Chess: Carlsen scores record nine out of nine at Grenke Freestyle Open
Magnus Carlsen, the world No 1, soared to a new landmark in chess history last weekend, when the 34-year-old won all his nine games in the Grenke Freestyle Open at Karlsruhe, Germany.
It was a result comparable to the great historical performances. Bobby Fischer won the 1963-64 US Championship with an 11/11 'picket fence', then defeated Mark Taimanov and Bent Larsen by 6-0 in the 1971 Candidates. Anatoly Karpov triumphed at Linares 1994 with an 11-2 total, while further back the yardstick performance was Alexander Alekhine's 14-1 at San Remo 1930.
Related: Chess: Carlsen scores in Paris, leads Freestyle Grand Slam after two events
However, Fide does not officially rate Freestyle chess, in which the back rank pieces have randomised starting positions. It is also known as Fischer Random, Chess 960, and Chess 9LX.
It was a remarkable victory in physical terms. Carlsen came direct to Grenke from his victory in the Paris leg of the Freestyle Grand Slam, and was fatigued by the two-rounds-a-day schedule. His laconic post-victory comment was: 'I'm not going to do that again, that's for sure!'
He relied on grinding technique for many of his wins, but scored in a complex battle against the eight-time French champion Étienne Bacrot, who asked Carlsen for a selfie before the start.
Carlsen's final-round win against Vincent Keymer, the 20-year-old who has emerged as his main Freestyle rival, was also a tense struggle until the young German blundered in time pressure with an unsound knight sacrifice. Superior clock handling has been a key to Carlsen's success. He understands the sometimes chaotic Freestyle openings faster and deeper than his opponents.
The Grenke event produced a world record entry of 3,000 players, 500 up on 2024 and double the highest US total of 1500 at the 1986 World Open in Philadelphia. A drone's eye view of the multiple playing halls shows the scale of the vast operation.
Just a day after Grenke, Carlsen was in action again, winning the late version of chess.com's online Titled Tuesday. However, the Norwegian was upstaged in the early version, where the 13-year-old Turkish prodigy, Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, became the youngest ever winner of this highly competitive event. Chess.com neglected to mention Erdogmus in its headline, but the teenager's impressive result was underlined by his strong performance in the Grenke Freestyle Open, where Erdogmus drew with three 2700+ opponents and totalled 7/11.
Next Monday is the eighth and final episode of BBC Two's Chess Masters: The Endgame, when the four finalists, Richie, Kel, Thalia and Lula, will decide the winner.
Episode seven proved a disappointment in audience numbers, supplied by Broadcast, which dropped to 535,000 and 4% of the total viewers. Perhaps it was an effect of the Easter holiday. The highlight was a three board simultaneous performance by the prodigy Bodhana Sivanandan (seen here in action at an earlier simul in Harrow), in which the opponent she checkmated the fastest was eliminated.
If the semi-finals and final were a normal tournament with head-to-head pairings, Kel, who has an excellent record in Manchester weekend events, would be the favourite, but according to the BBC's advance clip the challenge will also involve solving tactical puzzles.
