Latest news with #GrenkeChessFreestyleOpen
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First Post
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- First Post
FIDE CEO rekindles memories of 'jeansgate scandal' while taking a fresh dig at Carlsen: 'Does it look appropriate?'
World No 1 Magnus Carlsen's ongoing feud with world governing body FIDE shows no signs of thawing with CEO Emil Sutovsky targeting the Norwegian icon as well as Freestyle Chess for the attire of top players the Grenke Chess Freestyle Open. read more Magnus Carlsen hasn't shared the best of relations with FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky since the 'jeansgate' scandal in December. Image credit: Freestyle Chess/FIDE The ongoing feud between Magnus Carlsen and FIDE rages on and shows no signs of a thaw with Emil Sutovsky, the CEO of what is the governing body for the sport, taking a fresh dig at the Norwegian Grandmaster as well as the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour recently. Sutovsky took to social networking platform X to air his grievances regarding the attires of top players during the prize ceremony of the Grenke Chess Freestyle Open in Karlsruhe, Germany. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD World No 1 Carlsen was among the participants in the event that offered Freestyle Chess Tour points as well a spot in the upcoming Grand Slam event in Las Vegas in July. And he ended up winning the event with a perfect score of 9/9. Sutovsky questions attire at Grenke Chess Freestyle Open prize ceremony The players who were on stage with Freestyle Chess co-founder Jan Henric Buettner however, were seen wearing casual attire – which is in stark contrast to the formal clothes worn by those competing at FIDE events such as the World Championship, Candidates among others. 'Now a serious question - as we get back to review the dress code for FIDE events this year,' Sutovsky wrote on X on Friday. 'Do you, as a spectator, feel it really does not matter?' 'I think Grenke was a great event with hundreds of amateurs - but I am talking specifically about the top players. The photo is from the prize giving ceremony. Does it look appropriate? And if you were the host/organizer, would you have welcomed similar attire? 'Apart of spectators we will obviously inquire the opinion of hosting country, sponsors, broadcasters. And then we try to see what players think about it. But first thing first,' the 47-year-old Azerbaijani-born Israeli GM added. Now a serious question - as we get back to review the dress code for FIDE events this year. Do you, as a spectator, feel it really does not matter? I think Grenke was a great event with hundreds of amateurs - but I am talking specifically about the top players. The photo is… — Emilchess (@EmilSutovsky) April 25, 2025 STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Sutovsky's comments brought back memories of the infamous 'Jeansgate' scandal that took place in the World Rapid and Blitz Championships in New York City in December. Five-time Classical world champion Carlsen had courted controversy after showing up wearing a pair of jeans, violating the tournament's dress code in the process. Also Read | Carlsen's infamous jeans that took the chess world by storm sold for a whopping Rs 31 lakh Carlsen refused to change his denims despite repeatedly being told to do so right away by the chief arbiter, which led to him pulling out of the Rapid championship halfway through the event. The 34-year-old, however, would return for the Blitz championship, where he would find himself embroiled in another controversy by sharing the title with Russian GM Ian Nepomniachtchi. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
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First Post
06-05-2025
- Sport
- First Post
Freestyle Chess takes centre-stage in quick time, gives FIDE plenty of reasons to ponder over future
With some of the world's best players in action, Freestyle Chess has been dominating the conversation so far in 2025, having successfully conducted events in Weissenhaus and in Paris in a span of four months with the Grenke Chess Freestyle Open currently underway. read more Some of the world's top names including Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, D Gukesh and Fabiano Caruana among others have been in action in the inaugural Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour. Image credit: Freestyle Chess 'Yeah, I do think it's definitely the future of the sport. Not the immediate near future but for the next-to-next generation, or maybe a century later, at some point in the future. But probably it won't happen in the next 10 years.' In an exclusive interaction with Firstpost a little over a month before he made an impressive debut in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour in Paris, Arjun Erigaisi stated that he did not expect the Fischer Random format to surpass Classical chess anytime in the near future. The Indian Grandmaster's comment was in contrast with what world No 1 Magnus Carlsen