Perfect starts and hard-fought games from the very first rounds in Karlsruhe

The grenke Chess Festival in Karlsruhe has once again drawn attention with its massive scale and near-record participation. After welcoming around 3,000 players last year, the event has grown again and now features more than 3,500 participants, pushing the playing halls close to their limits. Spread across several tournaments, the festival’s most competitive and closely watched section is the Freestyle Open A, where roughly 280 players are competing. After three rounds, no fewer than 19 players remain on 3/3, a clear sign of how crowded and intense the race at the top already is.

The biggest name in that leading group is, of course, Magnus Carlsen. The world number one arrived in Karlsruhe with renewed attention after his dominant 9/9 run last year. Yet his perfect score does not mean the path has been easy. In round one, Carlsen had to work patiently for a long time before finally overcoming Narmin Khalafova. In round three, Maxime Lagarde dragged him into another demanding middlegame battle that required precise calculation before the Norwegian finally prevailed. Carlsen is still winning, but the games have already shown that even in the early rounds, the resistance is real and every full point has to be earned.

Another major storyline is the presence of Hans Niemann and Vincent Keymer among the players on a perfect score. In particular, Carlsen and Niemann sharing the top group adds interest beyond the purely sporting dimension. A Netflix documentary revisiting their rivalry is due to be released soon, and with parts of it reportedly filmed in Karlsruhe, the spotlight on their performances at this venue has only grown stronger. As a result, each game in grenke is being followed not just for its tournament impact, but also for how it fits into a broader chess narrative that continues to capture public attention.

The first three rounds have also delivered notable upsets. England’s number one Nikita Vitiugov went down after a tactical oversight against FM Sreyas Payyappat, falling victim to a knight fork in one of the most striking surprises so far. Results like this are a reminder of a classic open-tournament truth: rating gaps on paper do not always decide the outcome, especially in sharp and ambitious games. As the event moves forward and the leaders begin to face one another, the key question will be how many of those 19 players who started with 3/3 can maintain the pace. Whether Carlsen can build another streak, whether Keymer can keep the host nation’s hopes alive, and how Niemann performs under increasing attention will be central themes in the rounds ahead.