High voltage pairing for Magnus Carlsen in R8 of Grenke Chess 2025 [the full story]

Magnus Carlsen continues to showcase his natural talent and chess skills at the Grenke Freestyle Chess 2025 tournament. Yesterday he was with perfect 5,0/7 and today he continued his rampage by winning against Awonder Liang in round 6 and against Parham Maghsoodloo in round 7. His perfect score performance rating for 7/7 is 3094 CPR (read more about CPR here)

While everyone is thinking about a possible 9,0/9, ahead of Carlsen is a high voltage pairing. Round 8 of Grenke Freestyle Chess will see Rauf Mamedov – Magnus Carlsen on board 1.

The story of this game began in October 2022. Just weeks after Magnus Carlsen shocked the chess world after resigning against Hans Niemann on the move 2 during the Julius Baer Generation Cup, the Azerbaijani grandmaster Rauf Mamedov had the same reaction yesterday during the Late Titled Tuesday played on chess.com. Rauf Mamedov resigned his Round 10 game against Magnus Carlsen on the second move and did not play the last 11th round of the tournament. Mamedov had white pieces and started with 1.e4, when Carlsen answered with Borg Defense – 1…g5. Rauf decided to resign.

In the interview for sports.ru, Mamedov revealed he almost got banned from the platform for resigning on the second move: “Fillimonov from Crestbook wrote to me asking why I left the tournament. I answered that because of 1…g5. And on Wednesday morning the journalist got in touch and told me that I almost been banned [from chess.com] after this incident on Chess.com“.

Rauf explained that he didn’t want to continue the game after seeing Carlsen’s 1…g5 as he didn’t want to allow Magnus to make fun of him: “Titled Tuesday gathers strong lineups, all people come here to play chess, maybe someone will make money. And then – 1.e4 g5! Well, I decided not to continue … If you come to mock us, then without me. I don’t think I’m right and so on, but I definitely don’t want to participate in something like that. (…) The move 1…g5 in a prize tournament, moreover when the World Champion makes it, is wrong… There are always more expectations from a game against Carlsen than anyone else, but instead of that, mockery“.

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Now, two and a half years later, Rauf Mamedov and Magnus Carlsen will meet again. This time in a chess variant where a move like 1…g5 might actually be the best, depending on the starting position.

More about Grenke Live games / Information Interviews Rasmus Svane about the secret to finding the best first move in Freestyle chess / Chess speaks for itself, with Hans Niemann at Grenke / Alexander Grischuk: “I prefer blitz, rapid of freestyle” Chess Song No Foolin’ This Time (Hans Niemann)

Magnus wins his R6 and R7 games at @GRENKEChess today and leads the #FreestyleChess with 7,0/7

Can Magnus go all the way to 9,0/9 tomorrow?https://t.co/ZVbEkmbWdH

— Chessdom (@chessdom) April 20, 2025

Rauf Mamedov accused Carlsen of mockery, and almost got banned from ChessCom after resigning on move 2 in a Late Titled Tuesday. Today they meet again on board 1 at @GRENKEChess in a high voltage game https://t.co/VurTH50Bto @SusanPolgar @anishgiri @agadmator

