Wide Open Freestyle Friday Goes Terry’s Way

IM Renato Terry won Freestyle Friday on October 24 by taking his last six games, breaking a tie with GM Jules Moussard in the final round by winning head-to-head with Black. The win was Terry’s second in Freestyle Friday, the first coming back in April.

Almost every round this week saw the tournament’s number-one standing position change hands, culminating with that last game. GM Samvel Ter-Sahakyan was the last perfect player with a modest 5/5 start. He gave way to IM Augustin Droin, who would pass the lead on to Moussard in the eighth round, with GM Dmitrij Kollars taking it after nine, before the Terry-Moussard tie through 10. 

We’ll pick up the action here with Moussard’s eighth-round game. Moussard lost in the very first round before winning his next seven games, of which this was the seventh. The result was devastating for his opponent, Droin, as the game turned on a dime when he blundered into a fork. Droin didn’t even wait for Moussard to make the move before resigning the game and the tournament lead.

Not only was the lead regularly changing hands, the usurper continued to force the outcome with a head-to-head victory. In the ninth round, Kollars snapped Moussard’s win streak with a wild, 79-move win in which both sides had great chances during the endgame.

The pattern continued in the 10th round as Terry took down Kollars. In what looked like a quiet ending, dropping rooks to forks became a theme in the tournament—although unlike Droin, Kollars allowed Terry’s bishop (not knight) to do the deed. Kollars played on a little longer but called it quits before things got out of hand.

Wheras Droin and Kollars never won another game in the tournament after losing the lead, Moussard hung around with a 10th-round win over GM Arman Mikaelyan. When it came time for the decisive 11th round game between Moussard and Terry, however, it was the Peruvian IM who emerged with the win. No obvious blunders in this one, just Terry pressuring Moussard into giving up a pawn—and then three, after which the competitive portion of the game was over.

The ultra-competitive tournament was a shift from the previous week, when GM Magnus Carlsen won easily. This week, there was no Magnus or other top-five players. Even 8.5 points was enough for outright second, which went to IM Dau Khuong Duy. Moussard held onto third and GM Dmitry Andreikin to fourth, with IM Polina Shuvalova taking the women’s prize.

October 24 Freestyle Friday | Final Standings (Top 20)