Win-cent: Keymer wins the grenke Freestyle Chess Open 2026
Vincent Keymer has done it – or rather: Win-cent. ♟️🔥
The German grandmaster wins the grenke Freestyle Chess Open, takes home €50,000 in prize money, and qualifies for the Freestyle Chess World Championship in February 2027 in Weissenhaus. French grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave finishes second and, tied on points, also receives €50,000.
Round 8: Fireworks, time trouble, and an emotional moment
One of the most moving moments of the tournament came from Johanna Schmidt. The German vice champion in kickboxing, who is now in a wheelchair due to illness and has been inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame in St. Louis, was invited to draw the starting position.
📸 Ivica Müller
The drawn starting position No. 332 led to spectacular chess. Magnus Carlsen described it as “maybe the best freestyle position for opening entertainment so far.”
Carlsen himself spent around 1.5 hours on just four moves and later said: “Every game on the stage was absolute fireworks.”
Vincent Keymer also delivered an outstanding performance in this round. His game against Sarana was praised by Carlsen’s coach Peter Heine Nielsen:
“Keymer-Sarana was a masterpiece by Keymer. Spoiled in the end by allowing a draw, but a very impressive game."
In severe time trouble, however, Keymer missed the only winning continuation on move 40 (40. Rxg5+!) and instead played exf7+, steering the game into a draw.
Round 9: Tiebreaks decide the tournament
The starting position for the final round (No. 261) was drawn by Radosław Jedynak, President of the Polish Chess Federation.
Vincent Keymer and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave agreed to an early draw – somewhat surprising from the Frenchman’s perspective, given his inferior tiebreak.
But the chasing pack could not take advantage: both Magnus Carlsen vs. Aryan Chopra and Sarana vs. Duda also ended in draws.
As a result, Keymer remained on top and ultimately secured victory thanks to his superior tiebreak score. Behind Vachier-Lagrave, seven more players shared places 3 to 9 on equal points – including Magnus Carlsen.
Three women secure qualification spots
In the women’s standings, Harika Dronavalli (India), Alua Nurman (Kazakhstan), and Dinara Wagner (Germany) secured the three coveted spots for the upcoming Freestyle World Championship, scheduled for later in 2026.
Nurman, still relatively unknown, had already drawn attention in round two with a selfie alongside Magnus Carlsen. All three scored an impressive 6 points.
from left to right: Wagner, Nurman, Dronavalli
📸 Prajwal Bhat/ChessBase India
Winners of the other events
In classical chess, IM Mukhammadzokhid Suyarov from Uzbekistan won the A-Open. He narrowly edged out Dominik Horvath (Austria) and Chongsheng Zeng (China). All three scored 8.0 points.
The results of the remaining tournaments were as follows:
B-Open (classical):
- Garik Sharajyan (Armenia) 8.5/9
- Vilhjalmur Palmason (Iceland) 8.5/9
- Pavlo Soroka (Ukraine) 8/9
B-Open (Freestyle):
- WFM Emilie Marchadour (France) 7.5/9
- Daniel Reksten (Germany) 7.5/9
- Berkan Hacioglu (Turkey) 7.5/9
C-Open (classical):
- Oswald Zum Wald (Switzerland) 8.5/9
- Hendrik Ole Jock (Germany) and Christopher Volz (Germany) 8.0/9
C-Open (Freestyle):
- Anas Skeik (Germany) 8.0/9
- Fatih Kanlidere (Turkey) 7.5/9
- Markus Reichensperger (Germany) 6.5/9
While many were already waiting eagerly for the award ceremony, two players apparently had other priorities – calmly continuing their rook and knight vs. rook endgame.
Somehow, that too is “typically grenke.” ♟️
Photos from the award ceremony will be published in the coming days.
📸 Jonathan Reichel
Conclusion: A festival of chess
With more than 3,500 participants, the grenke Chess Festival once again confirmed its status as the largest open chess tournament in the world.
Special thanks go to the main sponsors Freestyle Chess and grenke, as well as all partners and supporters who made this event possible.
Wolfgang Grenke; 📸 Linus Bredehorst
Great appreciation is also due to the many helpers working behind the scenes to ensure everything ran smoothly.
“The grenke Chess Festival is the chess tournament that every player must have played at least once in their life.” – Peter Leko
World-class players and amateurs meet here on equal footing – united in one hall. Combined with the ambition to share the positive message of chess and the unique atmosphere of the event with the world, this is exactly what defines the success of the grenke Chess Festival.
And in the end, it becomes clear once again: chess brings people together – across borders, generations, and cultures. ♟️🌍
📸 Dariusz Gorzinski