Alireza Firouzja beat D Gukesh in the second game of their seventh-place playoff match at the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam on February 15, 2025.
What happened?
The Iranian-French grandmaster won in 30 moves, after Gukesh made a mistake and had to part with his queen for two pieces.
Why it matters for Alireza Firouzja
This win secured Alireza Firouzja's 7th place in the tournament, with a final score of 1.5-0.5 against D Gukesh.
What comes next?
The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam saw Vincent Keymer win the first edition, despite being touted as a rookie at the start, with Magnus Carlsen winning his second game on the trot against Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan.
The tournament took place at the Weissenhaus resort in Hamburg, with Alireza Firouzja competing against top players like D Gukesh and Magnus Carlsen.
The final standings saw Vincent Keymer in first place, followed by Fabiano Caruana and Magnus Carlsen, with Alireza Firouzja finishing 7th.
D Gukesh, the world champion, finished last in the tournament without a single win, after losing to Alireza Firouzja in the play-off.
The event's sponsors will be pleased with the outcome, as local favourite Vincent Keymer won the tournament, attracting chess connoisseurs to the event.
FIDE, the world's apex chess body, may not approve of Chess 960 or Freestyle Chess, but the tournament's success proves it is here to stay.
Hikaru Nakamura won his mini-match 2-0 against Nodirbek Abdusattorov, finishing 5th in the tournament, while Javokhir Sindarov finished 4th after losing to Magnus Carlsen.
The results of the tournament were as follows: Vincent Keymer beat Fabiano Caruana 1.5-0.5, Nodirbek Abdusattorov lost to Hikaru Nakamura 0-2, Alireza Firouzja beat D Gukesh 1.5-0.5, and Javokhir Sindarov lost to Magnus Carlsen 0-2.
The final standings were: 1. Vincent Keymer, 2. Fabiano Caruana, 3. Magnus Carlsen, 4. Javokhir Sindarov, 5. Hikaru Nakamura, 6. Nodirbek Abdusattorov, 7. Alireza Firouzja, and 8. D Gukesh.