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Carlsen Wins Paris Freestyle Chess Grand Slam: 7 Conclusions
Magnus Carlsen came away with the top prize. Photo: Stev Bonhage/Freestyle Chess.

Carlsen Wins Paris Freestyle Chess Grand Slam: 7 Conclusions

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Colin_McGourty
Staff
| 54 | Chess Event Coverage

World number-one Magnus Carlsen beat world number-two Hikaru Nakamura 1.5-0.5 in the Final to win the 2025 Paris Freestyle Chess Grand Slam and take the Tour lead with 40 points and $300,000 in prize money. Let's look at some conclusions from the second event on the Freestyle Chess calendar.   

  1. Magnus Has Taken Over As Tour Leader
  2. Nakamura Isn’t Retiring Just Yet!
  3. Keymer’s Spell Has Finally Been (Partly) Broken
  4. Trust, But Verify!
  5. Gukesh Keeps Struggling, But Arjun Gives India Someone To Cheer For
  6. It’s Going To Be All Change In Las Vegas
  7. Carlsen Predicts A Grenke Bloodbath

1. Magnus Has Taken Over As Tour Leader

In the first Grand Slam of 2025 in Weissenhaus, Carlsen lost three of his five games on day one and later went on to lose to GM Vincent Keymer in the Semifinals, so that it was far from a given that he'd go on to dominate the Freestyle Chess Tour the way he has other forms of chess.

In Paris, however, there were no such slip-ups. Carlsen topped the Round-Robin standings with GM Ian Nepomniachtchi, getting to sacrifice some queens along the way, then won his three knockout matches against GMs Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Fabiano Caruana, and Hikaru Nakamura 1.5-0.5 without the need for tiebreaks.

The Final Bracket for the players who qualified for the Quarterfinals. Image: Freestyle Chess.

The one time the world number-one was really on the ropes was in the second game against Abdusattorov, but he escaped with a draw, later telling GMs Judit Polgar and Peter Leko that he didn't feel the pressure: "Those games are easier psychologically, because I’m just so disgusted with my play from early on that I don’t think I have anything to lose!"

The victory saw Carlsen, who finished third in Weissenhaus and now first in Paris, take over as the Tour leader with 40 points and $300,000 in prize money. The points are important, as they'll ultimately decide who plays in the final event of the Tour in December in Cape Town, South Africa.

Rank Fed Name Weissenhaus Paris Total Points Prize Money
1 Magnus Carlsen 15 (3rd) 25 (1st) 40 $300,000
2 Vincent Keymer 25 (1st) 12 (4th) 37 $260,000
3 Fabiano Caruana 18 (2nd) 15 (3rd) 33 $240,000
4 Hikaru Nakamura 10 (5th) 18 (2nd) 28 $190,000
5 Javokhir Sindarov 12 (4th) 12 $60,500
6 Nodirbek Abdusattorov 8 (6th) 4 (8th) 12 $60,000
7 Arjun Erigaisi 10 (5th) 10 $50,000
8 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 8 (6th) 8 $40,000
9-10 Ian Nepomniachtchi 6 (7th) 6 $30,000
9-10 Alireza Firouzja 6 (7th) 6 $30,000
11 Gukesh Dommaraju 4 (8th) 0 (11th) 4 $27,500
12 Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu 2 (9th) 2 $15,000
13 Levon Aronian 2 (9th) 2 $12,500
14 Richard Rapport 1 (10th) 1 $19,000
15 Vladimir Fedoseev 1 (10th) 1 $7,500
16 Vidit Gujrathi 0 (11th) 0 $17,500

* Sindarov, Rapport, and Vidit's Play-In earnings are included

It wasn't just about the pure results for Carlsen, since he also felt his overall play had improved. "I was grasping the positions a bit better in the rapid," he commented, and he felt that carried through into the classical chess: "Mostly I was understanding the positions better than my opponents, and I was happy about that!"

Mostly I was understanding the positions better than my opponents, and I was happy about that!

—Magnus Carlsen

We got to see that live, since particularly during Carlsen's knockout wins against Caruana and Nakamura he was such a frequent confessional guest that he rivalled the commentators. He considered those games spoiled masterpieces due to one-move blunders, saying in particular of the Nakamura game, "I felt that I kind of had to win the game four times!"

Carlsen was pushing all game against Nakamura, but needed some help at the end. Photo: Stev Bonhage/Freestyle Chess.

Carlsen put the lapses down to the fatigue of playing eight days in a row, but also health issues that had hit half of the field in Paris, noting, "I was just feeling sick, and other people were as well, then you’re inevitably not going to have the energy to play full games." He took energy from the format, however, commenting, "There’s more of a childish joy of just playing chess rather than being worried about openings, rating points, and all of those things that are important but don’t necessarily equate joy." 

