued in this style. In the semifinal, Keymer also won the first game against Carlsen very confidently. The Norwegian had virtually no chance there. Keymer drew the second game with black quite easily.
And, with the same strategy, Keymer also won the final against Caruana.
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Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Vincent Keymer and Javokhir Sindarov analysing a Freestyle Chess position | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Magnus Carlsen decided the match for third place in his favour with a second win in a row against Javokhir Sinarov. Hikaru Nakamura defeated Nodirbek Abdusattorov and finished fifth. In the match for seventh place, Alireza Firouzja outscored world champion Gukesh Dommaraju.
The Freestyle Chess tournament in Weissenhaus is the first of five Freestyle Chess tournaments this year. The players receive Grand Slam points for their placings and, of course, prize money. The tournament winner received 200,000 euros.
Magnus Carlsen finished in third place | Photo: Lennart Ootes
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Hikaru Nakamura | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Replay all games of the rapid round-robin on Live.ChessBase.com
