Pranav wins Freestyle Friday to retake overall lead

June 12, 2026

Reported by AI

GM Pranav Venkatesh won the June 12 Freestyle Friday tournament after early setbacks, finishing ahead of the field and regaining the top spot in the 2026 Freestyle Friday Championship standings.

GM Pranav Venkatesh secured the title by winning all but two of his games on June 12. He dropped points in rounds two and four yet recovered to finish first outright and move past GM Oleksandr Bortnyk in the overall standings.

GM Dmitry Andreikin placed second on 8.5 points after tiebreaks, with FM Artin Ashraf and GM Conrad Holt tied for third. The event marked the second Freestyle Friday broadcast and featured technical issues during round 10.

WGM Afruza Khamdamova earned the women's prize after finishing 16th overall with 7.5 points. The weekly tournament awards prizes of $400 to the winner, $250 to the runner-up, and smaller amounts to the next finishers.

Bortnyk claims Freestyle Friday victory with 9/9 start

GM Oleksandr Bortnyk won the June 5 Freestyle Friday on Chess.com after beginning with a perfect 9/9 score. He held on for first place despite a late 0.5/2 finish.

Nodirbek Yakubboev wins first Freestyle Friday undefeated

April 25, 2026 Reported by AI

Grandmaster Nodirbek Yakubboev claimed his maiden Freestyle Friday title on April 24, finishing undefeated with 10 out of 11 points. The victory propelled him into fourth place on the overall championship leaderboard. Pranav Venkatesh took second place, leapfrogging into the top spot.

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Vincent Keymer wins Freestyle Friday on tiebreaks with 8.5 points

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Vincent Keymer wins freestyle friday chess event

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12-year-old IM Faustino Oro wins first Freestyle Friday title

Lazavik wins opening 3 0 Thursday event

GM Denis Lazavik claimed victory in the first of three 3 0 Thursday tournaments held on June 4. He scored 10 points to finish clear first after winning his initial eight games. Two other titled players also secured titles in the remaining events that day.

Carlsen, Nepomniachtchi and Niemann perfect after three rounds at Grenke Freestyle Open

April 03, 2026 Reported by AI

Magnus Carlsen, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Hans Niemann and 16 others hold perfect 3/3 scores after three rounds of the Grenke Chess Freestyle Open in Karlsruhe, Germany. Top grandmasters navigated tense battles in Chess960 format, with notable wins by female players Harika Dronavalli and Meruert Kamalidenova. Round four begins Saturday at 10:00 CEST.

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