Latest news with #Keymer
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Hindu
Arjun and Keymer get off to a winning start
Indian ace Arjun Erigaisi began his campaign in the Masters section of the Quantbox Chennai Grandmasters chess tournament here on Thursday with a win over American Awonder Liang. German Vincent Keymer posted the only other victory in the Masters event on the opening day of the tournament by getting the better of Indian's Nihal Sarin. The 21-year-old Arjun, playing with white pieces, obtained an early advantage before breaking down his opponent's defence. The American fumbled in the middle game before resigning after his 49th move. Good beginning... Speaking after the match, the Indian GM said, 'It's nice to start with a win. But of course, the start doesn't necessarily mean much because I had started well in my previous Classical tournament, but didn't finish well. Keymer and Nihal were involved in an exciting match with the German holding the aces for large parts. The 20-year-old Keymer took advantage of Nihal's time trouble and took the full point when his opponent resigned after the 51st move. 'I think I was winning kind of completely, and then I messed it up even though I had like 20 minutes against zero. I thought it's best not to get too low on time to not mess it up. But I messed it up exactly by not taking one more move of him,' he said. Vidit Gujrathi managed to recover from an inferior position to share honours with Dutch GM Jorden van Foreest. The all-Indian battle between V. Pranav and Karthikeyan Murali ended in a stalemate after 44 moves while Anish Giri split the point with American Ray Robson. Three on top In the Challengers section, there were three decisive results — M. Pranesh defeated Aryan Chopra and Leon Luke Mendonca beat G.B. Harshavardhan, both with white pieces, while Diptayan Ghosh scored over D. Harika when playing with black pieces. The results (first round): Masters: Arjun Erigaisi bt Awonder Liang (USA); V. Pranav drew with Karthikeyan Murali; Vincent Keymer (Ger) bt Nihal Sarin; Vidit Gujrathi drew with Jorden van Foreest (Ned); Anish Giri (Ned) drew with Ray Robson (USA). Challengers: Leon Mendonca bt G.B. Harshavardhan; Abhimanyu Puranik drew with B. Adhiban; R. Vaishali drew with Pa. Iniyan; D. Harika lost to Dipatyan Ghosh; M. Pranesh bt Aryan Chopra. Second round pairings: Masters: Karthikeyan vs. Liang, van Foreest vs. Arjun, Robson vs. Vidit, Nihal vs. Giri, Pranav vs. Keymer. Challengers: Harshavardhan vs. Aryan, Dipatyan vs. Pranesh, Iniyan vs. Harika, Adhiban vs. Vaishali, Mendonca vs. Abhimanyu.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Chennai Grand Masters 2025: Gukesh's World Championship second Vincent Keymer in awe of India's chess talent pool
Chennai: Chess grandmasters R Praggnanandhaa, D Gukesh and Aravindh Chidambaram after being felicitated by Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin at his camp office, in Chennai. (PTI Photo) (PTI06_12_2025_000212B) Chennai: D Gukesh, the youngest world champion, is seen as a role model for prodigious chess talent who are working their way to the top. Gukesh's rapid rise over the years has positively impacted many a player, with world No. 21 Vincent Keymer being one of them. The 20-year-old Keymer, hailing from Germany, took key lessons from close quarters when he worked as a second for the 'Indian prince' before and during the World Championship late last year. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Gukesh's flexibility in his style of play has particularly caught Keymer's eye and he believes that the trait has been helping the Chennai boy to stand out in a highly-competitive arena. 'I feel that Gukesh is quite flexible in his repertoire. He can basically play whatever is given to him or he has an idea of. Of course, his fighting spirit is very good… he can find a way and understand positions that are very tough to understand. He also calculates extremely well,' said Keymer, who will fight for top honours in the Chennai Grand Masters. Exclusive | How India's World Junior Chess Champion Pranav Earned Wildcard to Grand Swiss 2025 Keymer described his stint with Gukesh as 'special'. The German youngster was stationed in Malaga during the title clash and worked alongside the likes of P Harikrishna to provide Gukesh the cutting edge over China's Ding Liren. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like No annual fees for life UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo 'It was quite a nice experience. It was the first time that I did this kind of work and it was interesting to see. I learnt quite a few things during that time. It is very tough to say what exactly translates into my play or level, but there are things that I learnt which are helpful for my own performances. All that matters is the sum of all those things,' he said. Poll Which trait of D Gukesh do you think is most impressive? Flexibility in his style of play Strong fighting spirit Exceptional calculation skills Keymer is in awe of India's enviable talent pool in the 64-square game and the backing the players receive. 'It is clear that India, if not already, is becoming the biggest nation in chess. There are so many top players, young talent. There are so many Grandmasters coming up, so it is really impressive. India can basically field three teams (in events like the Olympiad) that would belong to the top-10 of the world. Good support is being provided to chess players in India. I feel that there is more potential for it in Europe,' Keymer added. 'Goal is to qualify for Candidates': Keymer's immediate goal is to get himself into 'good shape' in the journey towards the Candidates. 'I did not play many classical tournaments in recent times. It is certainly going to be important now as Grand Swiss and World Cup act as qualifiers for the Candidates. Qualifying for the Candidates is more or less the main focus for the next few months. Obviously, it is going to be very tough, but I am going to give it my all. ' Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
