Keymer Rises to World #6

On a 6.5/8 performance in the European Team Championship, German star Vincent Keymer has risen to sixth in the live world rankings. At 2763.6, he is just ahead of Anish Giri at 2762.2 (per 2700chess), who is also having a strong tournament.

Most recently, Keymer beat Alexandr Predke as Black to put himself on a three-game win streak, and push his rating gain to 8.6 points this month.

Keymer had to fight to convert a late game with some pawns for an exchange, and earned Predke’s resignation in the strange position above.

In total, Keymer has five wins and three draws against 2550+ Grandmasters. He has one more game to settle into his place between Praggnanandhaa and Giri, and will seek to hold it until the end of the month to officially eclipse his career-high of 9th in the world, set this October 1st.

As it happens, the ninth round matchup is Germany – Netherlands, with Keymer-Giri on board 1. Follow along with the tournament on Lichess.

Photo via European Chess Union