Grenke Chess Festival

The Grenke Chess Festival is an annual chess event held in the German cities of Karlsruhe and Baden-Baden and sponsored by Grenke AG.^[1] The Grenke Chess Classic was a strong closed tournament first held in 2013, which featured many of the world's top players. Since 2016, an Open tournament has been held concurrently, with the winner qualifying for the subsequent Classic tournament.^[2] In 2020, the Festival was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[3] It returned in 2024 after a five-year hiatus, with the Classic tournament featuring a new rapid time control (45+10).^[4] In 2025, the Classic tournament was discontinued, and a new Grenke Freestyle Chess Open was announced in partnership with the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour.^[5][6][7]

Logo in 2024

Winners

#	Year	Classic	Open	Freestyle Open
1	2013	Viswanathan Anand (India)	—	—
2	2014	Arkadij Naiditsch (Germany)
3	2015	Magnus Carlsen (Norway)
4	2016	Not held.	Matthias Blübaum (Germany)
5	2017	Levon Aronian (Armenia)	Nikita Vitiugov (Russia)
6	2018	Fabiano Caruana (United States)	Vincent Keymer (Germany)
7	2019	Magnus Carlsen (Norway)	Daniel Fridman (Germany)
–	2020–2023	Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
8	2024	Magnus Carlsen (Norway)	Hans Niemann (United States)
9	2025	Cancelled.	Aswath S (India)	Magnus Carlsen (Norway)

Editions

2013

Classic

Six players participated in the first edition of Grenke Chess. The winner was Viswanathan Anand ahead of Fabiano Caruana; they scored 6.5 and 6 out of 10, respectively.^[8]

1st Grenke Chess Classic, 7–17 February 2013, Baden-Baden, Germany, Category XIX (2714)

	Player	Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	Total	Wins	TPR
1	Viswanathan Anand (India)	2780		½ ½	½ ½	½ ½	1 1	½ 1	6½		2811
2	Fabiano Caruana (Italy)	2757	½ ½	Does not appear	1 ½	½ 0	1 1	½ ½	6		2778
3	Georg Meier (Germany)	2640	½ ½	0 ½	Does not appear	½ ½	0 1	½ 1	5	2	2729
4	Michael Adams (England)	2725	½ ½	½ 1	½ ½	Does not appear	0 ½	½ ½	5	1	2712
5	Arkadij Naiditsch (Germany)	2716	0 0	0 0	1 0	1 ½	Does not appear	½ 1	4		2642
6	Daniel Fridman (Germany)	2667	½ 0	½ ½	½ 0	½ ½	½ 0	Does not appear	3½		2614

2014

Classic

Arkadij Naiditsch, the highest-rated German chess player, won the 2014 edition of Grenke Chess Classic ahead of David Baramidze.^[9] This edition was not a supertournament, but rather a national competition; all eight participants were German. It was a single Round-robin tournament, and two spots were provided for the players to win entry into the next edition of 2015.

2nd Grenke Chess Classic, 6–12 September 2014, Baden-Baden, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, Category XV (2609)

	Player	Title	Club	Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Total	Wins	Black	H2H	TPR
1	Arkadij Naiditsch (Germany)	GM	OSG Baden-Baden	2715		½	½	1	0	1	1	1	5				2752
2	David Baramidze (Germany)	GM	SV Hockenheim	2599	½	Does not appear	0	1	½	½	1	½	4	2			2661
3	Daniel Fridman (Germany)	GM	Mülheim-Nord 1931	2633	½	1	Does not appear	½	½	½	½	½	4	1			2656
4	Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu (Germany)	GM	OSG Baden-Baden	2672	0	0	½	Does not appear	1	½	1	½	3½	2	0	1	2600
5	Matthias Blübaum (Germany)	IM	SV Werder Bremen	2521	1	½	½	0	Does not appear	0	½	1	3½	2	0	0	2622
6	Georg Meier (Germany)	GM	OSG Baden-Baden	2652	0	½	½	½	1	Does not appear	½	½	3½	1			2603
7	Dennis Wagner (Germany)	IM	SV Hockenheim	2499	0	0	½	0	½	½	Does not appear	1	2½				2523
8	Philipp Schlosser (Germany)	GM	OSG Baden-Baden	2582	0	½	½	½	0	½	0	Does not appear	2				2455

2015

Classic

The tournament was played between 2–9 February 2015. With an average rating of 2752, it was the strongest edition of Grenke Chess in its history.^{[10][verification needed]} Among the participants were Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, Viswanathan Anand and Levon Aronian. The winner was Magnus Carlsen, who eventually won a five-game tiebreak with Arkadij Naiditsch with a score of 3–2 (two rapid, two blitz and one armageddon game).^[11][12]

3rd Grenke Chess Classic, 2–9 February 2015, Baden-Baden, Germany, Category XX (2750)

