Bengaluru: Vincent Keymer twirled a captured white pawn between his fingers. The 20-year-old German knew it was over. Sitting throughout from him, Magnus Carlsen surveyed the board, content material together with his spoils. Keymer resigned, the spectators’ enviornment erupted in applause, and Carlsen was quickly swallowed by the gang of ready followers.
Magnus Carlsen’s Grenke Chess Freestyle Open win comes lower than per week after he gained the Paris Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour (X / Grenke Chess)
The world No.1 Norwegian had made historical past – profitable the Grenke Chess Freestyle Open with an ideal 9/9 rating. A efficiency that can maybe be spoken of in the identical breath as Bobby Fischer’s good 11/11 on the 1963-64 US Championships, and may even be seen as one which surpasses it. It’s solely becoming that Carlsen’s flawless win got here within the Fischer Random or Chess 960 format – one which was conceived by Fischer as a pushback in opposition to the thrust on concept, 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 happy Carlsen mentioned 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 test comes lower than per week after he gained the Paris Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, while not having a tiebreak via the knockout stage. What makes Carlsen’s feat astounding is his dominance regardless of format – classical, fast, blitz, and now, Fischer Random, which was alleged to be tough and make for a degree enjoying discipline within the absence of opening concept to fall again on.
He stepped away from classical chess and selected to not defend his world title (after profitable it 5 instances), since presumably profitable not appeared enjoyable and preparation, cumbersome. He turned to Fischer Random for unpredictability, chaos, and a recent frontier to overcome. “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 type, “He is completing it too quickly.”
“I played just one 2700 plus player, it should be mentioned,” mentioned 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 within the SuperUnited Speedy and Blitz Croatia 2023, in blitz. However a flawless rating within the chess960 classical time management, ought to hit in another way.
Carlsen’s aura was laborious to overlook within the event. Forward of his sport in opposition to eight-time French champion Etienne Bacrot, Carlsen was met with an uncommon request. Bacrot pulled out his telephone and clicked a selfie with Carlsen because the arbiter waited patiently. Each earlier than and after video games within the German metropolis of Karlsruhe, Carlsen was surrounded and adopted by crowds, attempting to find autographs and selfies. “There’s nowhere to hide,” Carlsen smiled, “That’s why I don’t play too many of these (open) tournaments.”
Earlier than the ninth and last spherical started, German entrepreneur and founding father of the Freestyle collection Jan Henrik Buettner was in attendance within the enjoying corridor. Keymer, who gained the yr’s first Freestyle occasion in Weissenhaus, seemed to be placing up a courageous battle and the place appeared equal earlier than he bumped into time bother and the sport slipped away from his palms.
“The last game (against Keymer) was a bit of a slugfest,” mentioned 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 gained the Grenke occasion with a spherical to spare earlier than his end result in opposition to Keymer noticed 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.”