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D Gukesh missing as Freestyle Chess announces full line-up for Las Vegas Grand Slam; Bibisara set to make history
After taking part in Weissenhaus and Paris Grand Slams, D Gukesh will miss Freestyle Chess Las Vegas event. Image: FIDE on X
Chess world champion D Gukesh's name was missing as the Freestyle Chess organisers on Tuesday announced the full line-up for the Las Vegas Grand Slam 2025. The Freestyle Chess Las Vegas Grand Slam will take place from 16-20 July.
The Las Vegas Grand Slam, which will take place at Wynn Resorts, is also going to be historic as Kazakhstani professional chess player Bibisara Assaubayeva will become the first woman to compete in a Freestyle Chess Grand Slam.
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Hans Niemann, who pulled out of the Paris Grand Slam at the last minute, will also be a part of the event in Las Vegas after qualifying for the tournament through a qualifier on Chess.com.
Naturally, fans will be looking forward to his clash with world No.1 Magnus Carlsen, who recently hit the 2900 Elo rating in Freestyle chess .
Besides Carlsen, Niemann and Assaubayeva, the remaining players in the line-up are: Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, Arjun Erigaisi, Levon Aronian, Wesley So, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Leinier Dominguez, Parham Maghsoodloo, Vincent Keymer, Ian Nepomniachtchi, R Praggnanandhaa, Javokhir Sindarov and Vidit Gujrathi.
No clarity on why Gukesh is missing
There's no clarity on why 19-year-old world champion Gukesh is not a part of the Las Vegas Grand Slam. The organisers have not announced anything officially, but Gukesh may have decided to take a break after the Norway Chess 2025, where he finished third and defeated Carlsen for the first time in Classical chess.
The full lineup is out! Who are you most excited to see compete in Vegas? pic.twitter.com/JmWgtFarnh — Freestyle Chess (@chess_freestyle) June 23, 2025
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Gukesh has also not had a great run in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam events so far, finishing eighth at the inaugural event in Weissenhaus and 11th in Paris. He is 16th in the overall standings.
In Gukesh's absence, Erigaisi, Praggnanandhaa and Gujrathi will be representing India.
Carlsen currently leads the standings after two legs, with 65 points. He also won the Paris leg of the event, while American Grandmaster Caruana is in the second spot (39 points).
Germany's Keymer, who won the inaugural Weissenhaus leg, is in the third spot (37 points).
The leader at the end of the five legs will be crowned the Freestyle Chess Champion.
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First Post
25 minutes ago
- First Post
Divya Deshmukh, Koneru Humpy play out sedate draw in Game 1 of FIDE Women's World Cup final
IM Divya Deshmukh held GM Koneru Humpy to a 41-move stalemate while playing with white pieces in Game 1 if the FIDE Women's World Cup final in Batumi, Georgia despite committing a knight blunder in her 12th move. read more Grandmaster Koneru Humpy and International Master Divya Deshmukh in action during the all-Indian final of the 2025 FIDE Women's World Cup in Batumi, Georgia. Image: FIDE The FIDE Women's World Cup final between Grandmaster Koneru Humpy and International Master Divya Deshmukh was off to a sedate start in Batumi, Georgia on Saturday with the two Indians playing out a draw. Divya played as white in the first Classical game of the final, which began with a Queen's Gambit opening, and managed to hold her ground despite committing a blunder with her knight (12. Nxc4) along with a couple of other questionable moves. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD It wasn't just the two Indians playing out a draw on Saturday, with the all-Chinese showdown between Lei Tingjie and Tan Zhongyi for the third place also ending in a 34-move stalemate. Lei and Tan had lose to Humpy and Divya respectively in the semi-finals, the latter in the tie-breaks where she was leading 3-2 at one stage. Humpy and Divya set up exciting Day 2 of World Cup final With Humpy and Divya collecting half-a-point each as a result of the stalemate in Game 1, the second Classical game that takes place on Sunday becomes something of a decider so long as one of the two emerges triumphant. Should both Classical games end in a draw, the winner of the 2025 FIDE Women's World Cup will be decided through a series of tie-breaks with decreasing time controls, starting with two 15+10 games following by two 10+10 games. Game 1 of the Final between 🇮🇳 Divya Deshmukh and 🇮🇳 Humpy Koneru ends in a draw! #FIDEWorldCup — International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) July 26, 2025 Divya will be hoping to secure her Grandmaster title without having to collect the three norms required to attain that status by virtue of being crowned World Cup champion. Humpy, on the other hand, will be aiming to collect her second major triumph in less than a year after being crowned women's rapid champion for the second time in her career last December. Both finalists have qualified for next year's Women's Candidates and will be accompanied by the winner of the Lei vs Tan face-off.


