Magnus Carlsen scored 9 wins to win the January 2 Freestyle Friday tournament with 9 points. Runner-up GM Matthias Bluebaum won 8 times and drew twice, which led him to finish second with 9 points as well.

Two players finished with 9 points and five players with 8 points, requiring a tiebreak to decide the final standings. The Freestyle Friday Top 5 (January 2, 2026) are:

1. GM Magnus Carlsen – 9 points (TB: 75.5)
2. GM Matthias Bluebaum – 9 points (TB: 67.5)
3. GM Dmitry Andreikin – 8.5 points (TB: 71)
4. IM Eray Kilic – 8 points (TB: 72)
5. GM M Pranesh – 8 points (TB: 71)

Freestyle Friday is a weekly Chess.com event for verified titled players, featuring the Chess960 variant. The event is an 11-round Swiss tournament with a 3+1 time control featuring a $1,000 weekly prize fund.

Credit: Lennart Ootes