Freestyle Chess' Grand Slam Tour Will Make its U.S. Debut at Wynn Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Freestyle Chess, the innovative chess league co-founded by Magnus Carlsen and Jan Henric Buettner that prioritizes creativity over memorization, will bring their Grand Slam Tour to the United States for the first time this July. The event, hosted at Wynn Las Vegas, will kick off with 'Chesstival' on July 13, featuring current and former NBA players in a knockout-style chess tournament. Thanks to a partnership with Chess.com, $50,000 in total prize money will be donated to the charity of the winners' choice. The Grand Slam Tournament will follow from July 16 through July 20.
'Wynn Las Vegas offers an unparalleled stage to introduce Freestyle's high-energy, immersive format to the U.S. – not just as a game of strategy, but as a world-class spectator experience,' said Jan Henric Buettner, CEO and co-founder of Freestyle Chess.
For the first time, chess fans can experience Freestyle Chess live, as the 2025 Grand Slam Tournament opens ticket sales to the public. Hosted in Wynn's 50,000-square-foot Lafite Ballroom, the event will bring the tour's dynamic energy to life with immersive production, live commentary, and storytelling. Fans can choose from three ticket tiers: general admission, VIP, and private booths with player meet-and-greets – designed to offer a world-class experience. Tickets start at $90 and are available for purchase here.
'I really believe Chesstival is one of the biggest paradigm shifts, along with Freestyle Chess, that the chess world has ever seen, and I think they're going to help grow the game,' said former NBA MVP and investor in Freestyle Chess, Derrick Rose.
The event follows Freestyle Chess raising $20 million in funding from venture capital firms such as Left Lane Capital, as well as athletes like Derrick Rose to support the expansion of its operations and global footprint. The league features top-ranked players such as five-time World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen, reigning World Chess Champion Gukesh Dommaraju, and former World Rapid Champion Hikaru Nakamura.
Each Grand Slam Tournament event offers $750,000 in prize money, setting a new benchmark for chess as a global sport. The championship at the end of the tour will crown the first Freestyle Chess Champion, marking a historic milestone in the evolution of the game. Following the rules of Chess960 (Fischer Random), which randomizes starting positions, Freestyle Chess emphasizes creativity and strategy, leveling the playing field for even the world's best players.
For more information, please visit the Freestyle Chess website here.
About Freestyle Chess
Freestyle Chess was founded in 2024 by Magnus Carlsen and Jan Henric Buettner, to revolutionize the game of chess. Capitalizing on the boom of interest in the sport, Freestyle Chess incorporates a unique style of gameplay featuring Fischer Random and follows the players' heart rates throughout the matches. Working to democratize the sport, matches are available for free online, and players participate in press conferences and post-match interviews, keeping the company's events exciting for all audiences. This year, Freestyle Chess kicked off its Grand Slam tournaments in Germany, France with upcoming stops in the United States and South Africa.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
34 minutes ago
- USA Today
Don't worry about NBA Finals TV ratings. Appreciate Pacers-Thunder for what it is.
OKLAHOMA CITY — The email hit my inbox with the subject line 'Will viewers watch Pacers-Thunder?' The headline in the newsletter from Front Office Sports: 'History shows Pacers vs. Thunder may draw record-low ratings.' It's not the first time and won't be the last time that TV ratings accompany a discussion of this season's NBA Finals between Indiana and Oklahoma City. The small-market matchup has generated this idea that there isn't or won't be interest. The NBA biosphere seems to thrive on debate and criticism with an emphasis on how some aspect of the game isn't good enough and can be better. The reflexive contempt for teams not from the coasts or bigger markets is odd. It's not my job to sell this series. That's on the NBA and its TV partner, Disney's ABC, which is televising the Finals, with Game 1 on Thursday, June 5, at 8:30 p.m. ET. There are factors outside of the NBA and ABC's control. A short, lopsided and uncompetitive series can have an impact regardless of the teams playing. But this is a series that features this season's MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Thunder, three All-Stars in Gilgeous-Alexander, teammate Jalen Williams and Indiana's Pascal Siakam. Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton was an All-Star in 2023 and 2024 and is playing like an All-Star in the playoffs. Both teams are deep, play hard offensively and defensively and have tremendous coaches. Neither spent outlandishly, incurring millions in luxury taxes. In fact, neither will pay a luxury tax this season. They emerged as the two best teams in the league ‒ rosters assembled with a savvy eye on making the parts fit. The matchup should be celebrated and appreciated. The Pacers and Thunder are on the cutting edge of today's NBA. They play pressure defense, try to dictate a fast pace and have the versatility to go 10-deep. It's exactly what fans of basketball should want. The NBA is in an era that fans should embrace. It's not the same teams and same players season after season. It's not the teams with the deepest pockets getting to the Finals all the time. Young, talented players are exposed to a wider audience. The Thunder have been the best team in the NBA all season and combining regular-season and playoff victories, they have won 80 games in 2024-25. Since Jan. 1, the Pacers have been one of the best teams in the league. The two fan bases are unique given the teams' locations and relationships to the communities. The Thunder are the