— Chessdom (@chessdom) April 20, 2025

Grenke Freestyle Chess 2025 standings

1	GM	Carlsen, Magnus	NOR	2837	7
2	GM	Mamedov, Rauf	AZE	2657	6
3	GM	Esipenko, Andrey	FID	2696	6
4	GM	Jobava, Baadur	GEO	2600	5.5
5	GM	Sindarov, Javokhir	UZB	2706	5.5
	GM	Bluebaum, Matthias	GER	2662	5.5
7	GM	Svane, Frederik	GER	2668	5.5
8	GM	Tabatabaei, M. Amin	IRI	2661	5.5
9	GM	Dominguez Perez, Leinier	USA	2738	5.5
	GM	Keymer, Vincent	GER	2718	5.5
	GM	Sarana, Alexey	SRB	2672	5.5
	GM	Navara, David	CZE	2665	5.5
13	GM	Caruana, Fabiano	USA	2776	5.5
	GM	Maghsoodloo, Parham	IRI	2684	5.5
	GM	Van Foreest, Jorden	NED	2681	5.5
16	GM	Anton Guijarro, David	ESP	2639	5.5
17	GM	Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime	FRA	2722	5.5
18	GM	Liang, Awonder	USA	2692	5
	GM	Pultinevicius, Paulius	LTU	2558	5
20	GM	Mendonca, Leon Luke	IND	2643	5
	GM	Pranesh M,	IND	2572	5
22	GM	Mikhalevski, Victor	ISR	2513	5
23	GM	Nepomniachtchi, Ian	RUS	2757	5
24	GM	Dardha, Daniel	BEL	2650	5
	GM	Kamsky, Gata	USA	2603	5
	GM	Gokerkan, Cem Kaan	TUR	2489	5
27	GM	Le, Quang Liem	VIE	2729	5
	GM	Rapport, Richard	HUN	2722	5
	IM	Hacker, Jonas	GER	2370	5
30	GM	So, Wesley	USA	2748	5
	GM	Yu, Yangyi	CHN	2714	5
	GM	Svane, Rasmus	GER	2625	5
33	GM	Erigaisi Arjun,	IND	2782	5
	GM	Robson, Ray	USA	2692	5
	GM	Oparin, Grigoriy	USA	2660	5
	GM	Grandelius, Nils	SWE	2640	5
	GM	Grigoriants, Sergey	HUN	2552	5
38	GM	Karthikeyan, Murali	IND	2651	5
	GM	Piorun, Kacper	POL	2577	5
40	GM	Grischuk, Alexander	RUS	2682	5
	GM	Kadric, Denis	MNE	2533	5
42	IM	Assaubayeva, Bibisara	KAZ	2494	5
43	GM	Huschenbeth, Niclas	GER	2601	5
	GM	Fridman, Daniel	GER	2582	5
45	IM	Druska, Juraj	SVK	2442	4.5
46	WGM	Heinemann, Josefine	GER	2342	4.5
47	GM	Niemann, Hans Moke	USA	2736	4.5
48	GM	Aryan Chopra,	IND	2620	4.5
	GM	Yoo, Christopher Woojin	USA	2588	4.5
	IM	Sorensen, Hampus	SWE	2436	4.5
51	GM	Klekowski, Maciej	POL	2474	4.5
52	GM	Aronian, Levon	USA	2747	4.5
	GM	Erdogmus, Yagiz Kaan	TUR	2618	4.5
	GM	Sonis, Francesco	ITA	2576	4.5
55	GM	Smeets, Jan	NED	2568	4.5
56	GM	Livaic, Leon	CRO	2536	4.5
57	GM	Aravindh, Chithambaram VR.	IND	2749	4.5
	GM	Movsesian, Sergei	ARM	2591	4.5
	IM	Koelle, Tobias	GER	2459	4.5
		Boev, Viktor	BUL	2235	4.5
61	IM	Leisch, Lukas	AUT	2407	4.5
62	GM	Schoppen, Casper	NED	2529	4.5
	IM	Loeffler, Stefan	GER	2345	4.5
64	IM	Kilic, Eray	TUR	2473	4.5
	IM	Beltran Rueda, Santiago	ESP	2278	4.5
66	GM	Tang, Andrew	USA	2529	4.5
	CM	Nissinen, Niilo Man	HKG	2268	4.5
68	IM	Reuker, Jari	GER	2406	4.5
	FM	Ringuet, Noe	FRA	2304	4.5
70	GM	Bogner, Sebastian	SUI	2545	4.5
