A Day Without a Yesterday

Vincent Keymer – Fabiano Caruana

1st Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour; first leg; Stage 2: Knockout; Final match game 1; time control: 90 minutes plus 30 seconds per move; Wangels, February 13, 2025

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Position #866

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nf3. “Keymer has the option 2. e4 e5 3. f4!? now, idea 3. ... exf4 4. e5 Ng4 5. Qf5 Nh6 6. Qg5+ Re7 7 Nh3”, Magnus Carlsen’s alter ego, Peter Heine Nielsen, noted.
2. ... b6 3. b4 c5 4. Be5 d6 5. Bxf6 exf6 6. Qxh7 Ng6 7. e3 cxb4 8. Be2

8. ... Rc5?! A very artificial manoeuvre, which will not give the desired fruits. 8. ... Ne5 9. d4 Nxf3 10. gxf3 Qb7 11. d5 g6∞ was a much better way of making the day’s pay.
9. Ng3 Qc7 10. d4 Ra5 11. Rc2 Bc6 12. 0-0

12. ... Ra3? Should be the losing move. Black had to hurry with 12. ... f5! so as to reply to 13. h4 with 13. ... f4.
13. h4! Ba4. It is late now for 13. ... f5 on account of 14. Ng5! with overwhelming effect.
14. Rcc1 a5 15. h5 Ne7 16. d5 Rxa2 17. Nd4 Qd7 18. Ra1 Rd2

19. h6! gxh6 20. Bh5 Rxd4!? A desperate attempt, for if 20. ... Nc8 then 21. Nge2 with a dominating position.
21. exd4 Bb3 22. Qd3 a4 23. Rfb1 Nc8 24. Nf1 b5 25. cxb5 Qc7 26. Ne3 Nb6 27. Rc1 Qb7 28. Bf3 f5 29. Qxf5 Bg7 30. Qf4 Bf8 31. Rc6 a3 32. Rxd6+ Nd7 33. Ra6 1–0.

Any speculation about how Caruana and Keymer will spend Valentine’s Day is academic. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Freestyle Chess.