Freestyle Chess Weissenhaus – ¼-finals live returns

10/02/2025 – Contrary to what is stipulated in the regulations (cf. art. 3.4.1), the organizers decided to allow the top three finishers in the qualifying round to choose, in turn, their opponents for the ¼-finals. Alireza Firouzja was the first to choose, as he had taken first place in the qualifying round from Javokhir Sindarov, beating the Uzbek, who had been leading from the start, in the final round. The Frenchman set his sights on Vincent Keymer, but this choice backfired: the Frenchman gave up at the 27th stroke in the first leg of the ¼-finals. For his part, Sindarov, initially selected to take part in the tournament following the defection of Vishy Anand, caused a sensation by choosing Hikaru Nakamura as his opponent. Against all the odds, he managed to draw the first leg when his position seemed hopeless. | The return matches start at 1pm. Live commentary here by duo Judit Polgar and Peter Leko. The pace is 90’+30”. In the event of a tie at the end of the round-trip confrontation, two rapid games (10’+10”) decide the game; if there’s still a draw, two blitzes (5’+2”) – and if necessary an Armageddon where White has 5′ against the lowest time decided by Black (following a bet between the two players).