There's more of a childish joy of just playing chess rather than being worried about openings, ratings points, and all of those things that are important but don't necessarily equate joy.

—Magnus Carlsen on Freestyle Chess

2. Nakamura Isn’t Retiring Just Yet!

When Nakamura missed wins and fell to GM Javokhir Sindarov in the Weissenhaus Quarterfinals, ultimately finishing fifth, he talked openly about retirement. Two months later, however, and things are looking much brighter for the world number-two. He called finishing second in Paris, which moved him up to fourth in the overall standings, "very acceptable," but was particularly pleased that he'd combined it with winning The American Cup:

If you were to ask me a month ago, or even after Weissenhaus, would I go on to win the American Cup, get eight classical games, gain rating points, and finish second here, I would take that over say two games in the American Cup and winning this event. The Freestyle events are a lot of fun to play, but at the same time I have an outside chance to maybe make the Candidates if Norway Chess goes well. 

I have an outside chance to maybe make the Candidates if Norway Chess goes well.

—Hikaru Nakamura

Nakamura hasn't given up on the world championship title. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Freestyle Chess.

One spot in the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament, that decides the next World Championship challenger, is based on rating, calculated on the average rating from August 1, 2025 to January 1, 2026. Another requirement is to have played 40 classical games in 2025, which is why the eight games matter.

Nakamura, on 2804, is currently 22 points ahead of GM Arjun Erigaisi, and explained: "If I’m able to maintain a 10-15 point cushion [...] by the end of Norway Chess I will make a real attempt to qualify for the Candidates, for the rating spot. If not I’ll just play the FIDE World Cup and we’ll see how it goes." The top three finishers in the World Cup, slated to take place in November 2025, also make the Candidates. 

3. Keymer’s Spell Has Finally Been (Partly) Broken

Keymer defeated Nepomniachtchi in the Quarterfinals. Photo: Stev Bonhage/Freestyle Chess.

In Weissenhaus, GM Alireza Firouzja won the Round-Robin, got first pick of a Quarterfinal opponent, chose the lowest-rated option, Keymer, and lost. In Paris, remarkably, that pattern was repeated, with Nepomniachtchi also picking the German GM and also going on to lose.

In Weissenhaus, Keymer then went on to beat Carlsen and Caruana to claim the title. He seemed to be the Freestyle Chess whisperer, but he was finally stopped by Nakamura, who became the first person to beat Keymer in a long game on the Tour in 2025.

The moment Keymer's spell was finally broken.

After that he suddenly ran out of steam, losing the first game of the third-place match to Caruana, and then ending up dead lost in the second before his opponent took a draw to clinch match victory. Still, fourth place wasn't bad, earning $60,000 and 12 points, and leaving Keymer just three points and $40,000 behind Carlsen in the Tour standings. 

Keymer also hasn't lost the confidence of his rivals, with Caruana and Carlsen among the players to credit him for his understanding of Chess960 positions. Carlsen, for instance, noted: "I think I’ve also been fortunate to play the same color as Vincent in the last few games and it feels like he’s able to grasp the essence of the positions more maybe than others." 

4. Trust, But Verify!

The pre-game group sessions to analyze the new positions before each round have given us a chance to see the top players interact far more than we're used to. Carlsen said of his "bromance" with Caruana, his new Team Liquid teammate:

Fabi and I got to spend some time together in Singapore, some as people saw with our shirts off and some with them on, and he’s a great player and colleague and since we’re not competing for the classical world championship against each other anymore it’s kind of easier to be more and more open in our discussions. 

There are dangers to the group analysis, however. Carlsen commented:

I think Hikaru’s maybe made the mistake sometimes of trusting especially Fabi a bit too much and then famously the gambit that he played, that honestly was kind of easy to refute as well. 

Nakamura ultimately survived the Nepo Gambit, as did Nepomniachtchi. 

5. Gukesh Keeps Struggling, But Arjun Gives India Someone To Cheer For

Gukesh continues to struggle at Freestyle Chess, for now. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Freestyle Chess.

As world champion, GM Gukesh Dommaraju has an automatic invite to all events on the Freestyle Chess Tour, but so far he's struggled. He didn't win a single game in Weissenhaus, so that in some ways his Round-Robin performance in Paris was an improvement.

On the other hand, in Weissenhaus Gukesh qualified for the Quarterfinals in eighth place, while in Paris he finished 11th. He lost his match to GM Richard Rapport 1.5-0.5 and finished in joint 11th place with another Indian star, GM Vidit Gujrathi, who at least got more time for a genuine honeymoon in Paris!

