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Grenke Freestyle Chess Open 2025 – Day Three
Carlsen Takes Full Control in Karlsruhe
Awonder Liang, who switched to Freestyle mid-event, will challenge Carlsen on the top board as seven players remain within half a point
After five rounds at the Grenke Freestyle Chess Open in Karlsruhe, Magnus Carlsen stands alone at the top. With a perfect score of 5/5, he is the only player who has won all his games so far.
Seven players are half a point behind with 4.5/5, including Awonder Liang, who switched from the traditional tournament to the Freestyle event during the competition. Just one round later, Liang will meet Carlsen on the top board in Round 6. Other players on 4.5 points are Paulius Pultinevicius, Leon Luke Mendonca, Alexey Sarana, Matthias Blübaum, Baadur Jobava, and Parham Maghsoodloo.
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Round 5 live stream with Peter Leko and Lawrence Trent.
Round six will see the following top pairings:
- Awonder Liang vs. Magnus Carlsen
- Leon Luke Mendonca vs. Parham Maghsoodloo
- Alexey Sarana vs. Paulius Pultinevicius
- Baadur Jobava vs. Matthias Blübaum
Round six begins on Monday, April 20, at 10:00 CEST, followed by round seven later the same day at 16:00 CEST.
Magnus Carlsen, the only player on 5/5. | Photo: Stev Bonhage/Freestyle Chess
Twists, Turns, and Key Moments
Round 4 opened with a brief pause for a selfie: before their game, eight-time French Champion Etienne Bacrot asked Magnus Carlsen for a picture at the board. On the board, Carlsen had to work harder. After a sharp opening and a queenside castle as early as move two, Carlsen found a critical resource to survive a dangerous middlegame. Bacrot’s mistake with 18.b3? was the beginning of the end. Carlsen secured a clean win to become the first player to reach 4/4.
8x French champ Etienne Bacrot grabs a quick selfie with Magnus Carlsen before their game 😭 pic.twitter.com/N9chWztKiy
— Chess.com (@chesscom) April 19, 2025
Leon Luke Mendonca continued his impressive run by defeating Richard Rapport with a tactical sequence culminating in a mating attack. Victor Mikhalevski, aged 52, maintained his perfect score by defeating Jorden van Foreest, while Alexey Sarana overcame Jan Smeets in an endgame after a temporary piece sacrifice.
In Round 5, Carlsen extended his lead by defeating Mikhalevski, who had started the tournament with four wins. After neutralizing a speculative pawn sacrifice and a later queen sacrifice, Carlsen’s king escaped and the world number one converted without trouble. Speaking afterward, Carlsen admitted feeling the effects of a tight schedule after his Paris victory: “I don’t have the strength to play two good games in a day… I somehow got away with that one,” he told Fiona Steil-Antoni.
Awonder Liang made an immediate impact after switching to the Freestyle event. He won his first game in only 14 moves against Daniel Dardha, followed by a second victory in Round 5 to move to 4.5 points and set up a showdown with Carlsen.
A beautiful sacrifice by Paulius Pultinevicius to take down 2706-rated Javokhir Sindarov!https://t.co/xntUvkI6Tf pic.twitter.com/8GKWiD9YjR
— chess24 (@chess24com) April 19, 2025
Paulius Pultinevicius, another new arrival to the Freestyle field, defeated Javokhir Sindarov with a thematic rook sacrifice. Mendonca and Sarana, both on perfect scores before Round 5, drew their encounter with complete accuracy.
Among the players on 4 points are Ian Nepomniachtchi, Hans Niemann (accompanied by Vladimir Kramnik), and Fabiano Caruana, all recovering from early setbacks and still in striking distance.
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Day 3 impressions.
