Just days after stopping a Titled Tuesday sweep in its tracks, GM Magnus Carlsen won Freestyle Friday ahead of GM Hikaru Nakamura on August 15. It was the second straight Friday in which they finished in the top two, this time in the opposite order. Each player scored 10 points this week, tiebreaks going Carlsen’s way despite the fact that Nakamura won their individual matchup. Somewhat surprisingly, the overall victory was Magnus’s first in Freestyle Friday since the event debuted on January 24 of this year.
That game between Carlsen and Nakamura happened in the seventh round. Nakamura had lost to CM Nikoly Kleimenov back in round three, but brought the previously-undefeated Carlsen to his level with the win. Fairly early on, Nakamura won not one but two pawns and ruined the structure Carlsen’s remaining ones in the process. Although Carlsen had chances to recover, including a sneaky one on move 30, they never materialized on the board.
The result produced a six-way tie on 6/7, but only the two would win out. Carlsen’s four-game win streak began against FM Rose Atwell and then GMs S.L. Narayanan and Yuriy Kuzubov, while Nakamura kept pace against Narayanan, GM Oleksandr Bortnyk, and IM Rud Makarian. By then, both Carlsen and Nakamura only needed a draw to clinch a top-two position, but of course that is not enough for a true competitor, especially for these two in particular.
In the 11th round, Nakamura won first, outmaneuvering Kuzubov on moves 12-14 and taking the tournament lead.
The lead would prove temporary. FM Yan Domin was behind the eight-ball against Carlsen for most of their game, yet still able to convince the computer on multiple occasions that the position was equal. But once Carlsen forced a queen trade, his extra pawn proved decisive in a same-colored bishop ending.
Third place and fourth place were decided outright, with Kleimenov managing third place on nine points and Bortnyk taking fourth on 8.5, while Atwell won the women’s prize with seven points. There were 133 players in all.
August 15 Freestyle Friday | Final Standings (Top 25)
| Rank | Seed | Fed | Title | Username | Name | Rating | Score | 1st Tiebreak |
| 1 | 2 | GM | @MagnusCarlsen | Magnus Carlsen | 2847 | 10 | 77 | |
| 2 | 1 | GM | @Hikaru | Hikaru Nakamura | 2884 | 10 | 70 | |
| 3 | 23 | CM | @Nicki2013 | Nikolay Kleimenov | 2489 | 9 | 77 | |
| 4 | 3 | GM | @Oleksandr_Bortnyk | Oleksandr Bortnyk | 2697 | 8.5 | 76.5 | |
| 5 | 4 | GM | @Indianlad | S.L. Narayanan | 2672 | 8 | 72.5 | |
| 6 | 24 | FM | @ChessMaster2011_1 | Jake Shanty | 2440 | 8 | 59 | |
| 7 | 20 | GM | @Gareth-Bale11 | Mamikon Gharibyan | 2469 | 7.5 | 65 | |
| 8 | 32 | IM | @Gianmarco_es | Gianmarco Leiva | 2409 | 7.5 | 62.5 | |
| 9 | 19 | FM | @ilqar_74 | Rustam Rustamov | 2475 | 7.5 | 55 | |
| 10 | 10 | GM | @Anton_Demchenko | Anton Demchenko | 2610 | 7.5 | 47 | |
| 11 | 7 | IM | @Rud_Makarian | Rudik Makarian | 2633 | 7 | 74.5 | |
| 12 | 6 | GM | @KuzubovYuriy | Yuriy Kuzubov | 2628 | 7 | 74 | |
| 13 | 73 | FM | @RoseAtwell | Rose Atwell | 2264 | 7 | 71.5 | |
| 14 | 16 | FM | @Yan_Dyomin2010 | Ян Дьомін | 2487 | 7 | 69.5 | |
| 15 | 33 | CM | @Artemiki | Artemiki Lebedev | 2381 | 7 | 66.5 | |
| 16 | 50 | IM | @ChrisTheBellRinger | Christian Gloeckler | 2325 | 7 | 65.5 | |
| 17 | 18 | CM | @Germanovs_Georgijs | Georgijs Germanovs | 2471 | 7 | 65 | |
| 18 | 37 | CM | @Drstrange2015 | Aarit Kapil | 2355 | 7 | 62 | |
| 19 | 11 | IM | @Akewjon | Saidakbar Saydaliev | 2489 | 7 | 60.5 | |
| 20 | 13 | FM | @Skatchkov_V | Valery Skatchkov | 2477 | 7 | 59 | |
| 21 | 94 | CM | @Eivissa | Mariano Mayans Calvo | 2149 | 7 | 58.5 | |
| 22 | 54 | IM | @Fh2411 | Le Thao Nguyen Pham | 2273 | 7 | 56.5 | |
| 23 | 27 | GM | @alexrustemov | Alexander Rustemov | 2415 | 7 | 52 | |
| 24 | 64 | FM | @AaronBazanRomero | Octavio Aaron Bazan Romero | 2256 | 6.5 | 58.5 | |
| 25 | 50 | GM | @Dyadya81 | Gevorg Harutjunyan | 2644 | 6.5 | 50 |
Prizes: Carlsen $400, Nakamura $250, Kleimenov $150, Bortnyk $100, Atwell $100.
Freestyle Friday is Chess.com’s weekly tournament dedicated to Freestyle Chess for titled players. The tournament begins at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time/17:00 Central European/20:30 Indian Standard Time.
