Historic! Epic! No superlative is too great for Magnus Carlsen
Historic! Epic! The superlatives for Magnus Carlsen's performance know no bounds. With nine wins in nine games, he delivered an unprecedented tournament performance — and crowned himself the undisputed king of Freestyle Chess.
Final day kicks off with high-profile drawing of lots
The final day of the grenke hess Festival began with the drawing of lots by Jan Henric Buettner, CEO of Freestyle Chess Operations GmbH. Tournament Director Sven Noppes later referred to him during the award ceremony as the "enabler" — as Buettner, together with co-sponsor grenke AG, played a key role in financing this year’s tournament.
Buettner and his wife Holly then drew the starting position from which the Freestyle Chess players would begin their games.
Carlsen shines again – Mamedov with no chance
In his game against Rauf Mamedov, Magnus Carlsen took about twenty minutes for his first two moves — and after the third move, according to commentator Peter Leko, he was already better. Carlsen went on to win the game convincingly, remaining undefeated after eight rounds. Between games, he was followed by autograph hunters — wherever Carlsen appeared, crowds gathered around him like he was a rock star.
Incident in the Garden Hall
A moment of concern occurred in the Garden Hall when a participant suffered an epileptic seizure, leading to a brief interruption of play. Fortunately, paramedics quickly arrived and gave the all-clear. They expected the player to be released from hospital within a day or two.
Svane misses his chance against Nepomniachtchi
Rasmus Svane missed a huge opportunity in his game against Ian Nepomniachtchi. After finding the brilliant move 20. ...Rxf3 (21. Kxf3?? would be met by a knight fork), he gave away his advantage with the error ...e5?? on move 39.
The big finale: Carlsen vs. Keymer
Since Vincent Keymer won his game against Andrey Esipenko, round 9 featured the much-anticipated finale: Magnus Carlsen vs. Vincent Keymer. The starting position was number 140 — described by commentator Lawrence Trent as the "most insane" of all nine rounds.
Keymer kept the game open for a long time, but Carlsen - as Peter Leko put it in the livestream - is “a machine.” Keymer fell into time trouble, and a single mistake (25. ...Nf5??) was enough to tip the balance decisively in Carlsen's favor.
Record-breaking stream numbers
Viewership on the streaming platforms skyrocketed during the game: Over 25,000 followed the chess24 livestream on YouTube, another 15,000 watched on Twitch, and ChessBase India drew more than 3,000 viewers. Social media reactions were overwhelmingly positive.
With 9 points from 9 games, Magnus Carlsen made chess history - surpassing even Bobby Fischer's legendary 11/11 performance at the 1963/64 U.S. Championship, where Fischer faced weaker opposition.
A historic moment: Keymer resigns – Carlsen completes a perfect 9/9
Carlsen in interview: "It’s just incredible"
In his post-game interview with Fiona Steil-Antoni, Carlsen was clearly overwhelmed: "It feels amazing. I’ve never done this before, and I probably never will again. It’s just incredible."
GM norms and winner of the A-Open
The classical A-Open was won by Indian player Aswath S., who achieved a GM norm with his result — as did Leonardo Costa. A total of fifteen title norms were awarded during the tournament.
Festive award ceremony and outlook
The closing ceremony brought the event to a celebratory end. Tournament Director Sven Noppes thanked the sponsors GRENKE and Freestyle, the media, the team of arbiters, the Baden-Baden Chess Center as organizer, the City of Karlsruhe, and all volunteers. It took about an hour and a half to honor and photograph all winners, rating prize recipients, and team competition victors — fitting, as this was the first time in grenke Chess history that six competitions were held in one event.
Christian Bossert (Chairman of the Schachzentrum Baden Baden), Magnus Carlsen, Jan Henric Buettner, Sven Noppes (Tournament Director)
Thanks to all – and hope for a return
Jan Henric Buettner also took the stage once more to thank the top players for their outstanding performances. Whether the tournament will return next year has not yet been decided — but the outlook is promising. The event's exceptional atmosphere impressed everyone involved. Respect, friendliness, and a sense of shared passion for the game prevailed throughout.
The experiment of combining classical and freestyle chess into a single event for both amateur and elite players has been a resounding success.
Many thanks to everyone — and we hope to see you again next year!
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