and Freestyle Chess co-founder Jan Henric Buettner have been claiming in recent months. Advertisement Carlsen has gone to the extent of publicly expressing his dislike for the Classical format – which led to the Norwegian chess star voluntarily vacating his World Championship in 2022 instead of defending in order to become a six-time world champion. And Carlsen's support for Freestyle Chess at the cost of the Classical format also came at a time when the world No 1 found himself feuding with FIDE, the Lausanne-based world governing body that has been in existence for more than a century. The feud that escalated with the infamous ' jeansgate scandal' in December reached an all-time high when FIDE firmly denied Freestyle Chess permission to conduct 'World Championships', stating that only the governing body for the sport had the authority to organise tournaments that could produce world champions. While Buettner and Carlsen reluctantly admitted defeat on the 'World Championship' front, they certainly can't complain with regards to how the inaugural Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour has turned out so far. How Freestyle is dominating the chess conversation in 2025 We're nearly done with the fourth month of the year and Freestyle Chess has already successfully conducted two events – the inaugural event taking place in Germany's Weissenhaus in February, two months before the Paris event. The third event is set to take place a couple of months away, with the caravan moving to the United States, where it will set camp in Las Vegas in July. That, however, has not stopped Freestyle Chess from continuing to hog headlines at present. Four days after the conclusion of the Paris Grand Slam, where Carlsen emerged as the winner after defeating world No 2 Hikaru Nakamura in an 'El Chessico' final, another Freestyle Chess event got underway. Germany is currently hosting its second Freestyle event of the year, with the Grenke Chess Freestyle Open taking place in Karlsruhe. Advertisement Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura had faced off in an 'El Chessico' final in the Paris leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour. Image credit: Freestyle Chess And the hectic schedule has not prevented some of the top names in the world, including Carlsen, Erigaisi and Fabiano Caruana, from competing at the event. Even controversial American GM Hans Niemann, who was at the centre of the infamous cheating scandal in 2022 that led to a $100 million federal lawsuit, has made his Freestyle debut at this event after staging a mysterious pull-out from the Paris Grand Slam right before the event got underway. FIDE, on the contrary, has hardly been in the conversation between staging the World Championship matches in December and in April, won by D Gukesh and Ju Wenjun, respectively. And the only non-Freestyle events that have come close to getting the kind of attention that the lucrative Grand Slam Tour has so far are the Tata Steel Chess (January and February) and Prague Chess (March), neither of which is a FIDE event. FIDE will inevitably return to the conversation when it conducts the World Cups in the 'Women' and 'Open' categories later this year, the latter taking place in India in the month of November. Advertisement There's also the Grand Swiss that's scheduled to take place in September, while the Rapid and Blitz Championships will be conducted in December, exactly a year after Carlsen decided to show up in a pair of jeans, violating the dress code and controversially sharing the blitz title with Ian Nepomniachtchi. Having a finger on the pulse on the current generation However, the manner in which Freestyle Chess has been dominating the conversation as far as the sport of chess goes in the first half of the year, as well as the fact that the Tour spans the entire year, certainly will not make the bosses in the governing body happy. Add to that the fact that the Grand Slam Tour will be reducing time controls from the Las Vegas event onwards, with the knockouts set to feature 45-minute games with 10-second increments, compared to 90 minutes and 30-second increments that were in place in the first two events. The decision, which came about following a suggestion from Carlsen's father Henrik as revealed by Buettner, certainly highlights the fact that Freestyle Chess has a finger on the pulse of the current generation and their short attention spans, and knows how to capitalise on it. Compare that with FIDE, which had hosted a couple of world championships in the 'Fischer Random' format, in 2019 and 2022 respectively, but failed to make the most of the format's potential, cancelling the 2024 edition of the event. Advertisement FIDE might have brushed off the threat from Freestyle Chess, assuming it to be another version of the Professional Chess Association, which was a short-lived rival organisation created by the legendary Garry Kasparov in the 1990s. The challenge from Freestyle Chess, however, might not be like anything that FIDE has faced in its 100 years of existence.
