Grenke Freestyle Chess Open
One final game stands between Magnus Carlsen and a perfect tournament. Fittingly, he now also faces his strongest opposition in Vincent Keymer.
As a prior Freestyle Grand Slam champion, Keymer has time and time again proven himself in the Freestyle format. After 8 rounds of play, he has not lost a single round, defeating titans of the game along the way. The result of this game will be very important for him, as a loss could cause him to fall far down the leaderboard.
Under normal circumstances, this game would be unimportant for Magnus, as he has already won the tournament with one round to spare. However, having the chance to finish a 9-round tournament at this level without giving away a single point is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and Magnus has no intention to waste it.
Will young Keymer put a stop to Magnus' complete dominance of the field, or will Magnus manage to do the impossible?
Starting position #140 has been decided!
What a position for the finale! This position will be incredibly difficult for the players to understand, with no similarities to regular chess openings.
Expect the players to spend a long time in the opening trying to figure out how to proceed, as even the opening move is not obvious for either player.
After a long think, Magnus sets up on the dark squares in the center.
Keymer mirrors Magnus' opening move.
Magnus gets his knight out, giving support to his center pawn while potentially threatening to jump up the board.
Mirroring Magnus' move would be a risky affair for Keymer, as Magnus would be able to put pressure on his position immediately with his knight.
Keymer instead opts to prepare an expansion on the dark squares. We already have a dynamic position!
This was Magnus' intention, immediately getting his knight into play!
While you usually want to develop all your pieces before going for an attack, this knight is causing some annoying problems for Keymer. Kicking the knight away comes at the cost of allowing Magnus to win the bishop pair, while leaving it be allows him to fight for the light squares immediately.
Strong response by Keymer
This move was essentially forced, as Keymer needed to cover an undefended pawn. His position is under pressure from the get-go, but he has found the right way to deal with Magnus' plan for the time being.
This move allows his dark-squared bishop out while at the same time expanding on the kingside. Magnus' bishop will soon be able to put additional pressure against Keymer's queenside from afar.
Keymer responds by moving his pawn on the other side of the board. His intention is to give an escape square for his dark-squared bishop, not allowing Magnus to pick up the bishop pair once he kicks away Magnus' knight.
This was a good practical choice by Keymer, who simply reacts to Magnus' threats. For now, he's managing to keep his position under control and is looking to try to punish Magnus' early knight development.
Magnus' bishop now gets into action.
Keymer continues his plan, now kicking away Magnus' knight.
Magnus quickly plays the natural move, retreating his knight. This, however gives the initiative to Keymer, who now can start to expand along the dark squares!
The correct way forward for Magnus was completely unintuitive, trapping his own knight inside Keymer's camp! Without this option, however, he now has spent a lot of time rerouting his knight, while Keymer has managed to get his expansion on the queenside going.
Keymer has responded brilliantly to Magnus' setup, and is now the one who's making progress in the position!
Keymer quickly seizes the moment and goes for a pawn break on the queenside.
Magnus meets Keymer's threat by defending his pawn in the center.
Keymer decides on closing down the queenside while kicking Magnus' knight.
This is a big decision, as we will now get a closed pawn structure on that side of the board, meaning that progress there will be slow. However, Keymer has gained a space advantage, and Magnus' knight is still having trouble finding a stable home.
This was the only option for Magnus, as it was the only square available for his knight that was under threat.
Keymer continues his expansion while also vacating a square for his knight.
The position has become double-edged: While Keymer has gained a long-term advantage on the queenside, Magnus will be looking to create threats against Keymer's kingside. If Keymer can manage to kill Magnus' attacking chances, he will have a very promising game moving forward.
Magnus' needs to get an initiative going, as Keymer's strong control over the light squares may pose big problems for him in an endgame.
Magnus prepares to break in the center
Magnus starts playing toward the kingside of the board, and has intentions of starting an attack. This is the critical way forward, and Keymer will have to play precisely to maintain his positional edge.