	Player	Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Total	TB	Wins	TPR
1	Magnus Carlsen (Norway)	2865		0	1	½	½	½	1	1	4½	3		2835
2	Arkadij Naiditsch (Germany)	2706	1	Does not appear	½	½	½	½	½	1	4½	2		2858
3	Michael Adams (England)	2738	0	½	Does not appear	½	½	½	1	1	4		2	2802
4	Fabiano Caruana (Italy)	2811	½	½	½	Does not appear	1	½	½	½	4		1	2791
5	Levon Aronian (Armenia)	2777	½	½	½	0	Does not appear	½	1	½	3½		1	2746
6	Étienne Bacrot (France)	2711	½	½	½	½	½	Does not appear	½	½	3½		0	2755
7	Viswanathan Anand (India)	2797	0	½	0	½	0	½	Does not appear	1	2½			2641
8	David Baramidze (Germany)	2594	0	0	0	½	½	½	0	Does not appear	1½			2544

Notes

• Final rapid/blitz/armageddon tie-break: Magnus Carlsen def. Arkadij Naiditsch, 3–2.^[13]
• FIDE Ratings as of February 2015.^[14]

2016

Open

The 2016 open tournament (section A) was won by Matthias Blübaum with a score of 7½/9. Blübaum thus qualified for the Grenke Chess Classic 2017.^[15]

2017

Classic

The 2017 tournament took place from 15 to 22 April in Karlsruhe and Baden-Baden.^[16]

4th Grenke Chess Classic, 15–22 April 2017, Karlsruhe — Baden-Baden, Germany, Category XX (2730)

	Player	Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Total	Wins	Black	H2H	TPR
1	Levon Aronian (Armenia)	2774		½	½	1	1	1	1	½	5½	4			2953
2	Fabiano Caruana (United States)	2817	½	Does not appear	½	1	0	½	½	1	4	2			2767
3	Magnus Carlsen (Norway)	2838	½	½	Does not appear	½	½	½	½	1	4	1			2764
4	Arkadij Naiditsch (Azerbaijan)	2702	0	0	½	Does not appear	½	1	1	½	3½	2	2		2733
5	Hou Yifan (China)	2649	0	1	½	½	Does not appear	0	½	1	3½	2	1		2741
6	Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France)	2803	0	½	½	0	1	Does not appear	1	½	3½	2	0		2719
7	Matthias Blübaum (Germany)	2634	0	½	½	0	½	0	Does not appear	½	2	0	0	½	2585
8	Georg Meier (Germany)	2621	½	0	0	½	0	½	½	Does not appear	2	0	0	½	2587

Open

The 2017 open tournament (section A) was won by Nikita Vitiugov with a score of 7½/9.^[17] He thus qualified for the Grenke Chess Classic 2018.

2018

Classic

5th Grenke Chess Classic, 31 March – 9 April 2018, Karlsruhe — Baden-Baden, Germany, Category XX (2736)

	Player	Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Wins	Black	H2H	TPR
1	Fabiano Caruana (United States)	2784		½	1	1	½	½	1	½	½	1	6½	4	3		2896
2	Magnus Carlsen (Norway)	2843	½	Does not appear	½	½	½	½	1	½	1	½	5½	2	1		2803
3	Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France)	2789	0	½	Does not appear	½	½	½	½	1	1	½	5	2	1	½	2772
4	Nikita Vitiugov (Russia)	2735	0	½	½	Does not appear	½	1	½	½	½	1	5	2	1	½	2778
5	Levon Aronian (Armenia)	2794	½	½	½	½	Does not appear	½	1	½	½	½	5	1	0		2772
6	Matthias Blübaum (Germany)	2631	½	½	½	0	½	Does not appear	½	1	½	½	4½	1	0		2747
7	Arkadij Naiditsch (Azerbaijan)	2701	0	0	½	½	0	½	Does not appear	½	½	1	3½	1	1		2659
8	Viswanathan Anand (India)	2776	½	½	0	½	½	0	½	Does not appear	½	½	3½	0	0	½	2651
9	Hou Yifan (China)	2654	½	0	0	½	½	½	½	½	Does not appear	½	3½	0	0	½	2664
10	Georg Meier (Germany)	2648	0	½	½	0	½	½	0	½	½	Does not appear	3	0	0		2620

The tiebreaks were as follows: 1) number of wins; 2) number of black wins; 3) head-to-head.^[18][19]

Open

The 2018 open tournament (section A) was won by 13-year-old IM Vincent Keymer with a score of 8/9, who also achieved a grandmaster norm in the process.^[20][21] He thus qualified for the Grenke Chess Classic 2019.^[22]

2019

Classic

6th Grenke Chess Classic, 20–29 April 2019, Karlsruhe — Baden-Baden, Germany, Category XIX (2724)