It's easy to forget, but Gukesh is still just 18 years old, and there's plenty of time for him to transfer some of his phenomenal skill at classical chess into faster time controls and Chess960, but for now that hasn't happened. Carlsen was asked if he was surprised by Gukesh's result:

No. We have 3/3 events which have been difficult for him. I’m sure he’ll grasp things better at some point, but for the moment it’s not close!

It wasn't all doom and gloom for Indian fans, however. World number-four GM Arjun Erigaisi had shown his ability with randomized starting positions by winning an incredible three Freestyle Fridays in a row, and his Tour debut got off to a truly spectacular start.

That pace was hard to keep up, but though Arjun lost to Nakamura in the Quarterfinals he then went on to beat Nepomniachtchi and GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave to take fifth place and $50,000. And he did it while staying very cool!

Arjun's element is chaos, so the strange positions are no barrier for him. Image: Freestyle Chess. 

6. It’s Going To Be All Change In Las Vegas

The next Grand Slam was originally planned to follow the same format and take place in New York. It was all change, however, with organizer Jan Henric Buettner announcing during the event that the tournament would now take place in Las Vegas, July 15-19, and take five days instead of eight.  

One twist is that players who don't qualify for the Quarterfinals will now still have a path back up to third place, something that surprised Carlsen when he was told about it. He quipped, "I’ll try not to get knocked out!"

The main change, however, is that we're no longer going to have classical-length Freestyle Chess games, but "fast-rapid" games where each side has under an hour for all their moves. That makes it possible to hold each knockout round on a single day, with two games played. "Having played eight days here I don't mind it being cut down to five," said Carlsen, who also felt the players' increased familiarity with the format made it viable: "I think because we’re getting better shortening the time control eventually makes sense, so it’ll be fun to try that out!"

I think because we're getting better shortening the time control eventually makes sense.

—Magnus Carlsen

There will still be 12 players in Las Vegas, but five days rather than eight. Photo: Stev Bonhage/Freestyle Chess.

 The change wasn't met with universal approval, however. Nakamura commented:

I’m not a big fan of the change to rapid. I think that for me I much prefer the classical, even if I finished second here. I thought that it’s a lot of fun to use your time to figure it out. Trying to play a rapid game is going to be really brutal. I’d be surprised if I do as well. 

I'm not a big fan of the change to rapid.

—Hikaru Nakamura

7. Carlsen Predicts A Grenke Bloodbath

That's in July, however, while the next Freestyle Chess event is starting tomorrow! The traditional Grenke Open in Karlsruhe, the world's largest top-level open, will feature the Grenke Freestyle Open, a nine-player classical event open to all-comers.

The Easter tournament has a brutal schedule with four days of double-rounds (Friday-Monday) after the first round on Thursday evening. Carlsen, Arjun, Caruana, Nepomniachtchi, Rapport, and Vachier-Lagrave from Paris all play, and will be joined by the likes of GMs Wesley So, Levon Aronian, Aravindh Chitharabam, and, potentially, GM Hans Niemann, who was given an invite to Paris based on winning the 2024 Grenke Open but ultimately didn't play.

Carlsen said he's both looking forward to and dreading the event:

It’s going to be a bloodbath! Every game I think is going to be difficult, and you’re playing two classical games a day. What we’re doing here is hard enough. It’s going to be a very, very different test for the players but I think that’s a good thing that in order to prove yourself in this series you have to be great at every format we can throw at the players. 

It's going to be a bloodbath!

—Magnus Carlsen on the Grenke Freestyle Chess Open

"I’m not looking forward to playing Black against some 2200 on Thursday night," said Carlsen, but for chess fans it should be a great spectacle! The event begins at 12:30 p.m. ET / 18:30 CEST / 10 p.m. IST and will be streamed with commentary on the Chess24 YouTube and Twitch Channels, with all the games here on Chess.com.

The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Paris was the second of five events on the multi-million dollar Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour. The 12 players first played each other once in 10+10 rapid chess, with the bottom four eliminated from the fight for first and the top players choosing their opponents in the Knockout. Each knockout round consisted of two-game 90+30 matches. In case of a tie, two 10+10 games were played. If still tied, two 5+2 games were played, then a single armageddon game. All games are played in freestyle chess.  

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Colin_McGourty
Colin McGourty

Colin McGourty led news at Chess24 from its launch until it merged with Chess.com a decade later. An amateur player, he got into chess writing when he set up the website Chess in Translation after previously studying Slavic languages and literature in St. Andrews, Odesa, Oxford, and Krakow.

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