Vincent Keymer once again demonstrated his exceptional talent on Wednesday by defeating World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in the semi-finals of the Weissenhaus Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour held in Wangels, Germany. The German player, who served as one of D Gukesh’s seconds during the World Chess Championship in Singapore last year, had already made headlines by winning the first game of the semi-finals against Carlsen on Tuesday, a result that sent shockwaves through the chess community.

Keymer followed up this impressive victory with another remarkable performance, managing to draw the second game against Carlsen, thereby securing his place in the finals. In an interview with the Take Take Take application following his victory, Keymer expressed his relief, stating, “Mostly I'm relieved that I managed to see out this very tough game. And also it's for me a personal incredible achievement to beat Magnus in a match.”

He further elaborated, “I mean, basically, even if I was in a must-win situation, that position would have been quite nice. I mean, my position was, I think, clearly better. I was up on the clock around 20 minutes. So, yeah, to get myself into that much trouble after that is really not something I'm proud of. But, yeah, it happened.”

Part of Team D Gukesh

Keymer served as one of Gukesh’s seconds during the recent World Championship, where the Indian Grandmaster triumphed over Ding Liren, making history in the process. The other members of Team Gukesh included Grzegorz Gajewski, Paddy Upton (mental conditioning coach), Radoslaw Wojtaszek, Pentala Harikrishnan, Jan Krzysztof Duda, and Viswanathan Anand (mentor).

When asked how he managed the pressure of competing against Carlsen in a critical moment, he remarked, “I was primarily focused on the moves because, at a certain point, it is unwise to dwell on everything else. Even if something goes awry after the game, there is insufficient time to reflect on what you missed or what could have been done differently. In that moment, it is essential to concentrate entirely on making the best possible moves, as I never felt that my position was beyond hope.”

He further added, “Indeed, while there was significantly more at stake than usual during these games, it does not alter the fundamental nature of the situation. It is simply a match against Magnus, compounded by my limited time and the complexity of the position, which is enough to induce considerable nervousness, at least for me.”

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