Hindustan Times
22-04-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Magnus Carlsen: The undisputed king of Freestyle
Bengaluru: Vincent Keymer twirled a captured white pawn between his fingers. The 20-year-old German knew it was over. Sitting across from him, Magnus Carlsen surveyed the board, content with his spoils. Keymer resigned, the spectators' arena erupted in applause, and Carlsen was soon swallowed by the crowd of waiting fans. The world No.1 Norwegian had made history – winning the Grenke Chess Freestyle Open with a perfect 9/9 score. A performance that will perhaps be spoken of in the same breath as Bobby Fischer's brilliant 11/11 at the 1963-64 US Championships, and might even be seen as one that surpasses it. It's only fitting that Carlsen's flawless win came in the Fischer Random or Chess 960 format – one that was conceived by Fischer as a pushback against the thrust on theory, memorisation and preparation in chess. 'I haven't done this before and I'm not going to be able to do it again, that's for sure,' a pleased Carlsen said moments after, 'so it's just incredible. Of course, I knew coming in today (Sunday) that there was a chance, but I didn't really believe it until the very end when it was certain. It's just relief and joy…it's the kind of performance that you don't get to experience very often or basically ever.' Carlsen's Grenke win with a €60,000 prize check comes less than a week after he won the Paris Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, without needing a tiebreak through the knockout stage. What makes Carlsen's feat astounding is his dominance irrespective of format – classical, rapid, blitz, and now, Fischer Random, which was supposed to be difficult and make for a level playing field in the absence of opening theory to fall back on. He stepped away from classical chess and chose not to defend his world title (after winning it five times), since presumably winning no longer seemed fun and preparation, cumbersome. He turned to Fischer Random for unpredictability, chaos, and a fresh frontier to conquer. 'Carlsen is making the same mistake in his new game as he made in chess,' Grandmaster Anish Giri wrote on X in his typical wry style, 'He is completing it too quickly.' 'I played just one 2700 plus player, it should be mentioned,' said Carlsen, 'It's such a tough tournament, playing two games a day against so many hungry players. 'I didn't really think about it (scoring 9/9), until after I won my game against Parham (Maghsoodloo). Then I thought well, I'm not going to get a better chance than this. This (achievement) is way up there. It's the kind of thing I aim for these days.' He had scored 9/9 in the SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz Croatia 2023, in blitz. But a flawless score in the chess960 classical time control, should hit differently. Carlsen's aura was hard to miss in the tournament. Ahead of his game against eight-time French champion Etienne Bacrot, Carlsen was met with an unusual request. Bacrot pulled out his phone and clicked a selfie with Carlsen as the arbiter waited patiently. Both before and after games in the German city of Karlsruhe, Carlsen was surrounded and followed by crowds, hunting for autographs and selfies. 'There's nowhere to hide,' Carlsen smiled, 'That's why I don't play too many of these (open) tournaments.' Before the ninth and final round began, German entrepreneur and founder of the Freestyle series Jan Henrik Buettner was in attendance in the playing hall. Keymer, who won the year's first Freestyle event in Weissenhaus, appeared to be putting up a brave fight and the position seemed equal before he ran into time trouble and the game slipped away from his hands. 'The last game (against Keymer) was a bit of a slugfest,' said Carlsen, 'I was mainly trying to hang in for most of the game. He got down on time, I took my chances and that's how history was made.' Carlsen had already won the Grenke event with a round to spare before his result against Keymer saw him speedrunning it to perfection. 'It's very nice to sit at the board and know that I'm really going to enjoy the process of playing a game because that doesn't always happen when I play tournaments... I'm playing for the joy of the game and these little achievements are a bonus even if it's a huge one.'
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First Post
22-04-2025
- Sport
- First Post
'Everybody can beat Magnus Carlsen... he is not a computer: 10-year-old chess prodigy Ivan Kukushkin