only major pro sports team in the city, and basketball's hallowed place in the heart of Indiana culture is well known. "I understand that there would be concern for how many people would watch because they're smaller markets," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "But if we're celebrating the game and we're putting the game above all, which is one of the things that Adam Silver said when he became commissioner, then it really shouldn't matter. … "So I know that we're going to do our very best to represent our city, our state at the best possible level. Thunder will do the same. This really hopefully is about the quality of the games. We got our work cut out for us there." If that's not compelling enough to get your interest, that's a you problem as much as anything. The Venn diagram of people who complain about the same teams and players getting to the Finals and complain about small-market teams in the Finals is probably close to a single circle. For the seventh consecutive season, the NBA will have a different champion, and this is the sixth consecutive Finals without a team that was in the Finals the previous season. This parity is not the result of one thing, but the NBA's collective-bargaining agreement with the players was designed to foster competitive balance. The CBA has teeth to it – mechanisms that make it more difficult for deep-pocketed teams to stack rosters. Those mechanisms are financially punitive and limit roster additions because of salary cap restrictions. In today's NBA, the Golden State Warriors would not have been able to add Kevin Durant to a roster with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green – without parting ways with Thompson or Green. Ahead of the 2023 CBA, the Boston Celtics built a roster featuring Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White and Kristaps Porzingis, and they are projected to pay nearly $240 million in luxury taxes and $230 million in salary – that's approaching nearly half a billion dollars, and that's why there is much discussion about the Celtics shedding salary and reducing their financial burden ahead of next season. In theory and practice, it leads to a greater distribution among more teams. This is what NBA owners – as a collective – wanted when they agreed to the CBA. It will be interesting to hear what Silver says about this Finals matchup when he meets with the media before Game 1. Regardless of ratings, the NBA has capitalized on multi-year TV deals. The NBA is wrapping up a nine-year, $24 billion deal, and the NBA embarks on a new TV deal next season that includes Amazon and NBC in addition to ESPN/ABC that is worth nearly $76 billion over 11 years. Silver has been agnostic on the topic of big-market teams vs. small-market teams winning titles. "As long as we can create something close to a level playing field in terms of the tools available to teams to compete, I'm absolutely fine with dynasties and I'm fine with new teams emerging every year," Silver said nearly a year ago. 'What the fans want to see is great competition. And for fans of whatever team they're rooting for, they want to believe that their team, regardless of the size of the market or the depth of the pockets of ownership, are in a position to compete in the same way the 29 other teams are." You can't force anyone to watch. Maybe it's a great Finals, maybe it's not. But dismissing the series before it begins means missing out on watching teams who envisioned how to win in today's NBA and made it happen. Follow NBA columnist Jeff Zillgitt on social media @JeffZillgitt .
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Former NMSU basketball star Pascal Siakam ready for NBA Finals
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Former New Mexico State basketball forward Pascal Siakam is ready for the 2025 NBA Finals. Siakam, an impact player for the Indiana Pacers, will play in the NBA Finals for a second time in his professional basketball career. Advertisement Siakam and the Pacers will take on the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2025 NBA Finals. Last time Siakam played in the NBA Finals was in 2019. The product out of Cameroon helped lift the Toronto Raptors to a championship series win over the Golden State Warriors to become NBA champions. Siakam is back in the NBA Finals, this time with the Pacers, an organization that is making its first NBA Finals appearance since 2000. Siakam, who played at New Mexico State from 2013-2016, has the chance to become a two-time NBA champion. Siakam and the Pacers will begin the 2025 NBA Finals on the road. Game one is being held at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, OK on Thursday. Tipoff is at 6:30 p.m. MT. The game will air on ABC. Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News.
Indianapolis Star
2 hours ago
- Indianapolis Star
Some folks unhappy about backed-up traffic downtown because of free 'Yes'Cers' giveaway
While thousands waited in line for their 'Yes'Cers' swag bags downtown, many took to social media to complain about the wait and the traffic jam the Pacers giveaway caused during rush hour. Major intersections gridlocked as drivers in quest of the Pacers gear formed a one-lane traffic flow to the South Pennsylvania Street side of Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Pacers organization gave out 5,000 swag bags to people in their cars from 4 to 7 p.m. on June 4 one day before the first game of the NBA finals in Oklahoma City. By 7 p.m., all the bags were gone. Some people managed to walk up and snag a gift bag, but Pacers Sports & Entertainment officials said they stopped that practice to make sure people waiting inside their vehicles in line had a chance. Just under two hours into the giveaway, officials said they had 2,000 bags left. Users online shared their frustrations that hosting the event during rush hour traffic was a bad idea and interfered with rush hour traffic even for commuters who had no interest in acquiring a bag.
