GM Parham Maghsoodloo took a step closer to qualifying for the 2027 FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship by taking out the latest edition of Freestyle Friday. Maghsoodloo scored 9/11 en route to victory, suffering only a single loss to one of Uzbekistan's Olympiad heroes, GM Nodirbek Yakubboev, along the way.

GM Oleksandr Bortnyk secured second place after winning his last three games, while IM Sergey Sklokin and GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda rounded out the top four. 

WGM Dina Belenkaya commentated live on YouTube while participating, which you can view here:

An illustrious field of 112 masters participated in October's second Freestyle Friday, including no fewer than six current or former 2700 FIDE-rated players: Maghsoodloo, Yakubboev, Duda, Amin Tabatabaei, Gata Kamsky, and Vincent Keymer, graced the event with their presence.

The former women's world champion and GM Alexandra Kosteniuk, two-time women's world blitz champion GM Anna Muzychuk, and several prominent content creators also played, including the aforementioned Belenkaya, WFM Anna Cramling, and GM Eric Hansen. 

Less than a day after winning the first 3 0 Thursday of the week, Duda emerged as a frontrunner after besting Keymer in round six. Their duel had all the hallmarks and complexity of a clash between two super-GMs and it was fitting that the game was decided in the throes of time trouble.

Meanwhile, Maghsoodloo and IM Renato Terry were scrambling to join Duda at the top, although this encounter was a bit more soap opera than smooth. With four seconds left on the clock, the Peruvian IM missed checkmate in two with the beautiful 45.Ra4!!, which consequently left him facing a losing endgame. The position arose following Maghsoodloo's 44...Nc1??.

While still counting his lucky stars, Maghsoodloo seized an opportunity to punish loose moves played by both Duda and Keymer in rounds seven and eight. The Iranian may have still defeated Keymer if not for the dubious 44...Rd1??, which gave Maghsoodloo a clear path to victory with his industrious connected pawns.

By round nine, Maghsoodloo's closest challenger was the Indian GM Leon Luke Mendonca, who had only conceded two draws, though they didn't face off until round 10 after losing their respective round nine games.

Mendonca started well with the Black pieces, but a one-and-a-half-minute think on move 14 became the catalyst for his downfall. With an overwhelming time advantage at his disposal, Maghsoodloo controlled the game until his opponent had to play solely off his intuition.  

Notably, Duda had a chance to rejoin the leader. However, his hopes were dashed by 13-year-old Sklokin, who pounced on Duda's blunder 66...Qa8?? and snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

A peaceful draw between Maghsoodloo and Sklokin suited both players in the final round, Bortnyk and Duda won their games on demand to join the prize winners' circle.

Oct 9 Freestyle Friday | Final Standings (Top 25)

Prizes: Maghsoodloo $400, Bortnyk $250, Sklokin $150, Duda $100, Shuvalova $100.