Bulgarian chess prodigy Ivan Kukushkin made the bold statement after collecting his second win against an International Master in as many games at the Grenke Chess Freestyle Open, where world No 1 Magnus Carlsen has already been crowned champion with a round to spare. read more Magnus Carlsen sealed his victory at the Grenke Chess Freestyle Open with a round to spare while 10-year-old Ivan Kukushkin punched above his weight to defeat two International Masters. Image credit: Freestyle Chess/Screengrab of YouTube video by Smiling Pawn The 2025 Grenke Chess Freestyle Open got underway just four days after the conclusion of the Paris leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour and enters its final day on Monday. The event has witnessed the participation of some of the biggest names in the chess world, from world No 1 and Paris Grand Slam winner Magnus Carlsen to Weissenhaus champion Vincent Keymer and runner-up Fabiano Caruana. Watch | Carlsen forces opponent to remove wrist watch before match at Grenke Chess Open Advertisement World No 4 Arjun Erigaisi, who had finished fifth in the French capital on Freestyle debut earlier this month, is also among those in action. As is controversial American Grandmaster Hans Niemann, who finally showed up for a Freestyle Chess event after abruptly withdrawing from the Paris Grand Slam without offering an explanation. Among the players in action at the event which is being hosted in Karlsruhe, Germany, is a 10-year-old chess prodigy Ivan Kukushkin who has a FIDE rating of 2030 and defeated a couple of International Masters – Germany's Georg Seul and Canada's Shiyam Thavandiran, in consecutive games at that. The Bulgarian had even pointed out an illegal rook move during his game against Thavandiran and had a wholesome reaction after defeating his higher-ranked opponent. Watch: 'I can beat Magnus', says 10-year-old prodigy And after his victory over Thavandiran in the fifth round of the event, young Ivan told ChessBase India that he was eyeing the top spot in the tournament, which to no one's suprise would eventually go to Carlsen with a round to spare on Sunday. 'Yeah, I know,' Kukushkin said when host Sagar Shah pointed out that Carlsen was also among those in action at the Grenke Open. 'I can beat Magnus. Everybody can beat Magnus. Magnus is the best in the world but he is not a computer. He can make mistakes,' the 10-year-old added, before pointing out a 'bad move' by Carlsen in his third-round meeting with Swedish GM Nils Grandelius. Advertisement Also Read | Meet 11-year-old Faustino Oro - nicknamed the 'Messi of Chess' Carlsen isn't by any means unbeatable, having lost his semi-final meeting against Keymer in the Weissenhaus Grand Slam and also suffering a defeat against Erigaisi in the round-robin stage in Paris. At the Grenke Chess Open, though, Carlsen has had a perfect campaign by winning all eight games so far. And on Monday, he will be looking to make an emphatic statement by complete a perfect 9.0.
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First Post
22-04-2025
- Sport
- First Post
Magnus Carlsen sets new benchmark with 9/9 score at Grenke Chess Freestyle Open; earns new Bobby Fischer comparison
Magnus Carlsen's nine-game winning streak at the Grenke Chess Freestyle Open 2025 is being compared to the great Bobby Fischer's dominance at the 1963-64 US Championship. The fact the Carlsen's win came in Freestyle Chess format makes it even more special. read more Magnus Carlsen won nine out of nine games as he clinched the Grenke Chess Freestyle Open title. Image: Grenke Chess World No.1 Magnus Carlsen outdid himself to achieve a perfect 9/9 score as he won the Grenke Chess Freestyle Open 2025 on Monday. In fact, Carlsen had won the tournament in round eight itself and achieving a perfect score has strengthened his legacy further as fans are comparing it to legendary chess player Bobby Fischer's 11/11 score in the 1963-64 US Championship. Carlsen had won nine matches on the trot at the SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz Croatia 2023; however, that achievement came in the Blitz time control. The victories at the Grenke Chess Freestyle Open 2025 came in Classical time control. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Carlsen clinches 9/9 score, calls it 'incredible' It has to be noted that Carlsen only faced one player rated above 2700 Elo in the tournament, which was Germany's Vincent Keymer in Round 9. However, the 34-year-old Norwegian defeated five players who were rated between 2600 and 2700. The fact that Carlsen's nine-game winning streak came in Freestyle format, in which the back positions are randomised and there is not much data on the openings, makes it an even more impressive achievement. The uniqueness of clinching the perfect score could be felt from Carlsen's words after his grand victory. 'It's incredible. I have never done that in classical chess, or in any format and it's not gonna happen again. It feels amazing,' Carlsen said in a video uploaded by ChessBase India. Some other similar achievements in chess are USA Grandmaster Karen Grigoryan registering a 9/9 score at the 2019 VII Torneio Internacional Cidade de Famalicao or French Woman Grandmaster Andreaa Navrotescu securing 9/9 at the Menchik Memorial Challengers Tournament 2024 in London. India's Arjun Erigaisi stays alive in race to LA The winner of the Grenke Chess Freestyle Open 2025 was to get a direct entry at the Las Vegas leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour 2025 in July. However, as Carlsen, who won the Paris leg, has already qualified for it, a tiebreaker will be played among the seven players who finished second in Germany. The seven players who finished joint second at the Grenke Chess Freestyle Open 2025 on 7 points are Leinier Dominguez, Fabiano Caruana, Andrey Esipenko, Alexey Sarana, Parham Maghsoodloo, Frederik Svane and India's Arjun Erigaisi. The tiebreaker will take place at a later date and the format has still not been revealed.