71	IM	Kucuksari, Kaan	SWE	2440	4.5
	IM	Gschnitzer, Adrian	GER	2430	4.5
	IM	Langheinrich, Ferenc	GER	2347	4.5
	CM	Soucek, Jan	CZE	2309	4.5
75	FM	Hoeffer, David	GER	2295	4.5
76	GM	Deviatkin, Andrei	RUS	2442	4.5
77	GM	Bacrot, Etienne	FRA	2633	4
78		Kukushkin, Ivan	BUL	2030	4
79	GM	Kollars, Dmitrij	GER	2623	4
80	FM	Zienkiewicz, Jan	FRA	2348	4
81	GM	Yankelevich, Lev	GER	2413	4
	FM	Szalay-Ocsak, Bank	HUN	2126	4
83	GM	Wirig, Anthony	FRA	2433	4
	FM	Sklokin, Sergey	FID	2305	4
85	IM	Dionisi, Thomas	FRA	2410	4
86	GM	Raja Harshit,	IND	2474	4
87	IM	Dobrikov, Marco	GER	2404	4
88	IM	Pantzar, Milton	SWE	2445	4
	FM	Dauner, Benedikt	GER	2324	4
		Jeschke, Jan	GER	2139	4
91	IM	Wagner, Dinara	GER	2435	4
92	FM	Dathe, Frederick	GER	2311	4
	WGM	Berend, Elvira	LUX	2252	4
	CM	Kumala, Aleksander	POL	2131	4
		Paeslack, Luis	GER	2032	4
96	IM	Rosner, Jonas	GER	2430	4
	FM	Moehn, Hans	GER	2385	4
	FM	Dragicevic, Drazen	SWE	2334	4
	IM	Seul, Georg	GER	2329	4
	FM	Moritz, Aron	GER	2305	4
		Kearns, Christopher	GER	2186	4
		Wolter, Detlev	GER	2169	4
		Kremser, Michael	GER	2024	4
104	IM	Hess, Max	GER	2400	4
	FM	Miller, Eduard	GER	2338	4
	FM	Tomaszewski, Kacper	POL	2330	4
	FM	Tuncer, Tuna	TUR	2328	4
	CM	Meyers, Mark	GER	2267	4
		Zolfagharian, Kevin	GER	2207	4
		Shevkunov, Vladyslav	USA	2050	4
111	GM	Wagner, Dennis	GER	2607	4
	IM	Thavandiran, Shiyam	CAN	2398	4
	FM	Noy, Eyal	ISR	2346	4
	FM	Wehner, Roland	GER	2249	4
115		Morgenthaler, Stefan	SUI	2074	4
		Loheide, Michel	GER	1955	4
117		Berresheim, Helmut	GER	2033	4
118		Mueller, Elias	GER	2115	4
119	WIM	Muetsch, Annmarie	BEL	2329	4
120	FM	Mostertman, Milan	NED	2218	4
121	GM	Kraemer, Martin	GER	2577	3.5
	IM	Finek, Vaclav	CZE	2501	3.5
123	GM	Vogel, Roven	GER	2557	3.5
	IM	Feuerstack, Aljoscha	GER	2458	3.5
	FM	Kueppers, Timo	GER	2292	3.5
126	FM	Huber, Benedikt	GER	2261	3.5
		Casagrande, Federico	ITA	2180	3.5
128	FM	Becker, Matthias	GER	2320	3.5
		Maisch, Julian	GER	2153	3.5
130	IM	Aizenberg, Benny	ISR	2450	3.5
	CM	Germer, Philipp	GER	2129	3.5
132	FM	Franc, Borna	CRO	2281	3.5
133	IM	Injac, Teodora	SRB	2455	3.5
		Stichter, Constantin Paul	GER	2189	3.5
	CM	Heron, Andrew	LIE	2100	3.5
136	IM	Bournel, Antoine	FRA	2423	3.5
	IM	Souleidis, Georgios	GRE	2418	3.5
		Szakmary, Domonkos	HUN	2154	3.5
139	FM	Gallasch, Jonas	GER	2277	3.5
	FM	Jahncke, Giso	GER	2241	3.5
	FM	Olsson, Linus	SWE	2166	3.5
		Kuehn, Kolja	GER	2126	3.5
		Herms Agullo, Jordi	ESP	2068	3.5
144	FM	Ruiz Buendia, Miguel	ESP	2353	3.5
	FM	Poeck, Ole	GER	2304	3.5
