Press release from the Austrian Chess Federation
Chess at the opera: Keymer faces Austria’s super-talents at the Vienna State Opera
The impressive Tea Salon of the Vienna State Opera served as the venue. The original, magnificently decorated room in the heart of the building was once reserved for the Emperor as the “Court Festival Box Salon” and is now used only for special occasions such as honours, receptions and celebrations. It recently became the stage for a special chess event. For Vincent Keymer, who has lived in Vienna since 2025, the event also had a personal touch. Germany’s number one explained in an interview that can be read in Die Presse:
I come from a musical family, and as a child, I was often in the theatre and at the opera. So this is something nice, and the Vienna Opera is particularly special.
On Monday, Vincent visited the opera as a spectator for the first time, with Mozart’s “Così fan tutte” on the programme.
Chess at the opera (Photo: Andreas Tischler)
Vincent Keymer (Photo: Andreas Tischler)
Among the invited guests were Vito Cecere, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Austria; Dominik Mayr, vice-president of the Austrian Chess Promotion Association and Managing Director of Freedom24 Austria/Germany/Switzerland; and Bulat Latypov, Head of Communications at Freedom24 Europe. Alongside numerous members of the press, those present included Austrian Chess Federation vice-president Christian Fleischhacker, commission chairs Selina Jeitler, Sara Marinovic and Johanna Seiser, general secretary Sandra Schmidt, and national coaches Gert Schnider and Martin Huber.
Even before the clock simultaneous exhibition, four blitz games provided entertainment. Among others, Der Standard and Schach-Aktiv columnist Anatol Vitouch, himself a strong FIDE Master, and Austrian Chess Federation women’s officer Sara Marinovic faced Vincent Keymer. As a handicap, the German grandmaster received only three minutes on the clock, while each of his opponents had five minutes. The German super-grandmaster naturally won all the games comfortably.
Anatol Vitouch playing blitz against Vincent Keymer (Photo: Andreas Tischler)
The German ambassador, H.E. Vito Cecere, then opened the clock simul. Vincent Keymer received 45 minutes plus a 30-second increment per move for each game, while his four opponents each had 45 minutes plus a 10-second increment per move. Keymer began with the white pieces on all four boards and gained a noticeable time advantage already in the opening. While the guests initially enjoyed the special atmosphere of the salon in lively conversation, the boards increasingly became the focus as the contest went on. As the tension grew, the room became noticeably quieter before the games entered their decisive phase.
H.E. Vito Cecere opened the simul (Photo: Andreas Tischler)
Keymer scored the first point against Laurenz Borrmann, and shortly afterwards Lukas Dotzer also had to resign his game. The German grandmaster was therefore already leading 2–0. On the two remaining boards, however, Team Austria had the advantage. Robert Ernst had already obtained a promising position when Keymer offered a draw and pointed out that a threefold repetition would apparently arise. Robert Ernst decided to continue the game, and Keymer played on without formally claiming the repetition.
In the end, both Robert Ernst and Peter Balint scored full points, so the clock simul ended in a quite diplomatic 2–2 draw. The subsequent analysis confirmed that the threefold repetition mentioned by Vincent Keymer had indeed occurred on the board, and that Vincent would have won the simul with that draw. This “tricky” final result naturally calls for a rematch!
Special thanks are due here to Vincent Keymer. A clock simul with such limited thinking time against four young players who are themselves already almost at grandmaster level is no small matter, especially considering that Vincent had only just finished the super-GM tournament in Norway. The German superstar, at 21, has not only reached the very top of the world ranking, but also gives an extremely mature overall impression and approaches our sport with remarkable professionalism – before and after the simul he also gave four extensive interviews!
With this event, organiser and Austrian Chess Federation president Stöttinger was able, for the first time, to bring together his two greatest passions, chess and opera, and very happily hinted at a continuation.
The event was also a complete success in media terms: although the start of the Football World Cup naturally placed maximum demands on the sports desks, Der Standard, Die Presse, Kurier and Krone attended the event and reported on it throughout Austria. Many thanks to Freedom24, all our partners and helpers, and especially to the Vienna State Opera for its kind support and professional assistance!