Astounding move by Keymer, who opts to go for a counterattack! The game is heating up as the position opens, with strengths and weaknesses for both sides.
Keymer strikes before Magnus has the opportunity to make his own expansion in the center, and is relying on counterplay with his queen to create chances for himself. An attack on the dark squares looks promising for him, and Magnus has to be very careful to avoid ending up in a worse position.
The position has quickly turned critical, and there's no telling who will come out ahead of the complications that Keymer has created!
Magnus goes for the critical variation, as any other option would lead to him having a significantly worse position.
The point of Keymer's play!
He now regains the pawn he gave up in the middle of the board while getting his queen into action at the same time.
His long-term plan is to coordinate his bishop together with his queen to create dangerous threats against Magnus' king.
Magnus is now on the defensive, but Keymer's active play has come at the cost of destroying own pawn structure. If Magnus finds a good way to hold on, Keymer could now be facing long-term difficulties in a potential endgame.
Magnus plays the best move, looking to reroute his king!
Magnus' bishop is pinned to his rook which is undefended, and Magnus needs to solve this problem quickly. For now Magnus, has managed to find the best way to defend the position!
Keymer's choice has lead to the position becoming incredibly difficult to play for both sides, and there's no telling who will come out ahead in this one!
Keymer continues his play against the dark squares!
He's now threatening checkmate, and Magnus needs to find a good way to defend the threat.
Magnus quickly responds by shutting out Keymer's bishop.
Keymer maintains pressure on Magnus' position, and has some very dangerous threats close by. Magnus' knight in the middle can potentially become a target, and Keymer's pin against his bishop and rook is restricting their movement.
After a huge think, Keymer finally decides to retreat his queen, putting additional pressure on Magnus' pawn.
Keymer is painfully aware of Magnus' plan of moving his king in order to give his pieces on the kingside some breathing room. Another point of this queen move is that he now can reroute it once Magnus breaks the pin.
It seems like Magnus will be able to untangle and avoid the biggest dangers of the position, but as long as Keymer manages to avoid a big trade of pieces, Magnus will have permanent weaknesses to his king that Keymer can take advantage of at a later stage. While magnus has gained a small objective advantage, this is far from clear.
Magnus breaks the pin
Finally, Magnus is able to regain some coordination in his position. The bishop has been unpinned, giving his pieces on the kingside more influence on the board.
Keymer now puts more pressure on Magnus' knight while at the same time avoiding a discovered attack against his queen.
The knight was under threat, and Magnus promptly defends it.
Keymer applies more pressure to Magnus' knight while developing a piece.
Magnus develops his own knight, looking to coordinate it towards the center.
Magnus has finally managed to gain some much needed harmony in his position, and seems to have things under control. If Keymer can't find a way to apply more pressure to his position before he completely stabilizes, he is at risk of ending up with a strategical disadvantage due to his pawn structure.
Keymer reveals his attacking intentions with this move. The positon has calmed down, but a single mistake can cause things to fall apart for either side.
Keymer remains with active pieces and the potential for an attack, but Magnus' coordination of pieces has lead to him having a much safer position than he did just a couple of moves ago.
Magnus' knight coordinates to its' optimal square, adding additional support to the center.
Has Magnus set up a trap?
There are now tactical opportunities for Keymer in the position, taking advantage of the pin against Magnus' queen! This is a tempting option for him, but the variations don't work out in his favor.
If Keymer goes for it, he may be at the risk of ending up in a worse position!
Keymer retreats his queen, but this move allows Magnus to completely stabilize the position! If Magnus finds the correct way forward, he will be left with an advantage.
Magnus could have seized the moment to let go of the tension and reroute his pieces, which would've stopped Keymer's chances of counterplay.
Keeping the tension isn't bad either, but this was a big opportunity to gain a clear advantage.
Keymer now wastes no time and trades off Magnus' knight in the center. While Magnus missed a key opportunity, he still has the position under control.
