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.
Nineteen players remain undefeated at the Grenke Chess Freestyle Open, a nine-round Swiss tournament in Chess960 format with a 90+30 time control and over 200,000 euros in prizes. The event, part of the Grenke Chess Festival drawing more than 3,500 participants, qualifies top finishers for FIDE Freestyle World Championships in 2026 and 2027. Magnus Carlsen survived a scare against Maxime Lagarde in round three, winning after the French grandmaster blundered from a drawn position. Carlsen praised opponents in earlier rounds, noting after beating Alua Nurman, “It’s never as easy as you think.” Ian Nepomniachtchi topped Loek van Wely, capitalizing on four consecutive errors, while Hans Niemann dispatched Olexandr Bortnyk smoothly. Vincent Keymer staged a dramatic comeback to defeat Georg Meier. Two women shine in the leaders: Harika Dronavalli beat Awonder Liang, and Meruert Kamalidenova won against Rauf Mamedov and Karthikeyan Murali, positioning them for FIDE Freestyle Women's Championship qualification. Round four pairings feature top boards, with games starting at 4 a.m. ET on Chess.com's YouTube channel, hosted by Peter Leko and Alexander Donchenko. Forty-six players hold 3/3 in the parallel regular open, with switches allowed before round five.