Carlsen wins the €60,000 top prize, 25 Grand Slam points, and confirmed his reputation as the king of (Freestyle) Chess with a performance that may even surpass Bobby Fischer’s legendary 11/11 at the US Championship 1963/64. 

Behind Carlsen, seven players finished tied at 7 points. After the tiebreak calculation, Parham Maghsoodloo narrowly secured second place — and with it, the qualification for the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam in Las Vegas — ahead of Frederik Svane and Andrey Esipenko by the slimmest of margins in Buchholz tiebreaks (52.5 vs. 52). 

Top Games of the Final Day 

In Round 8, Carlsen defeated Rauf Mamedov with Black, moving to 8/8 and winning the tournament with a round to spare. At the same time, Vincent Keymer scored an important win against Andrey Esipenko, keeping alive his hopes for qualification. 

In Round 9, Carlsen once again proved untouchable. In a complicated and sharp struggle against Keymer, he forced the German number one into deep time trouble. Keymer finally cracked, and Carlsen sealed his perfect 9/9. Despite his strong push that made him play on board one in the final round, Vincent Keymer ultimately slipped to 13th place in the final standings, clearly missing the Las Vegas qualification. 

Parham Maghsoodloo missed a chance to beat Leinier Dominguez Perez, drawing a position where he had been winning. The young Iranian was visibly shaken by this turn of events. However, he still accumulated just enough tiebreak points to clinch second place overall. 

Carlsen’s Cruise 

The final day of the Grenke Freestyle Chess Open began with Carlsen holding a commanding lead, but the race for second place and the Las Vegas qualification remained wide open. In Round 8, Vincent Keymer reignited his hopes by defeating Andrey Esipenko in a tense game. At that point, if Carlsen could overcome Rauf Mamedov, he would not only secure the tournament victory but also allow Keymer to stay in contention for the second Grand Slam ticket. 

Against Mamedov, Carlsen gained an advantage early and never let go, moving to 8/8 and clinching the tournament with a round to spare. Around the same time, Frederik Svane scored a convincing victory against Javokhir Sindarov, keeping alive his own outside chances for Las Vegas. 

When the ninth and final round began, there was a buzz in the playing hall. Jan Henric Buettner, the founder of the Freestyle series, watched closely as Magnus Carlsen and Vincent Keymer sat down at the board. Carlsen, already the tournament winner, still played with full intensity. Keymer, meanwhile, knew that only a win would keep him in the race. 

Keymer fought valiantly but soon ran into time trouble. While Carlsen kept nearly fifteen minutes on his clock, Keymer was often down to single-digit seconds. Under mounting pressure, Keymer faltered, and Carlsen wrapped up his historic ninth win.  

The final handshake between Carlsen and Keymer was not just the end of a game — it was the crowning moment of a performance that, as chess journalist Tarjei J. Svensen noted, must rank among the most astonishing in major Open history. 

Check out the galleries with Stev Bonhage’s photos.

Full results and standings (not yet online at the time this article is published).