Freestyle Grand Slam Tour Stage 1 SF: Vincent Keymer stuns Magnus Carlsen

by Shahid Ahmed - 12/02/2025

Vincent Keymer (GER) stunned Magnus Carlsen (NOR) in the first game of the Semifinals at Freestyle Grand Slam Tour Stage 1. The Germany no.1 got an advantage early in the game. However, the World no.1 managed to equalize. Eventually, Carlsen made a positional inaccuracy which his opponent capitalized on and won the game. Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) missed a win against Fabiano Caruana (USA). The opportunity arose for the Uzbek in the endgame. He was unable to spot it and the game ended in a draw. Carlsen is in a must-win situation in the second Semifinals to force tie-breaks. Game 2 starts today from 1 p.m. local time, 5:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Abhyudaya Ram

Carlsen in a must-win situation

Vincent Keymer is no stranger to beating Magnus Carlsen in the Knockout stages. In FIDE World Cup 2023, Keymer handed the World no.1 his sole loss of the event in Round of 16. It was the solitary occasion where Carlsen was on the brink of elimination at that event. After losing the first game, he was on the verge of losing the second one too. A draw was also there. However, Keymer lost that game and Carlsen won the tie-breaks and eventually won his first World Cup. In a battle of 5th to 8th place matches, both games between Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) and Alireza Firouzja (FRA), Hikaru Nakamura (USA) and D Gukesh ended in draws.

Vincent Keymer needs a draw in Game 2 to eliminate Magnus Carlsen | Photo: Abhyudaya Ram

Keymer - Carlsen: 1-0

Vincent Keymer (GER) lost the Rapid game against Magnus Carlsen (NOR) in the Round-Robin stage. It was time for him to settle the score. He got himself a good position in the early stage of the game.

Position after 9.e4

White got an advantageous position early after 9.e4. However, Carlsen managed to equalize and get back in the game.

Position after 37...c6?

Black's final mistake was 37...c6? 38.Qa3+- Rxe6 39.dxe6 Rc8 and White won.

Vincent Keymer - Magnus Carlsen, Commentary by IM Sagar Shah | Video: ChessBase India

Behind the scenes of Vincent Keymer's win over Magnus Carlsen | Video: ChessBase India

Vincent Keymer has always been a tough opponent for Magnus Carlsen | Photo: Abhyudaya Ram

Caruana - Sindarov

Position after 46.h4??

Fabiano Caruana blundered 46.h4?? Ne3+ 47.Kh2 Rf1 is what Javokhir Sindarov needed to play. The idea is to attack the white king via the back rank Raa1, Rf2+ etc. and so on. 47...Rfa5? was played in the game and Black missed his opportunity to win the game.

Javokhir Sindarov missed a good opportunity against Fabiano Caruana | Photo: Abhyudaya Ram

Nodirbek Abdusattorov - Alireza Firouzja: 0.5-0.5 | Photo: Abhyudaya Ram

Hikaru Nakamura - D Gukesh, Commentary by IM Sagar Shah | Video: ChessBase India

Battle of the World Champions - Hikaru Nakamura (Fischer Random) and D Gukesh (Classical) ended in a draw | Photo: Abhyudaya Ram

Fabiano Caruana takes a look at Keymer-Carlsen game | Photo: Abhyudaya Ram

Magnus Carlsen checks out D Gukesh's game | Photo: Abhyudaya Ram

Day 5 preview | Video: ChessBase India

View of the streaming booths | Video: ChessBase India

Replay live stream

Replay Semifinals Game 1 live commentary by IM Sagar Shah, GM Harshit Raja and Amruta Mokal | Video: ChessBase India

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

Replay 5th - 8th place games

Semifinals place results

No.		Name	FED	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Pts.
Semifinal - Round 1 (2025/02/11)

3	GM	Keymer Vincent	GER	1				1
1	GM	Carlsen Magnus	NOR	0				0

2	GM	Caruana Fabiano	USA	½				½
4	GM	Sindarov Javokhir	UZB	½				½

Details

5th -8th place results

No.		Name	FED	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Pts.
Semifinal - Round 1 (2025/02/11)

3	GM	Abdusattorov Nodirbek	UZB	½				½
4	GM	Firouzja Alireza	FRA	½				½

1	GM	Nakamura Hikaru	USA	½				½
2	GM	Gukesh D	IND	½				½

Details

Links

Official site

Weissenhaus

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