It was different in BBC Two's The Master Game of the 1970s and 80s, when Karpov, the then world champion, was twice the top seed and the other grandmasters knew that to succeed they had to defeat the Russian …
3969: 1…Qh3+ 2 Ke1 (2 Kg1 Qg2 or Nf3 mate) Ng2+ 3 Kf1 Ne3++ 4 Ke1 Qf1+! 5 Rxf1 Ng2 mate.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
7 hours ago
- New York Times
Magnus Carlsen, world chess No. 1, signs St Pauli contract extension for 2025-26 Bundesliga season
World chess No. 1 Magnus Carlsen will continue with Bundesliga team St Pauli for the 2025-26 season. Carlsen joined the German team in May 2024. Nicknamed 'the Mozart of Chess', the former world champion helped St Pauli to a 12th-placed finish in the 15-team standings, cementing their top-flight status in their debut season following promotion. Advertisement 'Last season was a great success for the team,' Carlsen said. 'We proved that we can hold our own in the Bundesliga and compete with the very best. I'm looking forward to the team's continued development – and to contributing to it.' Carlsen's arrival at St Pauli came with significant fanfare, his stature and reputation in chess attracting an oversubscription in interest for tickets and his matches were covered by the majority of German newspapers and several television channels. The Norwegian's arrival also meant each of the top-10 chess players in the world were playing in Germany. Both St Pauli's football team and its amateur chess team won promotion to the top-flight in 2024. The club's branding as one of the most widely-recognised left-wing teams in Europe was one of the factors which attracted Carlsen, with his acquisition a significant coup in their attempt for survival. Carlsen attended a St. Pauli match at their stadium, the Millerntor, when they were a struggling second-division team, and he cited the 'relaxed and joyful atmosphere' as a factor in persuading him to become a part of the club. Thomas Schuttler, chairman of the FC St. Pauli chess department, said: 'Magnus Carlsen is not only an extraordinary player but also a tremendous asset to our team culture. His presence has inspired everyone involved. We're thrilled that he's staying on — together, we're writing a special chapter in German chess, in true St. Pauli style.' Carlsen made his debut in the fifth round of the Bundesliga season, defeating Dutch grandmaster Max Warmerdam as St Pauli triumphed over SG Solingen, their first victory of the season. He was then held to a draw by Wei Yi in his side's narrow defeat to Dusseldorfer SK. The 34-year-old has not played for St Pauli since, with appearances at the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam in Weissenhaus and Paris, the TCh-NOR Elite 2024-25 and 13th Norway Chess 2025 comprising a busy schedule. Jan Henric Buettner, founder of Freestyle Chess and sponsor of the team said Carlsen's contract extension 'reflects the strength of our shared project and our ambition to increase the popularity of chess in Germany'.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Real American Freestyle wrestling to debut at Cleveland's Wolstein Center with Olympic medalists
Real American Freestyle wrestling's inaugural event will be held at the 13,000-seat Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio on Aug. 30, commissioner Hulk Hogan said in a statement. 'Cleveland is an incredible city, and Real American Freestyle is channeling its rock and roll style into this first event,' he said. Advertisement The first set of matches and the location for the new promotion's first event were announced Wednesday. The first two women's matches are American Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hildebrandt vs. Mexico's Zeltzin Hernandez Guerra and American Olympic silver medalist Kennedy Blades vs. Mexico's Alejandra Rivera Arriaga. The men's matches so far are Real Woods vs. Darrion Caldwell and Austin Gomez vs. Lance Palmer. The format will include eight men's and four women's matches. Major signings have included American Olympic medalists Kyle Snyder, Kyle Dake and Aaron Brooks and NCAA heavyweight champion Wyatt Hendrickson. ___ AP sports: Cliff Brunt, The Associated Press
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Associated Press
Real American Freestyle wrestling to debut at Cleveland's Wolstein Center with Olympic medalists
Real American Freestyle wrestling's inaugural event will be held at the 13,000-seat Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio on Aug. 30, commissioner Hulk Hogan said in a statement. 'Cleveland is an incredible city, and Real American Freestyle is channeling its rock and roll style into this first event,' he said. The first set of matches and the location for the new promotion's first event were announced Wednesday. The first two women's matches are American Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hildebrandt vs. Mexico's Zeltzin Hernandez Guerra and American Olympic silver medalist Kennedy Blades vs. Mexico's Alejandra Rivera Arriaga. The men's matches so far are Real Woods vs. Darrion Caldwell and Austin Gomez vs. Lance Palmer. The format will include eight men's and four women's matches. Major signings have included American Olympic medalists Kyle Snyder, Kyle Dake and Aaron Brooks and NCAA heavyweight champion Wyatt Hendrickson. ___ AP sports:
