Praggnanandhaa, take on Carlsen at Las Vegas Freestyle Tour
In a major first, the tournament has expanded to include 16 players and sees the debut of a woman competitor, Grandmaster Bibisara Assaubayeva of Kazakhstan, a two-time World Blitz Women's Champion. The event, which runs till July 20, follows a unique round-robin-cum-knockout format with rapid time controls of 10 minutes plus 10 seconds increment in the initial phase.
The participants are split into two groups — White and Black. The top four from each will progress to the Upper Bracket Quarterfinals, while the remaining will head to the Bottom Bracket. The knockout rounds will use a slower 30+30 format.
The tournament features six of the world's top chess players, including World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura, No. 3 Fabiano Caruana, and India's top trio — No. 4 R Praggnanandhaa, No. 5 Arjun Erigaisi, and No. 26 Vidit Gujrathi.
Other notable players in the fray include Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan), Wesley So (USA), Levon Aronian (USA), Hans Niemann (USA), Vincent Keymer (Germany), and Leinier Dominguez Perez (USA). Ray Robson and Samuel Sevian of the US have stepped in as late replacements for Iran's Parham Maghsoodloo and Russia's Ian Nepomniachtchi, who withdrew due to visa and personal reasons respectively.
The tournament boasts a massive prize fund of $750,000, continuing its appeal as one of the most lucrative and innovative events in modern chess.
The Freestyle format also includes promotional activities like the Chesstival, where top players engage with NBA legends in crossover challenges, underlining the sport's expanding entertainment dimension.
The tournament has gained a global following not just for the caliber of competition, but for its fresh, engaging presentation — blending sport, spectacle, and star power.
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