New Delhi: Vincent Kemmer was an International Master (IM) and was barely 13 years old when he first stamped his authority on home soil by winning the prestigious Greinke Chess Open title in 2018. Held in the German city of Karlsruhe, the Greinke Festival has always carried the proud weight of Germany’s rich chess tradition.In a poetic full-circle moment, Keymer, now 21 and also Germany’s No. 1, returned this year to capture the Greinke Freestyle 2026 title, edging out Maxime Vachier-Lagrave on a supreme tiebreak on the final day of the event, which this time became the world’s largest open chess tournament.
Hailing from a family of musicians, Kemmer has established himself as a permanent fixture among the world’s elite. Speaking to TimesofIndia.com in an exclusive interview, Kemer spoke about his recent victory, his unique journey, and what it’s like to take on the five-time world champion. Magnus Carlsen. Quotations.
Return to Karlsruhe
You recently won the Greinke Freestyle title in Karlsruhe, a place that means a lot to you. How would you describe the overall experience of winning such a big tournament?It has been a special place for me. I won the Open tournament in 2018 as a 13-year-old kid, which kind of started my professional chess career. So it’s always special for me to come back to Karlsruhe, play in this hall and play tournaments in this atmosphere. They have also greatly increased the number of participants, making it even bigger. It felt really amazing to win there again after a long time.Going into the final day, the standings were incredibly tight. How were you handling your nerves?I wasn’t too (panicked), I have to say, just because there’s not much you can do. At the end of the day, I felt like I was playing very good chess. So I knew as long as I kept at it and managed to keep my nerve, things should go well.
Vincent Kemmer Wins Greinke Freestyle Title (Special Arrangements)
Mastering the art of Freestyle Chess
You have become a dominant force in Freestyle Chess (Chess960). After winning at Weissenhaus last year and finishing fourth at the FIDE Freestyle World Championships this year, you are clearly at the top of the format. The format has been a mystery for the Indians. What are your tips for preparation?(Laughs) I’ve never prepared for freestyle, so I can’t really give any tips on that. I firmly believe that if you are a good chess player, you are also a good freestyle chess player. If you understand the positions, the structure, where the pieces belong and how they are functional, which I believe is part of being a good chess player, it is enough to understand the difference in a new starting position. It may be that if we continue this for a few more years and start repeating positions, preparation may make a difference, at least for the first few steps of a particular setup. But for now, I’ve never needed specific preparation for freestyle.Does this mean that freestyle is more about intuition than the deep calculations we see in classical chess?Definitely more, yes. To get a new starting position, you have many other options, but very few can be ruled out because you don’t know which move is good or bad. There is no defined center where the pieces are going or specific structures that you have analyzed at home. Those things just don’t exist, so it’s your intuition that tells you which direction to go.
Magnus Carlsen’s ‘Intimidation Factor’
You have now played many games against Magnus Carlsen. Is there a real “intimidation factor” when facing a player of his stature, and how do you handle it?Yes, I think it’s there. It’s a little different, but the more you play it, the less you realize that, yes, he’s an amazing chess player, but he’s also human, he can make mistakes, and you can beat him.
Magnus Carlsen (Photo: Freestyle Chess / Steve Bonhage)
For me, especially after beating him in a real match in Weissenhaus, things changed a bit because I had lost to him a lot before that. That doesn’t make him any less of a great chess player, but a large part of it is psychological. The more you realize you have the odds against him or that you can defeat him if things go your way, the more the mystery is solved.
Kaymer’s journey comes from a family of musicians.
You come from a family of musicians rather than chess players. How did your journey begin, and how did you make your way to becoming Germany’s No.1?Yes, it was typical as is everyone’s story. I come from a family of musicians, so chess didn’t really run in the family. I started playing chess at the age of five after discovering and developing a curiosity about chess. I annoyed my parents a bit until they showed me the rules, and then I realized I really liked the game.After that, I started going to local clubs, playing a bit, watching chess DVDs and eventually competing in youth tournaments, first regional, then national. I seemed to be doing well early on with relatively little training, so there was a sense that I might have some talent.I think an important part was that I never felt a lot of pressure to perform or be a certain type of player. At that age, I mostly enjoyed it, and maybe that’s why things went so well.At age 13, though, things got more difficult. I had already reached the 2400 rating on the 11th, but then I was stuck there for a long time. The Greinke tournament and that whole year was great for me. I fell short of my final Grandmaster standard in 2018, so it took another full year to complete it in 2019, when I was 14.He was still young, of course, but felt late compared to other top juniors my age. By then players like Praganandha and Nihal Sirin were above 2600. During COVID, I really pushed myself to catch up, and then at the Grand Swiss in Riga in 2021, I became Germany’s number one.
I used to play the piano, but that was a long time ago.
German Grandmaster Vincent Kemmer
You come from a family of musicians. Do you still find time to play an instrument?I used to play the piano, but sadly that was a long time ago. It still meant a lot to me, but it was no longer viable in terms of time. In Germany, I went to school normally, even though I was a chess professional. You don’t really have much choice there.I had special arrangements so that I could travel for the tournament, but whenever I returned home, I still had to go to school and write exams. Combining a semi-professional chess career with school was already difficult enough, and at times there was not enough time left for the piano.
The state of German chess
How would you describe the chess culture in Germany?Well, of course Matthias Blübaum had a great run, qualifying for Candidates and reaching 2700, so it’s nice to see German chess improving overall. We have talented players, but perhaps not many who stand out as exceptional. The support system for professional chess players in Germany is very different from places like India. For kids, it is possible to choose chess as a career, but the path is not really set for you, you have to struggle to make it work.Now, being in the top five in the world, I would say things work for me. Our national team is also very strong, and I hope we can fight for medals in the next Olympiad. If you look at most of these players, many still went to school normally, some even completed university degrees, and most had very little professional coaching, often just group training sessions. Considering this, it is remarkable how strong they have become.I was lucky to have the support of Peter Leko from the age of 13, and it has been amazing for me.
Vincent Kemmer with Peter Leko (Special Arrangements)
Speaking of Péter Lékó, he is known for his undying passion for the game. How is he as a coach?Well, like you said, he lives in chess, that’s for sure. Even though he barely plays these days, you can still feel his passion here. Especially in the beginning, to explain how things work, how to prepare for openings, how to approach your first major tournaments, and how to choose events.When I qualified for Grand Swiss 2019, for example, there were a lot of things I just didn’t know. You can figure these things out yourself, but that usually means getting it wrong a few times before you find the right approach. Having someone who has already done it all and been a top 10 player for 10 years helps a lot. Of course, not everything that worked for him worked exactly the same way for me, but it gave me a very strong starting point and most of the advice has been extremely helpful.
The most important update
A question for your fans: When are you going to update your Instagram profile picture? They feel it has been the same for a long time!(Laughs) It’s true! I’m going to do that pretty soon, I think. It’s definitely long term!Also read: With Judith Polgar, coach of De Gokesh as a follower, 12-year-old Arav Sarbalya turned to chess as a subject.
