GM Alexander Grischuk displayed his famed blitz credentials, this time combining them with Freestyle chess abilities, winning the Freestyle Friday on August 22. He started with an amazing eight victories in the first eight rounds to capture the sole lead by a point margin, finishing as the solitary winner with 9.5 points from 11 rounds. His dominance was unaffected even by a loss in the ninth round to 22-year-old GM Mahammad Muradli of Azerbaijan when he ran out of time in a winning position.
Muradli finished second, tying with the eternal favorite GM Hikaru Nakamura on nine points. GM Leon Mendonca finished fourth on 8.5 points, among a total of 139 participants.
Grischuk’s great starting spurt included an enjoyable positional squeeze against eternal favorite Nakamura in the fifth round, which was exceptional for a 3+1 time control for its consistently impressive strategic decisions—an almost “clean” game.
What is the core of Grischuk’s blitz strength? Apart from the basic necessity of avoiding tactical mistakes, it is the ability to consistently bash out strong moves, instinctively understanding not just tactics but even nuances, and that important quickness in spotting tactics. His strength comes out especially in endgames, just as in his win against GM Alexey Sarana in the seventh round.
Nakamura had his moments in the tournament, which included the following amusing masterpiece against GM Parham Maghsoodloo. This is one of the most enjoyable Freestyle games I have ever come across. There are many fun points, but spot the most significant of them, if you can!
- Nakamura never bothered to move any of his queenside pieces throughout the game!
- He sacrificed a whole rook
- He didn’t even bother to recapture the black knight, which had travelled all the way from f8 to b1 to capture his rook
- When the game ends, the piece count is actually equal
- The best part of the game was that Nakamura actually won an attacking game without ever moving his queen!
Of course, it was a flawed masterpiece, as Nakamura took it too far in his eagerness to let his hair down and was actually losing for exactly one move, but that doesn’t spoil the fun in any way, almost.
Streaming his games, Nakamura went for the kingside attack with the remark, “I will probably lose the game, but it’s exciting enough to go for it!” After visibly enjoying himself throughout and finally winning the adventurous game, he remarked, “I don’t know if I am a genius or if I got lucky there. I am not sure which one!” Reviewing the game after finishing it, he exclaimed on finding out about his blunder, “I played a brilliant game until I didn’t!”
I don’t know if I am a genius, or if I got lucky there!
—HIkaru Nakamura
Live August 22 https://t.co/8CSKCJZ5Nz
— Hikaru Nakamura (@GMHikaru) August 22, 2025
The prizes: Grischuk $400, Muradli $250, Nakamura $150, Mendonca $100, and IM Natalya Buksa $100 as top woman.
August 22 Freestyle Friday | Final Standings (Top 25)
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.
