# Weissenhaus Freestyle Chess Grand Slam

The Weissenhaus Freestyle Chess Grand Slam was a 10-player Chess960 tournament that took place in Wangels, Germany from 7 February to 14 February 2025. It was the first leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, a series of Chess960 tournaments being held throughout 2025.

## Background

After the Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challenge took place as a stand-alone tournament at the Weißenhaus resort in 2024, the event was renamed for 2025 and became part of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour in 2025 as its first leg. The format remained similar to 2024 with the number of participants being increased to 10.

## Qualification

All qualification matches were played online and were hosted by Chess.com.

### Open qualifiers

All non-titled players started qualification in one of two separate open qualifier events, which were held on January 4 and January 5 respectively. 196 players participated, with the top three players from each event advancing to the Swiss stage.

### Swiss stage

248 players participated in the Swiss stage held on January 6. It was open to all titled players. The top four players, Vladimir Fedoseev, Denis Lazavik, Javokhir Sindarov and Olexandr Bortnyk advanced to the 16-player knockout stage.

### Knockout stage

Twelve players of the Freestyle Chess Players Club were invited directly to the knockout stage, held on January 7 and 8. They were sorted by their December 2024 classical FIDE rankings and seeded accordingly from 1-12.
Vladimir Fedoseev beat Javokhir Sindarov in the final in an armageddon game, after a 2–2 tie, and qualified for the Grand Slam. Following Viswanathan Anand's withdrawal, Sindarov also qualified.
| Round of 16 (Jan 7) | Round of 16 (Jan 7) | Round of 16 (Jan 7) | Quarterfinals (Jan 7) | Quarterfinals (Jan 7) | Quarterfinals (Jan 7) | Semifinals (Jan 8) | Semifinals (Jan 8) | Semifinals (Jan 8) | | Final (Jan 8) | Final (Jan 8) | Final (Jan 8) |
| S4 | Oleksandr Bortnyk (UKR) | ½ | | | | | | | | | | |
| 1 | Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE) | 1½ | | | | | | | | | | |
| 1 | Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE) | 1½ | 1 | Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE) | 2½ | | | | | | | |
| | | | 8 | Hans Niemann (USA) | 1½ | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) | ½ | 8 | Hans Niemann (USA) | 1½ | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Hans Niemann (USA) | 1½ | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Hans Niemann (USA) | 1½ | | | | 1 | Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE) | 1½ | | | | |
| | | | | | | S1 | Vladimir Fedoseev (SLO) | 2½ | | | | |
| S1 | Vladimir Fedoseev (SLO) | 2 | | | | | | | S1 | Vladimir Fedoseev (SLO) | 2½ | | | | |
| 4 | Leinier Domínguez (USA) | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Leinier Domínguez (USA) | 0 | S1 | Vladimir Fedoseev (SLO) | 2 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL) | 0 | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Parham Maghsoodloo (IRN) | 1 | 5 | Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL) | 0 | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL) | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL) | 3 | | | | | | | | S1 | Vladimir Fedoseev (SLO) | 3 |
| | | | | | | | | | | S3 | Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) | 2 |
| S3 | Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) | 1½ | | | | | | | | | | | S3 | Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) | 2 |
| 2 | Wei Yi (CHN) | ½ | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2 | Wei Yi (CHN) | ½ | S3 | Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) | 2 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 7 | R Praggnanandhaa (IND) | 0 | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Vidit Gujrathi (IND) | 1 | 7 | R Praggnanandhaa (IND) | 0 | | | | | | | |
| 7 | R Praggnanandhaa (IND) | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | R Praggnanandhaa (IND) | 3 | | | | S3 | Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) | 1½ | | | | |
| | | | | | | 11 | Yu Yangyi (CHN) | ½ | | | | |
| S2 | Denis Lazavik (FIDE) | 3 | | | | | | | 11 | Yu Yangyi (CHN) | ½ | | | | |
| 3 | Wesley So (USA) | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | Wesley So (USA) | 2 | S2 | Denis Lazavik (FIDE) | 0 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 11 | Yu Yangyi (CHN) | 2 | | | | | | | |
| 11 | Yu Yangyi (CHN) | 1½ | 11 | Yu Yangyi (CHN) | 2 | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Lê Quang Liêm (VIE) | ½ | | | | | | | | | | |

## Main event
### Participants

The qualifiers to the first leg were as follows:
| Qualification method | Player | Age | Rating | World ranking | Freestyle Rating |
| (February 2025) ||||
| The top three finishers in the Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challenge | Magnus Carlsen (winner) | 34 | 2833 | 1 | 2841.0 |
| The top three finishers in the Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challenge | Fabiano Caruana (runner-up) | 32 | 2803 | 2 | 2798.2 |
| The top three finishers in the Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challenge | Levon Aronian (third place) | 42 | 2745 | 12 | 2749.6 |
| The three highest rated players in the April 2024 FIDE rankings | Hikaru Nakamura | 37 | 2802 | 3 | NA |
| The three highest rated players in the April 2024 FIDE rankings | Nodirbek Abdusattorov | 20 | 2766 | 6 | 2738.4 |
| The three highest rated players in the April 2024 FIDE rankings | Alireza Firouzja | 21 | 2760 | 7 | 2779.6 |
| International wild card | Viswanathan Anand (withdrew) | 55 | 2750 | 10 | NA |
| Local wild card | Vincent Keymer | 20 | 2731 | 19 | 2747.2 |
| Winner of the World Chess Championship 2024 | Gukesh Dommaraju | 18 | 2777 | 5 | 2729.4 |
| Winner of the online play-in | Vladimir Fedoseev (winner) | 29 | 2724 | 24 | NA |
| Winner of the online play-in | Javokhir Sindarov (runner-up, replacement for Anand) | 19 | 2700 | 31 | NA |

