Vincent Keymer has struck first in the final of the Weissenhaus Freestyle Grand Slam, defeating Fabiano Caruana in their opening classical game. The 20-year-old German grandmaster displayed remarkable control, steadily increasing the pressure before finishing with a brilliant combination. Keymer is now one step away from the title and the $200,000 first prize.

The first day of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam semifinals saw a major upset as Vincent Keymer defeated world number one Magnus Carlsen in a tense battle. The 20-year-old German delivered one of the best performances of his career but remains cautious, knowing about Carlsen’s resilience and comeback abilities. The second game on Wednesday will decide whether Keymer can complete the biggest match win of his career so far.

The second day of the quarterfinals at the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam in Weissenhaus determined the four players advancing to the semifinals. Magnus Carlsen, Vincent Keymer, and Fabiano Caruana won their matches without a tiebreak, while Javokhir Sindarov defeated Hikaru Nakamura in a playoff. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Keymer will face Carlsen, while Sindarov takes on Caruana.

The first quarterfinal games of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam in Weissenhaus set the stage for tomorrow’s decisive encounters. Magnus Carlsen, Vincent Keymer, and Fabiano Caruana took the lead in their matches, while the game between Hikaru Nakamura and Javokhir Sindarov ended in a draw. Play continues on Monday at 13:00 p.m. CET.

He was a bit surprised himself about how things emerged, because he hadn’t been in the lead anywhere in the tournament. Still, it was Alireza Firouzja who ended up winning the rapid round-robin on Saturday, edging out first-day leader Javokhir Sindarov on tiebreak as both finished on 6.5 points.

“I was just trying to play against the pieces, not against Magnus.”

This approach helped Javokhir Sindarov to beat Magnus Carlsen in their first-ever over-the-board game, part of the Uzbek’s magnificent 4.5/5 score. That could even have been 5/5, as he was also winning against classical chess world champion Gukesh Dommaraju. Sindarov leads the rapid tournament after day one, a preliminary event that will decide which eight players will make it to the knockout phase starting on Sunday.