Magnus Carlsen recorded a heart rate of only 42 BPM in a match at the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour 2025 in Paris. He drew attention due to a lively contrast to the 108 BPM of his opponent Vincent Keymer. Carlsen has now progressed to the semi-finals alongside Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura and Vincent Keymer.
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If there was a doubt that Magnus Carlsen is built differently, he was put at rest during a stage match at the round of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour 2025 in Paris. The five -time world champion, known for his pressure under pressure, recorded an incredibly low heart rate of only 42 beats per minute (BPM).
Carlsen’s heart rate drew attention due to the strong contrast to the Vincent Keymer of Germany, whose heart rate increased to 108 BPM during the same match.
All players in the Freestyle tour are equipped with heart rate sensors as part of a data -based approach to monitor stress and development levels during gameplay. The contrasting figures between Carlsen and Keymer sparked a wave of online discussions, fans admiring Carlsen’s composure on the board.
Carlsen on the cardiac frequency of 42 BPM
Reacting to viral statistics, Carlsen minimized reading typically. “It is a nonsense. I think it was broken. But I feel calmer now,” he said after having finished the day as a joint topping in the round ranking alongside Ian Nepomniachtchi after 11 intense games spread over 48 hours.
The 34-year-old Norwegian qualified for the Paris Freestyle chess’s legs in Paris. He beat the Grand Master Uzbek Nodirbek Abdusattorov in the quarter-finals with a score of 1.5-0.5.
Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura and Vincent Keymar also qualified in the semi-finals after winning victories in their respective matches on Thursday. Keymer beat Ian Nepomniachtchi in an equal break to become the fourth semi-finalist after the end of their classic matches.
Nakamura was dominating with White to defeat Arjun Erigaisi from India with a score of 1.5-0.5 after winning his first quarter-final match with black pieces on Wednesday. Earlier, Caruana beat the local boy Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 1.5-0.5 to become the first player to reach the semi-finals.
The semi-finals will be played on Friday and Saturday, the world number 1 Carlsen will face the finalist of the leg of Weissenhaus Caruana and Nakamura against the winner of the leg of Weissenhaus Keymar.
Meanwhile, the world champion Gukesh lost his 3rd-2nd place in the 3rd place against Richard and finished 11th in the standings. Praggnanandhaa won his playoff match against Vidit Gujrathi to finish 9th.
