Magnus Carlsen wins FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship 2026
Magnus does it again!! Magnus Carlsen wins the FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship 2026 after defeating Fabiano Caruana in the finals with a score of 2.5-1.5. This is Carlsen's 21st World Championship title; he recently won his 19th and 20th titles at the World Rapid and Blitz Championship in Qatar. Magnus came back from a really tough spot in 3rd game and never looked back after that. Nodirbek Abdusattorov secured third place after winning his match against Vincent Keymer. Arjun Erigaisi lost his match against Hans Neimann and missed the 5th place. This 3-day event comes to an end with Magnus winning his 21st world championship, and Caruana in agony. Read the detailed report of the last day. Photos: Stev Bonhage/Fresstyle chess, Aditya Sur Roy/Chessbase India
Ecstasy for one, Agony for the other
'Chess is a tough game.' We have heard this saying a lot of times that, when you see an unrated kid losing from a winning position or a master slipping away his chances in a better endgame after the game, most probably you can hear them saying 'Chess is a tough game' and yes it is tough!!
Ask Caruana, he was on the verge of winning his game against Magnus in the 3rd round, clearly better, so many different ways to finish the game, up on time, everything was in his favour to secure the win and a chance to become the world champion. But what happened?
The Magnus Effect? Yes!
Magnus Carlsen vs Fabiano Caruana, Finals (2.5-1.5)
The match between Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana started with 2 peaceful draws. Still, the third game was the most exciting, where Magnus blundered in the middle game and somehow managed to win, even though he was clearly lost. It was a must-win situation for Fabi in the last round, and against Magnus, that is the toughest spot you can be in. Magnus drew his last game against Fabi to win the FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship 2026.
Magnus Vs Caruana, Game 3
Magnus captured Fabi's knight on h4 and completely missed an intermediate check 16.Rc1 forcing the king in the center. Caruana was clearly better at this point, and he was constantly attacking Magnus's king to get a winning position, but in a time scramble and in a high-stakes game, Fabi was not able to hold his nerves and blundered the winning position into an equal position.
Black to Play, Find the winning move
Fabi moved his Queen to b3, offering a trade, but Magnus found an excellent move Qf1 here to finish the game in the next 2 moves
Replay the games
Nodirbek Abdusattorov vs Vincent Keymer, 3rd place match (2.5-1.5)
In the match between Abdusattorova and Vincent Keymer, Vincent got the opportunity in the first game to seal the deal and get a point lead, but he missed this chance, and the game ended in a draw. Abdusattorov bounced back in the second game to win and gain the lead in the match. Last 2 games ended in a draw, and Abdusattorov won the match with a score of 2.5-1.5.
Abdusattorov vs Vincent, Game 1
Vincent could have captured the bishop on g4, and once Abdusattorov takes on e7, he can simply capture the knight on b6 to get a better position in the rook-pawn endgame.
Abdusattorov vs Vincent, Game 2
Vincent played his king on d2, and Abdusattorov immediately castled, and now that king on d2 got attacked again and again, and it was not possible for Vincent to defend it. Winning this game helped Abdusattorov to secure third place.
Replay the games
Hans Neimann vs Arjun Erigaisi, 5th place match (2-0)
The match between Arjun and Hans was pretty much one-sided as Hans won both of his games to secure fifth place. Hans played a beautiful piece sacrifice in the first game and found some nice tactics in the latter.
Hans Neimann vs Arjun Erigaisi, Game 2
White to play, find the best move
Replay the games
Levon Aronian vs Javokhir Sindarov, 7th place match (2-1)
Alexandra Kosteniuk vs. Bibisara Assaubayeva (2.5-1.5)
Check out some beautiful moments captured by Aditya Roy Sur: Here
The Venue: Weissenhaus, Germany
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