Peruvian International Master Renato Terry claimed victory in Chess.com's first Freestyle Friday tournament of April, scoring 9.5 out of 11 for a full-point lead. He became the first player to win multiple events since the championship started, marking his fourth Freestyle Friday title overall. Terry overtook early leader GM Nils Grandelius in the later rounds.
IM Renato Terry started strongly alongside GM Nils Grandelius and GM Pranesh M, all reaching 4/4. In round six, Grandelius defeated Terry in a complex middlegame, taking a perfect 6/6 score. Terry bounced back by beating GM Sina Movahed in 23 moves and later GM Zhamsaran Tsydypov, while Grandelius drew with Tsydypov and Pranesh, leaving both at 7/8 entering the break. Grandelius lost to IM Khuong Duy Dau after a rook sacrifice led to checkmate, and Terry capitalized by defeating IM Faustino Oro, seizing the sole lead. Terry drew with Khuong in round 10, maintaining a half-point edge over challengers. In the final rounds, Terry beat GM Haik Martirosyan as a draw would have clinched the title. GM Rinat Jumabayev and Khuong won their games to score 8.5, with Khuong taking second on tiebreaks and Pranesh fourth. IM Le Thao Nguyen Pham won the women's prize. Prizes went to Terry ($400), Khuong ($250), Jumabayev ($150), Pranesh ($100), and Le ($100). Terry now ranks second on the overall Freestyle Friday leaderboard behind GM Oleksandr Bortnyk.