	Player	Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Wins	Black	H2H	TPR
1	Magnus Carlsen (Norway)	2845		½	½	1	1	½	1	1	1	1	7½				2983
2	Fabiano Caruana (United States)	2819	½	Does not appear	1	½	½	½	½	½	1	1	6				2838
3	Arkadij Naiditsch (Azerbaijan)	2695	½	0	Does not appear	½	0	1	½	½	1	1	5	3			2770
4	Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France)	2773	0	½	½	Does not appear	½	½	½	½	1	1	5	2			2761
5	Peter Svidler (Russia)	2735	0	½	1	½	Does not appear	½	0	½	1	½	4½	2	1	½	2722
6	Viswanathan Anand (India)	2774	½	½	0	½	½	Does not appear	½	1	0	1	4½	2	1	½	2718
7	Levon Aronian (Armenia)	2763	0	½	½	½	1	½	Does not appear	½	½	½	4½	1			2719
8	Francisco Vallejo Pons (Spain)	2693	0	½	½	½	½	0	½	Does not appear	½	1	4				2693
9	Georg Meier (Germany)	2628	0	0	0	0	0	1	½	½	Does not appear	0	2	1	1		2514
10	Vincent Keymer (Germany)	2516	0	0	0	0	½	0	½	0	1	Does not appear	2	1	0		2527

Open

The 2019 open tournament (section A) was won by Daniel Fridman with a score of 7½/9. Fridman thus qualified for the next edition of the Grenke Chess Classic, which wasn't held until 2024.

2020–2023

The 2020 edition was cancelled on short notice due to COVID-19 pandemic, which continued to prevent the event from being held in subsequent years until 2024.^[3][23]

2024

Classic

The tournament returned in 2024 after a five-year hiatus. For the first time, the tournament was played in a rapid time control (45+10) instead of the former classical time control.^[4] The format was also changed into a double round-robin tournament (2 games with reversed colors against each player), followed by playoffs to decide places 1, 3 and 5. Magnus Carlsen won the tournament.^[24]

7th Grenke Chess Classic, 26–31 March 2024, Karlsruhe — Baden-Baden, Cat. XIX (2724)

	Player	Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	Total
1	Magnus Carlsen (Norway)	2823	Does not appear	0 1	½ ½	1 1	½ ½	1 1	7
2	Richárd Rapport (Hungary)	2708	1 0	Does not appear	0 ½	½ 1	½ 1	1 ½	6
3	Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France)	2755	½ ½	1 ½	Does not appear	½ ½	½ ½	0 ½	5
4	Vincent Keymer (Germany)	2627	0 0	½ 0	½ ½	Does not appear	½ 1	½ ½	4
5	Ding Liren (China)	2818	½ ½	½ 0	½ ½	½ 0	Does not appear	½ ½	4
6	Daniel Fridman (Germany)	2575	0 0	0 ½	1 ½	½ ½	½ ½	Does not appear	4

4th-place tiebreaker

	Player	Rating	1	2	3	Total
4	Vincent Keymer (Germany)	2627	Does not appear	½ 1	1 -	2.5
5	Ding Liren (China)	2818	½ 0	Does not appear	0 1	1.5
6	Daniel Fridman (Germany)	2575	0 -	1 0	Does not appear	1

Match for 5th place

	Player	Rating	1	2	Total
5	Ding Liren (China)	2818	1	½	1.5
6	Daniel Fridman (Germany)	2575	0	½	0.5

Match for 3rd place

	Player	Rating	1	2	B1	B2	Total
3	Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France)	2755	½	½	½	1	2.5
4	Vincent Keymer (Germany)	2627	½	½	½	0	1.5

Match for 1st place

	Player	Rating	1	2	Total
1	Magnus Carlsen (Norway)	2823	1	½	1.5
2	Richárd Rapport (Hungary)	2708	0	½	0.5

Open

The 2024 open tournament (section A) was won by Hans Niemann with a score of 8/9. Niemann thus qualified for the Grenke Chess Classic 2025. Since that edition was cancelled following the announcement of a new Freestyle open, he was invited to the Paris Freestyle Chess Grand Slam to compensate for the lost invite.^[25] However, he later withdrew from that event due to personal reasons.^[26]

2025

Freestyle Open

Main article: Grenke Freestyle Chess Open

The 2025 Freestyle (Chess960) open tournament (section A) was won by Magnus Carlsen with a perfect score of 9/9.^[27] Parham Maghsoodloo finished second on tiebreaks and qualified for the Las Vegas Freestyle Chess Grand Slam, since Carlsen had already qualified.^[28]

Open

The 2025 regular open tournament (section A) was won by 17-year-old IM Aswath S with a score of 8/9, who earned his maiden grandmaster norm in the process.^[29][27]