“It feels awesome to win the event,” said Magnus Carlsen after clinching the inaugural Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challenge on Friday after beating Fabiano Caruana in the second game of the final. Carlsen will take home the $60,000 first prize, whereas Caruana earned $40,000.
Levon Aronian won the fight for third place and $30,000 thanks to a concinving win with the white pieces against Nodirbek Abdusattorov ($20,000). Alireza Firouzja secured fifth place ($15,000) and qualification for the 2025 edition (alongside the top four) by drawing with Gukesh Dommaraju ($12,000) while Vincent Keymer ($10,000) also won his second game vs. Ding Liren ($8,000) to finish in seventh place.
Magnus Carlsen was the only player in Weissenhaus who had to defeat eight challengers, as Jan Henric Buettner noted at the prize-giving ceremony: seven grandmasters and himself. As the G.O.A.T. in the tournament of his choice, Carlsen was under more pressure than anyone else right from the start. He stood up to it.