India Today
37 minutes ago
- India Today
Chess World Cup: Koneru Humpy, Divya Deshmukh play out a draw in Game 1 of the final
India's Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh played out a closely fought draw in the opening game of the FIDE Women's World Cup final in Batumi on Saturday, leaving the all-Indian contest finely poised heading into Sunday's second classical encounter. Teenager Divya, playing with the white pieces, gained an early advantage from the Queen's Gambit Accepted. Humpy later admitted to misjudging the opening phase, allowing her younger opponent to seize the was quite a complex game," Humpy said after the match. "I misplayed in the opening and she got a big advantage. I knew I was out of danger after h5 [on move 16]." Divya's sharp preparation appeared to catch the veteran off guard, with the position strongly favouring White after move 11. However, by the 14th move, Humpy had steered the game back to equilibrium, drawing on her vast experience to blunt Divya's early followed was a three-hour battle of strategy and precision. Divya, showing plenty of intent, continued to look for active chances but found herself under increasing time pressure. With less than five minutes remaining on her clock by move 25, the 19-year-old was forced into a time scramble. Humpy attempted to force a draw by repetition on move 29, but Divya declined and opted for a different line - a bold decision given the situation on the clock. The risk momentarily appeared to pay off, particularly when Humpy pushed her pawn to d5 on move 34 - a slight inaccuracy. However, Divya was unable to capitalise, and by move 41, with the same position repeated three times, the players agreed to a result ensures that the final remains delicately balanced. Humpy, who has looked in commanding form with the white pieces throughout the tournament, will have that advantage in Game 2, scheduled for Sunday. The third-place match between Chinese Grandmasters Tan Zhongyi and Lei Tingjie also ended in a second game of the final will begin at 4:45 PM IST (1:15 PM local time) on Sunday, 27 July. If the scores remain level, tie-breaks will be held on Monday to determine the winner of the 2025 Women's World Cup.- EndsMust Watch


News18
an hour ago
- News18
FIDE Womens World Cup final: Humpy draws with Divya in first game
Batumi (Georgia), Jul 26 (PTI) Young Indian International Master Divya Deshmukh held her nerves to hold stalwart Koneru Humpy to a draw in game 1 of the FIDE Women's World Cup final, with both players having their share of opportunities to take the lead here on Saturday. The draw with black means Humpy, the two-time World Rapid champion, holds a slight edge going in the second and final game under the classical chess rules in the two-game mini-match, and should the deadlock continue, games of shorter duration will be played to determine the winner. Humpy employed the Queen's gambit accepted as black and it turned out to be a pretty fascinating game right out of the opening as Divya, 19, came up with a piece sacrifice early to deny the black king the right to castle. Humpy was the first to err and, according to computers, Divya had things under control on the 14th move. However in her bid to recover the extra material, the Nagpur girl, who has secured a place in the Candidates tournament with her sterling performance here, missed a promising continuation. What followed the exchange of all minor pieces and the ensuing queen and rook endgame gave enough counter play to both players. The game was eventually drawn after Humpy sacrificed her rook to force perpetual checks. 'The game saw an extremely sharp battle with the game ending in a draw in 41 moves. On move 7, Divya made her aggressive intentions clear by offering another pawn, which looked like home preparation. Humpy made a practical decision of refraining from taking the pawn and a balanced position was reached by move 10 by white," said Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay, an Arjuna awardee and the first Indian to get a chess Grandmaster norm. 'However, instead of developing the undeveloped Knight, Humpy retreated the centralised Knight on move 10, giving huge positional advantage to Divya. Divya could have gained huge positional advantage on the 12th move by moving a rook. However, she chose to play for King side attack by sacrificing a piece instead. 'Humpy, too, erred at this stage and instead of moving the King to Queen side, moved it to the King side. Divya, on move 14, could have obtained a crushing attack by threatening a mate by developing her Queen. Instead she chose to exchange a pair of Bishops first, which enabled Humpy to defend her King by returning the piece," said Thipsay. 'Players thus reached a balanced Queen and two Rooks ending. Divya continued to play ambitiously and tried to attack Humpy's King but the latter defended accurately and the game was drawn in 41 moves by perpetual check," he added. In the play-off for the third place, Chinese players Zhongyi Tan, the former women's world champion and top seed Lei Tingjie also decided to split points out of a Queen's gambit declined game. The opening raised visions of a close contest between the two but having been knocked out of title race in the previous round, none of them wanted to take any huge risk. It was still a middle game when the players shook hands. With the top two positions sealed for the Indians, the berth to the next Candidates is also assigned, while the player finishing third will also get an entry to the premier event scheduled for 2026. Results: Divya Deshmukh (Ind) drew with Koneru Humpy (Ind); Zhongyi Tan (Chn) drew with Tingjie Lei (Chn). PTI Cor AM AM AM view comments First Published: July 26, 2025, 21:30 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.