Keymer wins grenke Freestyle Chess @ Karlsruhe

Posted on April 7, 2026 BY R.R. Vasudevan

World No. 5 GM Vincent Keymer with a 7.5/9 score has won the Freestyle Chess Open A at the grenke Chess Festival in Karlsruhe. The German Grandmaster finished tied on points with GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) but secured first place on tiebreak after a short draw in their direct encounter in Round 9.

Both players ended ahead of a chasing group led by world number one Magnus Carlsen. The Norwegian remained within reach throughout the final day but did not manage to overtake the leaders. 

With this result, Keymer qualifies for the FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship 2027 and earns €60,000 in prize money. He joins world champion Magnus Carlsen (Norway), Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan) and Fabiano Caruana (USA), who had already secured their spots through the 2026 World Championship held at Weissenhaus, Germany.

Final Ranking: 1-2 Vincent Keymer, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 7.5, 3-9 Magnus Carlsen, Ian Nepomnniachtchi, Alexey Sarana, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Leon Luke Mendonca, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Aryan Chopra 7.0, 10. Hans Moke Niemann 6.5 pts (310 players).

Complete Results

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Official Site: https://www.grenkechessopen.de/en/

Photo Courtesy: Stev Bonhage / grenke Freestyle Chess 2026

Press release: Till Behrend / grenke Freestyle Chess 2026

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