	FM	Ciolek, Andreas	GER	2198	3.5
		Schimnatkowski, Lukas	GER	2185	3.5
		Blaschke, Henri Johannes	GER	1964	3.5
149	IM	Brendel, Oliver	GER	2278	3.5
		Hess, Markus, Dr.	GER	2057	3.5
151	IM	Song, Julien	FRA	2309	3.5
	IM	Zatonskih, Anna	USA	2300	3.5
	CM	Sliwicki, Damian	POL	2157	3.5
154	IM	Lammers, Markus	GER	2304	3.5
		Wu, Luka	GER	2109	3.5
		Doenitz, Christian, Dr.	GER	2015	3.5
157	IM	Abel, Dennes	GER	2389	3.5
	IM	Cotonnec, Melkior	FRA	2265	3.5
	FM	Moeller, Hendrik	GER	2217	3.5
		Duson, Robin	NED	2131	3.5
161		Ahner, Thomas	GER	2164	3.5
		Schinkowski, Christoph	GER	2130	3.5
163		Dieterle, Patrik	GER	2125	3.5
164	CM	Laemmel, Sebastian	GER	2210	3.5
165	IM	Scholz, Christian, Dr.	GER	2284	3
		Koehler, Christian Friedrich	GER	2223	3
167	GM	Abergel, Thal	FRA	2415	3
	FM	Ruff, Maximilian	GER	2235	3
169		Leck, Gerrit	GER	2028	3
170	CM	Ferey, Antonin	FRA	2236	3
		Diyap, Murat	GER	2168	3
		Lohr, Maximilian	GER	2151	3
		Isacesco, Frederic	FRA	2066	3
174		Ellis, Antoine	FRA	2156	3
175		Tischler, Michel	AUT	2080	3
176	IM	Pastar, Slaven	BIH	2359	3
		Richter, Leonard	GER	2198	3
		Klein, Joachim	GER	2186	3
179	IM	Krause, Benedict	GER	2420	3
180	GM	Basso, Pier Luigi	ITA	2508	3
	FM	Knudsen, Simon	GER	2289	3
	FM	Bach, Matthias	GER	2207	3
		Colonetti, Fabio	ITA	2170	3
	CM	Quilter, Thomas A	ENG	2162	3
	FM	Bremond, Eric	FRA	2129	3
		Geist, Tim	GER	2054	3
187	FM	Mundorf, Johannes	GER	2288	3
	FM	Loew, Gerald	GER	2142	3
		Tibke, Jonas	GER	2030	3
		Rombach, Michael	GER	2019	3
191		Brandt, Sebastian	GER	2198	3
		Vogel, Constantin	GER	2193	3
		Schoettker, Jochen	GER	1955	3
194		Thomsen, Phil	GER	2156	3
195	FM	Balint, Vilmos	HUN	2140	3
		Schormann, Conrad	GER	2111	3
		Heinke, Jasper	GER	2052	3
		Rosenboom, Niko	GER	2030	3
		Degro, Heiko	GER	1948	3
200		Dietze, Sebastian	GER	2151	3
		Ott, Mathias	GER	2017	3
202	FM	Zieher, Hartmut	GER	2144	3
		Hofmann, Lorenz	GER	2104	3
204		Schallner, Marc	GER	2101	3
		Alshihawi, Obai	GER	1963	3
206		Uhlmann, Tim	GER	2108	3
207		Farmani Anosheh, Yasha	GER	2114	3
		Bratu, Mircea	GER	2046	3
209		Stork, Christopher	GER	2132	3
210		Mrotzek, Alexander	GER	2071	3
211	WFM	Khrapko, Marharyta	GER	2146	2.5
212		Kribben, Matthias, Dr.	GER	2060	2.5
213		Zenari, Marco	ITA	2142	2.5
214	IM	Zeller, Frank	GER	2318	2.5
215		Hillermann, Vinzenz	GER	2227	2.5
		Kommer, Bas	NED	2086	2.5
		Braeutigam, Thomas	GER	2032	2.5
218		Gramb, Marius	GER	2165	2.5
		Kern, Nicolas	FRA	2080	2.5
220	FM	Haag, Wolfgang	GER	2175	2.5
		Arns, Alexander	GER	1985	2.5
222		Pfatteicher, Lukas	GER	2210	2.5