Keymer now makes an attempt to blow open Magnus' king. It's imperative for Magnus to keep the kingside closed, as allowing Keymer to open up the files in front of his king would spell disaster for his position.
Magnus keeps the position closed by tactical means, avoiding Keymer's intentions by pinning his pawn to his undefended rook.
Keymer gets his bishop out of the way, providing support to his rook. This is in fact a pawn sacrifice, leaving his pawn in the center undefended!
Magnus should be very weary about taking this pawn, as it allows Keymer to open up the position in front of Magnus' king. If Magnus goes for it, things will get incredibly complicated.
Magnus declines the offer
Magnus decides that taking the pawn is way too dangerous, and instead makes the safe decision, keeping the position closed for now.
Keymer finally decides on a move, but is now left with only 5 minutes on the clock for the remainder of the game!
He's clearly struggling to find a concrete plan, and the position remains complicated. The chances of Magnus winning this game have now increased exponentially due to the time situation.
The players gain 30 seconds for every move they make, but Keymer will essentially have to play the remainder of the game on increment.
His disastrous time management may cost him everything now, as there is no clear way to force a draw in this position.
Magnus quickly replies by getting his rook to the only open file.
Keymer will have to keep pressure on the position, as allowing Magnus the initiative with this little time left will cost him dearly. His intention is to create an attack on the kingside, and it's not easy for Magnus to find the best way forward.
Magnus accepts the offer!
Things are about to heat up, and Keymer will have to play both brilliantly and quickly in order to keep his chances in this game alive.
In terms of the position, this is still anyone's game, but Magnus has a huge lead on the clock.
Keymer now applies pressure to to Magnus' pawn in front of his king. Keymer's threats on the kingside are starting to look dangerous, having pressure on several weak points in Magnus' position.
This was one of the ways to keep his position intact, and Magnus fights on! He needed to add additional support to his bishop that was being threatened tactically, and this was the way to do it.
This did not come without cost, though, as Magnus now only has 14 minutes left on his clock. This game may end in a complete time scramble!
He now applies additional pressure to Magnus' pawn in front of his king. A good move, but he will have to play blitz chess from here!
There are several tactical opportunities for Keymer in the position, all which require careful calculation. Pressure is amounting on Magnus, who is also getting incredibly low on time.
Don't count Keymer out yet!
Keymer goes wrong, and now has a completely losing position!
Keymer keeps attacking, but is essentially all in now. As long as Magnus manages to not get checkmated or lose material, this endgame will be completely winning due to his far advanced pawns being impossible to handle.
Magnus is on the verge of doing it!! He now has winning position, his king has managed to stay safe, and he has much more time to figure out the complications.
The threats against his king have been completely negated, and now it's Magnus' turn to go on the offensive!
In addition to his killer pawns, Magnus is also up the exchange. There are no threats to his king, and it's only a matter of time before Keymer will resign.
Keymer desperately tries to create some threats with his queen, but Magnus has everything under control. His king will eventually find a safe square where Keymer runs out of checks, and he can then progress his pawns forward to victory.
He ends Grenke Freestyle open with a clean sweep, winning NINE GAMES IN A ROW to end with a perfect score!
Words cannot describe this ridiculous performance from Magnus, who joins the likes of Bobby Fischer in an astonishing display of skill. He was in a league of his own this tournament, ending the tournament by defeating Vincent Keymer with the white pieces.
Keymer's time management ended up costing him all chances in this game. After managing to set up a dangerous attack, he spent too long trying to figure out the best way forward. While the position remained complicated, Keymer simply did not have the time to figure out the variations.
A single move made his position completely fall apart, and Magnus was quickly able to refute his attack with a sizeable material advantage. After the trades of pieces, there was simply nothing left for Keymer, who ended up resigning after realizing there simply was no way for him to stop Magnus' pawns from marching up the board.
Huge congratulations to Magnus Carlsen for his historic performance in this tournament, proving that he is the strongest player of the Freestyle format!