The Nepo Gambit Is Born, Only Carlsen Wins
The 2025 Paris Freestyle Chess Grand Slam entered the knockout stage today in a day dominated by a gambit that its creator didn't even get a chance to play! During joint analysis before the round GM Ian Nepomniachtchi realized that Black could meet 1.e4 with 1...f5 and 2...g6. Thus, the Nepo Gambit was born. Nepomniachtchi's opponent, GM Vincent Keymer played 1.d4, but both GM Hikaru Nakamura and GM Fabiano Caruana tried out the gambit.
The historic moment @lachesisq created the Nepo Gambit. https://t.co/8lw4Q45EWR pic.twitter.com/7xur0TqrUQ
— Take Take Take (@TakeTakeTakeApp) April 9, 2025
- Standings
- Keymer - Nepomniachtchi
- Carlsen - Abdusattorov
- Arjun - Nakamura
- Vachier-Lagrave - Caruana
- 8th-12th place matches
Keymer ½-½ Nepomniachtchi
The matchup between the top finisher in the Round-Robin and the champion of the last Freestyle Grand Slam was the shortest game of the day. Nepomniachtchi equalized in a closed position and eventually sacrificed a pawn for positional compensation. Keymer kept a small advantage most of the way, but never had an opportunity to press for more. Nepomniachtchi was the only one of the top seeds to pick Black in the first game, so he will have an opportunity to enjoy the white pieces as he aims to win the match tomorrow.
Carlsen 1-0 Abdusattorov
The one decisive game in the quarterfinals was fought between GM Magnus Carlsen and Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Although the structure resembled a King's Indian Defense, Carlsen pointed out that the position of the kings on the queenside made it more like certain lines of the French Defense.
Carlsen gained an advantage early on thanks to a powerful knight on e4. In a tough position, Abdusattorov chose to sacrifice both of his kingside pawns to get his queen to an active square and force Carlsen's king up the board. Remarkably, the white king found shelter on a4 and Carlsen was able to slowly convert his material advantage into victory in a queen ending.
Abdusattorov makes a move with 1 second to spare — but it gives Magnus a pawn with check! #FreestyleChess pic.twitter.com/6DT5R9JDqG
— chess24 (@chess24com) April 9, 2025
Abdusattorov must win tomorrow to force tie-breaks or Carlsen will advance to the Semifinals.
Arjun ½-½ Nakamura
Two big fighters, GM Arjun Erigaisi and Nakamura played the most chaotic game of the day. Nakamura played the newly-created Nepo gambit, but soon regretted it. The engine approved of the initial sacrifice, but 6...Qh8 put Nakamura in a difficult position and, for the first twenty moves, Arjun held a commanding advantage.
Nakamura: "Apparently I did a good job of acting there if you think I looked happy, because for pretty much the first 1.5 hours I literally wanted to get up from my board & strangle Nepo!" 😀#FreestyleChess pic.twitter.com/V2IsPOTDAH
— chess24 (@chess24com) April 9, 2025
Nakamura is one of the best defenders in the world, particularly in irrational positions like you see in freestyle chess. He complicated the game and Arjun's 25.N4g5 handed Nakamura the edge. The commentators speculated that Nakamura may have been relieved to have survived his dubious position and he didn't press his advantage very far. The players reached a rook endgame where Black's advantage was not enough to cause White much trouble.
Nakamura later recapped the game.
Vachier-Lagrave ½-½ Caruana
Caruana offered the same pawn sacrifice that Nakamura played against Arjun, but GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave declined the pawn, allowing Caruana a comfortable game. GM Peter Leko, commentating on the game, speculated that Caruana strolling during the game was a good sign for the American player. He speculated that whenever Caruana walks around during a game it means he's confident in his position.
Vachier-Lagrave fought back with the strong 18.Nd5! and 20.d4! to take the initiative. Caruana had to trade into a pawn-down endgame, but opposite-colored bishops assured him a peaceful result.
9th-12th Place Matches
With less on the line, the 9th-12th place matches demonstrated free-spirited fighting chess. GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu was in trouble early against GM Vidit Gujrathi, but when he managed to trade queens, only White could win in the endgame.
World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju continues to struggle in freestyle chess as he failed to hold a pawn-down endgame against GM Richard Rapport. It may have been a small measure of revenge for Rapport, who had been GM Ding Liren's second in last year's world championship match. He kept control throughout the game and found a strong exchange sacrifice at the end to let his bishop escort three passed pawns toward promotion.
Tomorrow will see the same matches with colors reversed. Abdusattorov, Vidit, and Gukesh must win to force tiebreaks. Who do you expect to advance to the Semifinals? Let us know in the comments.
The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Paris is the second of five events in the multi-million dollar Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour. The 12 players first play each other once in 10+10 rapid chess, with the bottom four eliminated and the top players choosing their opponents in the knockout. Each knockout round consists of two-game 90+30 matches. In case of a tie, two 10+10 games are played. If still tied, two 5+2 games are played, then a single Armageddon game. All games are played in freestyle chess.
Previous coverage:
- Round-Robin Day 2: Nepomniachtchi, Carlsen Tie For 1st, Gukesh Misses Out On Paris Quarterfinals
- Round-Robin Day 1: Carlsen, Abdusattorov Lead Paris Freestyle Grand Slam
- Play-in KO Day 2: Vidit Qualifies For Paris Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Honeymoon
- Play-In KO Day 1: Vidit, Rapport, Mamedov, Tabatabaei Fight For Final Spot In Paris
- Play-In Swiss: Tabatabaei, Nguyen, Mamedov, Pranesh In Hunt For Paris Freestyle Chess Spot
- Niemann Given Surprise Paris Freestyle Wildcard, Set To Face Carlsen
- Undefeated Keymer Wins Weissenhaus Knockout