		Wu, Leon	GER	2067	2.5
		Wadhwa, Aayush	USA	1916	2.5
225		Keller, Yannik	GER	2083	2.5
226		Bahmann, Micha	GER	2061	2.5
		Werner, Martin, Dr.	GER	2021	2.5
		Valean, David-Andrei	GER	1961	2.5
229		Nickel, Arno	GER	2052	2.5
		Wong, Yen-Hsiu Elliot	SGP	1987	2.5
		Seidel, Knut	GER	1974	2.5
232		Musaelyan, Arshavir	SUI	1961	2.5
		Kuever, Bastian	GER	1920	2.5
234		Heyl, Thomas	GER	1935	2.5
235		Tencati, Giuseppe	ITA	2031	2.5
236		Hell, Pascal	FRA	2103	2.5
237		Baeumer, Frank	GER	1966	2.5
238		Nickel, Ruediger	GER	1983	2
239		Leck, Jakob	GER	2046	2
		Leibbrand, Udo	GER	2027	2
		Bleuzen, Cedric	FRA	2003	2
242		Player, Edmund C	ENG	2161	2
243		Cervelli, Eduard	SUI	2052	2
244		Medvedovski, Michael	GER	2058	2
245		Aleskerov, Faik	AZE	2315	2
	FM	Ahn, Martin	BEL	2124	2
		Siegert, Gregor	GER	2113	2
		Nicolai, Tim	GER	2053	2
249		Hematyar, Fardin	NED	1990	2
250		Barthel, Ansgar	GER	2042	2
		Cabela, Filip	CZE	2000	2
252		Emans, Job	NED	2134	2
		Wagner, Bernd	GER	2069	2
		Gold, Jan Christian	GER	1997	2
255		Luhn, Robert	GER	1988	2
256		Hoffmann, Jens	GER	2057	2
		Spieker, Michael	GER	2024	2
258	CM	Sadeghi, Hassan Roger	SUI	2038	2
259		Germer, Marcel	GER	2130	2
		Gabriel, Josef	GER	1994	2
	WFM	Matskevich, Varvara	POL	1989	2
262		Stara, Zuzana	CZE	2060	2
		Markina, Sofiia	CZE	1887	2
264		Steinhart, Karl-Heinz	GER	2110	2
		Wiesner, Alexander	GER	1962	2
		Schottmueller, Christoph	GER	1943	2
267		D’angerio, Alessandro	ITA	2106	2
268		Bugaj, Hanna	POL	1953	2
269		Hoffmann, Tim	GER	2011	1.5
270		Merz, Leander	GER	1957	1.5
271		Dunn, Andrew M	ENG	2117	1.5
		Sesselmann, Christoph	GER	2031	1.5
273	IM	Caprio, Guido	ITA	2405	1.5
	FM	Fichter, Fabian	GER	2235	1.5
		Woelk, Marvin	GER	1958	1.5
276		Volk, Oskar	GER	2001	1.5
277		Schaub, Marc	FRA	1956	1.5
278	GM	Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar	AZE	2748	1.5
279		Precour, Juergen	GER	2010	1.5
280		Hoffmann, Achim Gunter	AUS	2035	1.5
281		Richter, Daniel	SUI	1937	1.5
282		Narr, Kevin	GER	2128	1.5
		Reimold, Jonas	GER	2039	1.5
284		Jaeschke, Benno	GER	2008	1
285		Standhartinger, Joachim	AUT	1980	1
286		De Silva, Joel Niels	GER	2142	1
		Schmitt, Hans Walter	GER	1986	1
		Mueller, Mark	GER	1979	1
289	CM	Hauser, Carlos, Dr.	GER	2219	1
290		Huhn, Stefan	GER	2076	1
291		Hamid, Emran	GER	2203	1
292		Haxhiaj, Premtim	GER	1963	1
293		Sessler, Joachim, Dr.	GER	2178	1
294		Wiesner, Frank	GER	2048	0.5
295		Halas, Julia	GER	1978	0.5
296	CM	Gottstein, Claudius-Thomas	GER	2113	0
297		Falk, Ulrich, Prof. Dr.	GER	2238	0