Latest news with #GrenkeFreestyleOpen
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First Post
4 hours ago
- Sport
- First Post
Magnus Carlsen finally hits 2900 rating: 'My wife is way more attracted to me now'
Magnus Carlsen finally crossed the 2900 rating mark in chess, but in the freestyle format, not classical. After learning about his new achievement, Carlsen joked that his wife finds him more attractive now that has crossed the 2900 rating. R Praggnanandhaa is the highest ranked Indian at 4th. read more Magnus Carlsen has finally achieved his dream of crossing the 2900 rating mark in chess. Despite winning the world championship five times and being ranked world no. 1 for almost 15 years, Carlsen never managed to reach a 2900 rating in classical chess. His highest-ever classical rating was 2882, which he reached in 2014. However, the long wait is over for Carlsen as he has managed to breach the 2900 rating. Although it is not in classical chess, that dream of his will still have to wait. Carlsen has achieved this in freestyle chess. The updated freestyle chess ratings were released on Thursday and showed Carlsen at the top with a rating of 2909. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Carlsen reacts after reaching 2900 rating Carlsen's freestyle rating is 72 points higher than his current rating in classical chess. Carlsen reacted to the news by cracking a joke. 'My wife is way more attracted to me now that I've achieved 2900,' Carlsen said after he learnt about the rating. Carlsen secured 9 out of 9 wins at the Grenke Freestyle Open earlier this year. After the win, Carlsen said, 'It's incredible. I have never done that in classical chess, or in any format - and it's not gonna happen again! It feels amazing." Freestyle chess is different from the regular format. These rankings were not released by FIDE, the global chess body, but by the organisers of freestyle chess themselves. The ratings are based on performances in five recent tournaments - Weissenhaus 2024, Singapore 2024, Weissenhaus 2025, Paris 2025, Karlsruhe 2025. Indians in freestyle chess rankings Meanwhile, there is also good news for Indian chess fans. R Praggnanandhaa is ranked 4th in freestyle chess with a rating of 2773, making him the highest-ranked Indian. He is just behind Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura (2818), and Fabiano Caruana (2804). Arjun Erigaisi is also in the top 10 as he is ranked 8th with 2758 rating. Other Indian players in the top rankings include, Vidit Gujrathi at 18th (2713), Aravindh Chithambaram at 22nd (2707), and D Gukesh at 26th (2701). Even though Gukesh is the current classical world champion, he has not performed well in freestyle chess tournaments. That's why his ranking here is lower.
Time of India
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Chess: 'My wife is way more attracted to me now' — Magnus Carlsen after record rating in freestyle
Magnus Carlsen and his wife Ella Victoria (Image via Instagram/Magnus Carlsen) Magnus Carlsen has achieved a significant milestone by crossing the 2900 rating threshold in freestyle chess, a feat that had long evaded him in classical chess. No chess player has ever reached this mark before. Carlsen, a five-time world chess champion who has maintained the world number one position for nearly 15 years, previously peaked at 2882 in classical chess during May 2014. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! The new freestyle chess ratings, released on Thursday, are compiled by Freestyle Chess organisation rather than FIDE, the global chess governing body. "My wife (Ella Victoria) is way more attracted to me now that I've achieved 2900," Carlsen told Freestyle Chess, joking after learning about his rating. The freestyle ratings were calculated using five tournaments: Weissenhaus 2024, Singapore 2024, Weissenhaus 2025, Paris 2025, and Karlsruhe 2025. The list includes 578 players who participated in at least one freestyle chess event in the past two years. Praggnanandhaa leads Indian players at fourth place with 2773 points, following Carlsen (2909), Hikaru Nakamura (2818), and Fabiano Caruana (2804). Poll Which chess format do you prefer to watch? Classical chess Freestyle chess Rapid/blitz chess Other Indian players on the list include Arjun Erigaisi in 8th place with 2758 points, Vidit Santosh Gujarathi at 18th with 2713 points, Aravindh Chithambaram VR at 22nd with 2707 points, and classical world champion Gukesh at 26th with 2701 points. