Freestyle Grand Slam Tour Stage 1: Firouzja, Gukesh and Abdusattorov in a must-win situation
Vincent Keymer (GER), Fabiano Caruana (USA) and Magnus Carlsen (NOR) have won their respective first game of the Quarterfinals at Freestyle Grand Slam Tour Stage 1. Firouzja's ambitious approach against Keymer did not work out. It only made his king more vulnerable. Hikaru Nakamura (USA) missed a great opportunity to win against Javokhir Sindarov (UZB). D Gukesh made a slight miscalculation, traded rooks at an inopportune moment and arrived at an inferior exchange down endgame. Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) could not get out of the gate against Carlsen. All four matches continue with a second game of the Quarterfinals and reversed color. Game 2 starts today from 1 p.m. local time, 5:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Abhyudaya Ram
Nakamura misses a win against Sindarov
The 44th Olympiad Gold medalist, Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) made a brave decision to choose Hikaru Nakamura (USA) as his Quarterfinals opponent. It almost backfired as he was on the brink of defeat for the better part of the endgame. However, he persevered and managed to escape with a draw against the top streamer. One must not forget that Nakamura is the reigning World Fischer Random champion and he might remain so for a really long time. So even if Sindarov gets eliminated by Nakamura, there is really nothing for him to lose, not even Elo rating points. However, if Sindarov manages to knock him out, that's certainly would be a huge win. He has already beaten Carlsen in the Round-Robin stage, might as well defeat the reigning champion of this variant in few hours.
Firouzja - Keymer: 0-1
Alireza Firouzja's (FRA) aggressive approach while neglecting his king safety and development of queenside pieces, invited trouble against Vincent Keymer (GER).
Black has almost completed the development of pieces. White's pieces lack coordination and 11.f5? exposes that fact. 11...gxf5 12.Nxf5 Qxg2 13.Nxe7+ Black is more than happy to trade his e7-pawn for the g2 as it opens the e-file. White could not manage to develop his light squared bishop or put his king to safety. They resulted in White's loss.
Sindarov - Nakamura
Black's knights proved to be menacing despite White having a bishop pair, thanks to Black's passed pawn at f4 and a well-placed rook at f1. 32.Bxe3 Rxf1+ 33.Bxf1 fxe3-+ Black arrived at a winning knight endgame. 34.Be2 Ne4 35.c4 c5 almost everything is winning for Black. Hikaru Nakamura (USA) made a few inaccuracies in the end and allowed his opponent, Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) to escape with a draw.
Gukesh - Caruana
27.Rxf4 exf4 28.Bb3 instead 28.Bg4 works as Re1+ 29.Kc2 Rxa1 30.Ne6+ Kb6 31.Nf8 is winning for White. 28.Bb3 is not incorrect either Kd7 29.g8Q? Rxg8 30.Bxg8 Re1+ allowing the rook trade was not a good idea as it left White with no compensation for the lost exchange. Unlike the previous day, this time Fabiano Caruana (USA) did not squander his winning chances against D Gukesh.
Carlsen - Abdusattorov
After going for a rook trade on the second move of the game, Magnus Carlsen (NOR) managed to bring his queen in the action very quickly compared to his opponent. It made a big difference as White managed to mount a devastating attack on the queenside.
Replay live stream
Total prize fund
US$ 750000 per Grand Slam
Format
Time: Rapid and Standard
• Round robin: Rapid 10 minutes for the game + 10 seconds per move
• Knockout stage - Game 1+2 = 90’+30’’ / Game 3+4 = 10’+10’’ / Game 5+6 = 5’+2’’ / Game 7 = Armageddon
Schedule
7th and 8th February: Round-Robin stage - Rapid
9th and 10th February: Quarterfinals - Classical
11th and 12th February: Semifinals and Playoffs for 5th to 8th - Classical
13th and 14th February: Finals - Classical
Quarterfinals results
| No. | Name | FED | Game 1 | Game 2 | Pts. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterfinal - Round 1 (2025/02/09 - 2025/02/10) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | GM | Firouzja Alireza | FRA | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | GM | Keymer Vincent | GER | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | GM | Sindarov Javokhir | UZB | ½ | ½ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | GM | Nakamura Hikaru | USA | ½ | ½ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | GM | Gukesh D | IND | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | GM | Caruana Fabiano | USA | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | GM | Carlsen Magnus | NOR | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | GM | Abdusattorov Nodirbek | UZB | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Standings after Quarterfinals Game 1
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | RtgI | Pts. | TB1 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | GM | Carlsen, Magnus | NOR | 2833 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2 | 2 | GM | Caruana, Fabiano | USA | 2803 | 1 | 0 | |
| 3 | 7 | GM | Keymer, Vincent | GER | 2731 | 1 | 0 | |
| 4 | 3 | GM | Nakamura, Hikaru | USA | 2802 | 0,5 | 0,5 | |
| 5 | 8 | GM | Sindarov, Javokhir | UZB | 2700 | 0,5 | 0,5 | |
| 6 | 4 | GM | Gukesh, D | IND | 2777 | 0 | 0 | |
| 8 | 5 | GM | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | UZB | 2766 | 0 | 0 | |
| 8 | 6 | GM | Firouzja, Alireza | FRA | 2760 | 0 | 0 |
Links
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Vincent Keymer conquers Freestyle Grand Slam Tour Stage 1
@ 15/02/2025 by Shahid Ahmed (en) |
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Vincent Keymer on the verge of winning Freestyle Grand Slam Tour Stage 1
@ 14/02/2025 by Shahid Ahmed (en) |
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Freestyle Grand Slam Tour Stage 1 SF: Keymer KOs Carlsen
@ 13/02/2025 by Shahid Ahmed (en) |
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Freestyle Grand Slam Tour Stage 1 SF: Vincent Keymer stuns Magnus Carlsen
@ 12/02/2025 by Shahid Ahmed (en) |
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Freestyle Grand Slam Tour Stage 1: Sindarov eliminates Nakamura, joins Keymer, Caruana and Carlsen in SF
@ 11/02/2025 by Shahid Ahmed (en) |
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Freestyle Grand Slam Tour Stage 1: Caruana handpicks World Champion Gukesh as his Quarterfinals opponent
@ 09/02/2025 by Shahid Ahmed (en) |
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Freestyle Grand Slam Tour Stage 1: Carlsen slayers Caruana and Sindarov emerge coleaders
@ 08/02/2025 by Shahid Ahmed (en) |