The two Chess Tigers Sven and Marina visited the GOAT Challenge in Weissenhaus. 
The place where the G7 meeting of the most powerful heads of state took place two years ago was now to be the venue for a strong Chess960 tournament. Since Chess960 was apparently not bold enough, the organizers around patron Jan Henric Büttner decided on the name Freestyle Chess.
In this chess variant, the starting position of the pieces is drawn at random. Intensive preparation is not advisable with 960 possible starting positions. What is required is an understanding of chess rather than memorizing theoretical variations. 
Magnus Carlsen, who says he believes classical chess needs reform, was the event's main attraction. Without Carlsen as a player, Büttner would not have provided the funding. World champion Ding Liren was also there, and like Carlsen, he will be taking part in the Grenke Chess Classic over Easter. It seems obvious that he will have to change something by then to get back into shape. His form curve also pointed downwards in the Weissenhaus. He lost the majority of his games.
The German colors were represented by Vincent Keymer, currently the only male German player of world class caliber.
The players on site could not complain about a lack of luxury. As Sven and Marina report, the property is both spacious and beautiful. The organizers have not skimped and have come up with lots of ideas for the participants. The experienced commentator duo Tania Sadchev and Peter Leko were brought on board for the live broadcast.
After a difficult start, Magnus Carlsen won the tournament in the final against Fabiano Caruana. Levon Aronian came third. Keymer ended up in seventh place. After his second place in the opening rapid tournament, he certainly expected more from himself. But it was still important practice for him against world class players. In Prague, where he will soon be competing in the Masters, he will certainly be able to use this to climb even further up the world rankings in classical chess. 
Büttner was enthusiastic about the event and already has the next idea with his GOAT challenge. There will definitely be a repeat of the tournament next year. There is also the idea of a worldwide GOAT series. We as chess fans can look forward to it
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