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.
GM Nodirbek Yakubboev dominated Chess.com's weekly Freestyle Friday tournament for titled players, which began at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. After four rounds, he shared the lead with GMs Hans Niemann and Jeffery Xiong at 4/4. In round five, Yakubboev drew with Pranav Venkatesh in a tense rook endgame, maintaining co-leadership at 5.5/6 alongside Niemann, whom he later defeated indirectly through standings momentum. He then crushed GM Alexander Grischuk in round seven with the decisive 17.d6! move, securing sole possession of first place at 7.5/8 after beating IM Eray Kilic in round eight, as first reported by Chess.com staff writer Nathaniel Green. Yakubboev continued his streak, winning with White against GM Jose Martinez in round nine to reach 8.5/9. In the penultimate round, he drew with GM Fabiano Caruana while Niemann won to tie him temporarily. Pranav Venkatesh kept pace by winning his pawn endgame. The final round sealed Yakubboev's triumph as he capitalized on GM Zhamsaran Tsydypov's blunder, 33...e5, winning a piece and the game outright for 10/11. Pranav recovered to finish second ahead of Niemann, with GM Edgar Mamedov fourth and GM Anna Muzychuk topping the women's standings. Prizes went to Yakubboev ($400), Pranav ($250), Niemann ($150), Mamedov ($100), and Muzychuk ($100). This win nearly doubled Yakubboev's points in the season-long championship, placing him behind Pranav, Oleksandr Bortnyk, and Renato Terry.
