 "Carlsen in disbelief as he escapes ‘complete meltdown’ to edge Sindarov, reach Freestyle Chess final: 'What can I say?'")
World No 1 chess player Magnus Carlsen made a miraculous escape against 2025 FIDE World Cup winner Javokhir Sindarov in the tie-breaks to storm into the final of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour Finals in Cape Town on Wednesday, where he would be facing Levon Aronian. The semi-finals consisted of two games of 30+15 time control followed by Blitz tiebreaks.
Carlsen, who has already won the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam 2025 after accumulating an unassailable lead in the standings, won Game 1 of the semi-finals in 49 moves despite playing with black pieces. However, Sindarov made a comeback in Game 2 by beating Carlsen with black pieces in 73 moves.
Carlsen: ‘It was a complete and utter meltdown’
The 1-1 score in the semi-finals forced the Carlsen vs Sindarov match into the two 5+2 tie-breaks. And it was once again Carlsen who took an early lead with the black pieces. Sindarov had a chance to draw the game, but the Uzbek Grandmaster missed an intermediate check.
It was the second Blitz game where the semi-final was decided as Carlen narrowly escaped a defeat and avoided an Armageddon game. Sindarov was in control in the endgame, but as is the case with Blitz games, it turned into a time scramble, and somehow Carlsen scored a draw to progress to the final with a scoreline of 2.5-1.5.
How Carlsen survived vs Sindarov in the final tie-break:
“What can I say?” a relieved Carlsen said after the match. “It was a complete and utter meltdown by both players. It was just… sport, I suppose? When I lose the second game today as White I cannot be unhappy with any win so yeah, here we are. I guess I outlasted him more than anything else but it feels good to be in the final.”
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He didn’t have to say much. His reactions after the match were enough to highlight how relieved he was.
Check out the absolutely insane final moments of Magnus Carlsen salvaging a draw from a completely lost position against Javokhir Sindarov, winning their semifinals match and moving to the finals of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour Finals in Capetown. pic.twitter.com/KdPguRbiEw
— ChessBase India (@ChessbaseIndia) December 10, 2025
What a battle 🔥🔥
— ChessBase India (@ChessbaseIndia) December 10, 2025
Edit: @ram_abhyudaya#chess #chessbaseindia #magnuscarlsen #javokhirsindarov pic.twitter.com/Ye4i5epFEE
Meanwhile, Aronian reached the final by beating Vincent Keymer in Blitz tiebreaks.
Keymer will face Sindarov in the third-place match, while India’s Arjun Erigaisi will take on Fabiano Caruana in the fight for the fifth position.
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