The Hindu
5 days ago
- Sport
- The Hindu
Rising star Keymer expects plenty of hard-fought games at Chennai Grand Masters
Vincent Keymer is a rising star in the world of chess. The 20-year-old German has some impressive triumphs in his CV but his claim to fame among Indians would be working as a second in D. Gukesh's team during his victorious World championship campaign over Ding Liren late last year. The World No. 21 is in the city for the Quantbox Chennai Grand Masters tournament, beginning on Wednesday. 'It is a very interesting field. There are many young and ambitious players, so I am expecting a lot of hard-fought games. I just want to play good chess,' he told The Hindu. About working with Gukesh, Keymer said 'It was certainly special for me. It was the first time that I did this kind of work and it was interesting.' Special ability 'I learnt quite a few things during that time. It is very tough to say what exactly translates into my play or level, but there are things that I learnt that are helpful for my own performances,' he said. Asked what was special about Gukesh, he said the Indian is quite flexible in his repertoire. 'Of course, his fighting spirit is very good… he can find a way and understand positions that are very tough to understand. He also calculates extremely well.' Emphasising that qualifying for the Candidates, the tournament to identify the challenger to Gukesh, would be tough, Keymer said, 'Qualifying for the Candidates is more or less the main focus for the next few months. ' Obviously, it is going to be very tough, but I am going to give it my all.'
The Guardian
14-02-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Chess: Vincent Keymer knocks out Magnus Carlsen in Freestyle Grand Slam
Vincent Keymer made a career breakthrough this week when the 20-year-old German knocked out Magnus Carlsen at the Weissenhaus Grand Slam in the classical Freestyle format which the world No 1 now prefers. There was a lively running commentary on the game's deciding stages on YouTube. Keymer went on to take a 1-0 lead on Thursday against the world No 3 and US champion, Fabiano Caruana, in the final, whose winner takes the first prize of $200,000 and which can be followed on lichess. Play starts at noon GMT on Friday. Carlsen leads Javokhir Sindarov 1-0 in the third place match. Keymer already had a near-miss against Carlsen in the 2023 World Cup, where he won their first game before being eliminated. He was Germany's youngest GM at 14, and long before that he was a prodigy – as a pianist. His parents and sister are all musicians. Combining the two careers was never an option for him, unlike the Soviet Union's Mark Taimanov, who for decades successfully alternated between piano concerts and top level international chess. In a revealing and articulate interview last year with New in Chess, widely considered the world's best chess magazine, Keymer said that he aims to combine a classical style with computer influenced exact play. Risk management is the key, to decide in which games to deviate from the objectively best variations so as to maximise the chance for a full point. His career so far has developed more slowly than his Indian rivals because he needed to pass all his school exams and achieve grades, while they have been effectively full-time chess professionals. Meanwhile, Sindarov, who only qualified for the event via a long sequence of eliminators, was narrowly beaten 4-3 by Caruana in a seven-hour semi-final series, and is now taking on Carlsen for third prize. The Uzbek 19-year-old has ridden his luck on occasion, but has demonstrated a very sharp eye for tactical opportunities, notably when eliminating the world No 2, Hikaru Nakamura. Gukesh Dommaraju has been a disappointment. India's 18-year-old classical world champion has drawn most of his games, but by Thursday had failed to register a single win. Gukesh normally comes to major tournaments with other Indian grandmasters, but here he is on his own. He and Carlsen are the only players who do not analyse the starting position for each game as a pair, in Gukesh's case apparently because last year he took advice on the best move and lost quickly. For Freestyle's chief, Jan Henric Buettner, a critical statistic will be the number of online spectators on the official website, or on other major chess sites. So far the numbers seem to be around 20,000, but there were 200,000 for a special exhibition match between the streamers Anna Cramling and Alexandra Botez. The difficulty with watching Freestyle is that the opening stages, which for the participants are of major importance and define what follows, are hard to understand for the casual spectator, although the later play often transposes into familiar structures and patterns. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion The Freestyle Grand Slam's next event will be at Paris starting on 8 April, where the controversial Hans Niemann will take part as a wildcard competitor. Back in England, two major events are scheduled during the next fortnight. The Wightlink Isle of Wight International on 18-23 February has a £4,000+ prize fund, opportunities for GM and IM title norms, and in-depth strength at the top, with 18 players rated above Fide 2400. It is still possible to enter. The £5500+ British Rapidplay at Peterborough on 1-2 March has attracted over 150 entrants so far, and looks an interesting contest between the top four grandmasters and the rest of the field. The British champion, Gawain Jones, Ameet Ghasi, Nikita Vitiugov and Danny Gormally are all experienced and successful GMs. Vitiugov is especially interesting, since this will be the former Russian's first open entry tournament since he transferred to England. Again, entries are still being accepted. 3959: 1 Qa7! wins Black's queen since if 2 Rxd8+ Rxd8 3 Rxd8 mate
