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Grenke Freestyle Chess Open 2025 – Day Four
Carlsen Extends His Perfect Run in Karlsruhe
Magnus Carlsen wins a dramatic battle against Parham Maghsoodloo to reach 7/7, while Rauf Mamedov and Andrey Esipenko remain his closest pursuers
For a few minutes, Andrey Esipenko caught up with Magnus Carlsen at the Grenke Freestyle Chess Open. After winning his seventh-round game against Pranesh M, Esipenko moved to six points, temporarily joining Carlsen at the top. But Carlsen was still playing. Against Parham Maghsoodloo, the world number one secured another victory to maintain a perfect 7/7.
Carlsen now leads the field by a full point with two rounds to go. Behind him, Rauf Mamedov and Andrey Esipenko follow on 6 points, while a larger chasing group—including Baadur Jobava, Javokhir Sindarov, Matthias Blübaum, Frederik Svane, Amin Tabatabaei, Leinier Dominguez, Vincent Keymer, and others—stand at 5.5 points.
The top pairings for Round 8 are:
- Rauf Mamedov vs. Magnus Carlsen
- Vincent Keymer vs. Andrey Esipenko
- Alexey Sarana vs. Fabiano Caruana
- David Navara vs. Leinier Dominguez
- Amin Tabatabaei vs. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
- Javokhir Sindarov vs. Frederik Svane
- Parham Maghsoodloo vs. Matthias Blübaum
- Baadur Jobava vs. Jorden van Foreest
Round 8 will start Monday at 10:00 CEST.
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Round 7 live stream.
Twists, Turns, and Key Moments
Round 6 opened with a highly anticipated encounter: Magnus Carlsen facing Awonder Liang, who had switched from the classical Grenke Open to the Freestyle tournament despite forfeiting any chance at prize money. Liang, on 4.5 points, was eager to test himself against the best. After an even start, Carlsen gradually increased the pressure. In a critical moment, Liang collapsed under the strain, and Carlsen secured his sixth consecutive win.
Elsewhere, Parham Maghsoodloo defeated Leon Luke Mendonca, keeping himself in the race. Fabiano Caruana continued his recovery, beating Murali Karthikeyan to move to 5 points. Sergei Movsesian nearly pulled off a surprise against Hans Niemann, but the American grandmaster managed to escape with a draw.
In round 7, Andrey Esipenko impressed by quickly defeating Pranesh M, moving to 6 points and temporarily leading the field.
Parham Maghsoodloo tried hard in round 7, but ultimately lost like 6 of Carlsen’s opponents before him. | Photo: Stev Bonhage/Freestyle Chess
Carlsen faced his biggest test of the day against Parham Maghsoodloo. In a tense and chaotic battle, Maghsoodloo pressed hard but overreached and, in time trouble, ultimately lost on the clock. “He was still in the mode of trying to win, which is kind of crazy,” Carlsen said afterward. Reflecting on the double-round format, he added: “Playing double rounds is brutal.”
Vincent Keymer scored a quick win against Sergei Movsesian in only 16 moves, moving to 5.5 points. David Anton Guijarro dismantled Hans Niemann with a dynamic exchange sacrifice, dealing Niemann his first defeat of the event.
Behind Carlsen, the tournament remains wide open. Mamedov and Esipenko are still within reach, but with only two rounds remaining, catching the leader will require not just wins—but also a stumble from Carlsen himself.