### Round-robin stage

On the first day of the tournament, Javokhir Sindarov remained undefeated, winning four out of his five games, including a victory against Magnus Carlsen. By the end of the day, he was tied with Fabiano Caruana after their fifth-round game resulted in a draw.
On the second day, Alireza Firouzja defeated Sindarov in the final round, securing first place in the round-robin on tiebreaks and earning the right to be the first to select his opponent for the quarterfinals. Levon Aronian and Vladimir Fedoseev were eliminated from the main competition and were set to compete against each other in a match for ninth place.
Rapid round-robin, 7–8 February 2025 :
| # | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Points |
| 1 | Alireza Firouzja (FRA) | * | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6½ |
| 2 | Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) | 0 | * | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 6½ |
| 3 | Fabiano Caruana (USA) | 1 | ½ | * | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 4 | Magnus Carlsen (NOR) | ½ | 0 | 0 | * | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5½ |
| 5 | Hikaru Nakamura (USA) | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | * | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 5½ |
| 6 | Vincent Keymer (GER) | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | * | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 7 | Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | * | ½ | 1 | ½ | 3½ |
| 8 | Gukesh Dommaraju (IND) | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | 3½ |
| 9 | Vladimir Fedoseev (SLO) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | * | 1 | 2½ |
| 10 | Levon Aronian (USA) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | * | 1½ |

### Knockout stage

| Quarterfinals (Feb 9-10) | Quarterfinals (Feb 9-10) | Quarterfinals (Feb 9-10) | Semifinals (Feb 11-12) | Semifinals (Feb 11-12) | Semifinals (Feb 11-12) | Final (Feb 13-14) | Final (Feb 13-14) | Final (Feb 13-14) |
| 1 | Alireza Firouzja (FRA) | ½ | | | | | | |
| 6 | Vincent Keymer (GER) | 1½ | | | | | | |
| 6 | Vincent Keymer (GER) | 1½ | 6 | Vincent Keymer (GER) | 1½ | | | |
| | | | 4 | Magnus Carlsen (NOR) | ½ | | | |
| 4 | Magnus Carlsen (NOR) | 2 | 4 | Magnus Carlsen (NOR) | ½ | | | |
| 7 | Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) | 0 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) | 0 | | | | 6 | Vincent Keymer (GER) | 1½ |
| | | | | | | 3 | Fabiano Caruana (USA) | ½ |
| 3 | Fabiano Caruana (USA) | 2 | | | | | | | 3 | Fabiano Caruana (USA) | ½ |
| 8 | Gukesh Dommaraju (IND) | 0 | | | |
| 8 | Gukesh Dommaraju (IND) | 0 | 3 | Fabiano Caruana (USA) | 4 | Third Place Match (Feb 13-14) | Third Place Match (Feb 13-14) | Third Place Match (Feb 13-14) |
| | | | 2 | Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) | 3 |
| 2 | Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) | 2½ | 2 | Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) | 3 | 4 | Magnus Carlsen (NOR) | 2 |
| 5 | Hikaru Nakamura (USA) | 1½ | | | | 2 | Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) | 0 |

#### 5th-8th Place

The four losers from the quarterfinal round above competed in the 5th-to-8th-place bracket.
| (Feb 11-12) | (Feb 11-12) | (Feb 11-12) | Fifth Place Match (Feb 13-14) | Fifth Place Match (Feb 13-14) | Fifth Place Match (Feb 13-14) |
| 1 | Alireza Firouzja (FRA) | ½ | | | |
| 7 | Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) | 1½ | | | |
| 7 | Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) | 1½ | 7 | Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) | 0 |
| | | | 5 | Hikaru Nakamura (USA) | 2 |
| 8 | Gukesh Dommaraju (IND) | 1½ | 5 | Hikaru Nakamura (USA) | 2 |
| 5 | Hikaru Nakamura (USA) | 2½ | Seventh Place Match (Feb 13-14) | Seventh Place Match (Feb 13-14) | Seventh Place Match (Feb 13-14) |
| | | | 1 | Alireza Firouzja (FRA) | 1½ |
| | | | 8 | Gukesh Dommaraju (IND) | ½ |

#### 9th-10th Place

| Ninth Place Match (Feb 9-10) | Ninth Place Match (Feb 9-10) | Ninth Place Match (Feb 9-10) |
| 9 | Vladimir Fedoseev (SLO) | ½ |
| 10 | Levon Aronian (USA) | 1½ |
Note: Scores between two players adding up to 2 indicate a win under normal time controls; adding up to 4, a win under rapid time controls; adding up to 6, a win under blitz time controls; and adding up to 7, a win in armageddon with bidding.

### Final classification

| Pos. | Player | Points |
| 1 | Vincent Keymer (GER) | 25 |
| 2 | Fabiano Caruana (USA) | 18 |
| 3 | Magnus Carlsen (NOR) | 15 |
| 4 | Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) | 12 |
| 5 | Hikaru Nakamura (USA) | 10 |
| 6 | Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) | 8 |
| 7 | Alireza Firouzja (FRA) | 6 |
| 8 | Gukesh Dommaraju (IND) | 4 |
| 9 | Levon Aronian (USA) | 2 |
| 10 | Vladimir Fedoseev (SLO) | 1 |
| Sources: |||

## Tour standings after the Grand Slam

| Pos. | Player | Points |
| 1 | Vincent Keymer | 25 |
| 2 | Fabiano Caruana | 18 |
| 3 | Magnus Carlsen | 15 |
| 4 | Javokhir Sindarov | 12 |
| 5 | Hikaru Nakamura | 10 |
| Sources: |||
Note: Only the top five positions are included.