Niemann Claim Freestyle Friday
By Cameron W. · Sat, 24 Oct 2026
Hans Niemann ended his week on a high. Two days after the U.S. Championship's final round, where Chess.com says his loss to Jeffery Xiong dropped him out of the 2700 club, he won Chess.com's Freestyle Friday on October 23.
Hans Niemann ended his week on a high. Two days after the U.S. Championship's final round, where Chess.com says his loss to Jeffery Xiong dropped him out of the 2700 club, he won Chess.com's Freestyle Friday on October 23. It is his third Freestyle Friday title and his first in the event's Championship era, and he got it by holding a chaotic draw against Aravindh Chithambaram in the last round.
A tight finish at the top
Niemann and Sina Movahed finished level on 9 points, and Niemann took first place on tiebreaks, with a score of 73.5 against Movahed's 61.5. No playoff was needed. Movahed had won the previous week's event, and Niemann's win denied him a repeat. Parham Maghsoodloo took third on 8.5, while Reza Mahdavi and Samvel Ter-Sahakyan tied for fourth. Niemann earned $400, Movahed $250 and Maghsoodloo $150.
How the event unfolded
Maghsoodloo made the early running. He was the last perfect scorer, reaching 6/6 before a draw with Rasmus Svane left him alone in the lead on 6.5/7. His next opponent was Movahed, and Chess.com's account has him no longer holding a share of the lead after that. By the end he was third. After nine rounds, Movahed led alone, pulling clear of co-leader Chithambaram.
Niemann's own run was uneven at first. He drew once and Movahed twice in the first four rounds, and then Niemann lost to Mahdavi after missing a counter-trick. After that he ripped off five straight wins, including one over Faustino Oro. In round 10 he beat Movahed head to head, which Chess.com calls the decisive game of the tournament, and Mahdavi dropped back.
The scare in the last round
That left Niemann needing only a result against Chithambaram in the final round to win outright. It did not go smoothly. Chithambaram sacrificed a piece, leaving two of Niemann's pieces stuck on g1 and h1, and the game turned chaotic. Niemann kept struggling but held the draw, which was enough for first place.
Oro finished eighth, and IM Le Thao Nguyen Pham won the women's prize.