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Concentrated Siberian Ginseng Extract 2oz Superior Ginseng Undo Gukesh's lower ranking can be attributed to his recent struggles in freestyle chess tournaments. Carlsen has excelled in this format, achieving a perfect score of nine wins in nine games at the Grenke Freestyle Open. His freestyle ELO rating of 2909 surpasses his classical chess rating by 72 points. 'Cricketers Aren't Cattle... ': Harish Thawani on the IPL and Business of Indian Cricket Carlsen had previously approached the 2900 mark in classical chess in 2019. During this period, he set another record by playing 125 classical games without defeat between July 2018 and October 2020. "I have given up a bit on trying to reach 2900. It will just be very, very difficult," Carlsen had stated on the Norwegian podcast Sjakksnakk in 2023. Game On Season 1 kicks off with Sakshi Malik's inspiring story. Watch Episode 1 here
Indian Express
15 hours ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
‘My wife is way more attracted to me now': Magnus Carlsen after breaking 2900 rating threshold in freestyle chess
In a career littered with silverware, there was one dream that always eluded Magnus Carlsen: breaking the 2900 rating threshold in classical chess. This was something no chess player has ever done. Carlsen, who won the world chess championship title five times and has been world no 1 for almost 15 years, came close a few times, but the best he could achieve in classical chess was 2882, which he achieved in May 2014, just six months after winning the World Championship for the first time by defeating Viswanathan Anand in 2013. Now, Carlsen had finally broken 2900 rating, albeit in the freestyle chess ratings, which were unveiled on Thursday. The ratings it must be noted are drawn up by Freestyle Chess rather than FIDE, the global governing body of chess. After hearing about the rating, Carlsen joked: 'My wife (Ella Victoria) is way more attracted to me now that I've achieved 2900.' Freestyle Chess used five tournaments — Weissenhaus 2024, Singapore 2024, Weissenhaus 2025, Paris 2025, Karlsruhe 2025 — to come up with the ratings. There are 578 players on the list, these have played at least one freestyle chess event in the last two years. Praggnanandhaa is India's top player in the rating list on 4th spot, just behind Carlsen (2909), Hikaru Nakamura (2818) and Fabiano Caruana (2804). Praggnanandhaa has 2773 points which put him ahead of compatriots like Arjun Erigaisi (8th spot with 2758 points), Vidit Santosh Gujarathi (18th with 2713 points), Aravindh Chithambaram VR (22nd with 2707) and classical world champion Gukesh (26th spot with 2701). World champion Gukesh has not had the best of performances in freestyle chess tournaments, which explains his struggles on the rankings board for June 2025. Gukesh's predecessor on the world champion's throne, Carlsen, meanwhile has had no problems in the format he himself had championed. Carlsen, in fact, went through the Grenke Freestyle Open: nine wins from nine games. At 2909, Carlsen's freestyle ELO rating is 72 points above his ELO in traditional chess with classical time control. After that near miss in 2014, Carlsen came close to 2900 in classical chess once again in 2019. It was during this period that he set another record: 125 classical games in a row without defeat between July 2018 and October 2020. In 2023, he told Norwegian podcast Sjakksnakk: 'I have given up a bit on trying to reach 2900. It will just be very, very difficult.'
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
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 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. 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.
Spectator
30-04-2025
- Sport
- Spectator
No. 848
White to play. Dardha-Sorensen, Grenke Freestyle Open, 2025. The knight forks rook and bishop, and Re6-e3 runs into another fork with Nd4-c2+. Which move enabled Dardha to decide the game in his favour? Email answers to chess@ by Monday 5 May. There is a prize of a £20 John Lewis voucher for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address. Last week's solution 1…Bf3 with the idea 2 gxf3 Rh6 mate. White tried 2 Be6 but resigned after 2…Rxg2+ Last week's winner Phil Hair, Cambusbarron, Stirling
