 "Freestyle Chess Tour: How much prize money did D Gukesh, Vincent Keymer and other participants earn in Weissenhaus?")
The opening event of the 2025 Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour concluded in Weissenhaus, Germany on Friday. While it was a fairytale campaign for the likes of Vincent Keymer and Javokhir Sindarov, the former defeating Fabiano Caruana in the final to be crowned champion in front of a home crowd, it was a disappointing tournament for vaunted names such as Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura, who finished third and fifth respectively.
For someone of Carlsen’s stature, finishing second can sometimes be considered something of an upset. However, neither the Norwegian nor American Grandmaster Nakamura would have experienced the disappointment D Gukesh must have felt after finishing eighth on Friday , the final day of the competition.
Gukesh was on top of the world just two months ago after defeating Chinese GM Ding Liren 7.5-6.5 to be crowned the youngest world champion of all time. The 18-year-old chess sensation nearly won back-to-back prestigious events after finishing runner-up at the Tata Steel Chess earlier this month, losing to compatriot R Praggnanandhaa in the tie-breaks .
The world No 3, however, ended up failing to win a single game across eight days of competition, finishing with 11 draws and six defeats – including in Game 2 of the seventh-place playoff against Alireza Firouzja on Friday.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsKeymer, on the other hand, just pulled off what surely is the biggest triumph of his career, beating Firouzja in the quarter-finals before pulling off an almighty upset by knocking Magnus Carlsen out in the semis. The German Grandmaster, who was part of the team that masterminded his World Championship triumph in Singapore, would then triumph over Caruana in the final.
Sindarov too has left a solid impression in the chess world with his heroics at the Weissenhaus Private Nature Luxury Resort, finishing fourth – ahead of Gukesh and Nakamura – after being included as a last-minute replacement for Indian legend Viswanathan Anand.
How much prize money have Keymer, Gukesh and other participants won?
Not only has Keymer jumped to the top of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour 2025 standings by collecting 25 tour points with his triumph in Weissenhaus, he is also richer by US$200,000 thanks to his win.
Gukesh, in comparison, has collected $20,000 for his measly performance at the seaside resort in northern Germany. He had only recently won $1.3 million for his triumph in the World Championship, and the Weissenhaus earnings will no doubt feel like chump change in comparison.
Here are the final standings of the Freestyle Chess event in Weissenhaus and the corresponding prize money:
1. Vincent Keymer ($200,000)
2. Fabiano Caruana ($140,000)
3. Magnus Carlsen ($100,000)
4. Javokhir Sindarov ($60,000)
5. Hikaru Nakamura ($50,000)
6. Nodirbek Abdusattorov ($40,000)
7. Alireza Firouzja ($30,000)
8. D Gukesh ($20,000)
9. Levon Aronian ($12,500)
10. Vladimir Fedoseev ($7,500)
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