Latest news with #FreestyleChessGrandSlam
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
Delhi leg of Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour could be cancelled because of lack of interest from sponsors
The fourth leg of the 2025 Freestyle Chess Grand Slam tour, scheduled to be held in Delhi from September 17 to 24, could be moved to another venue outside India because of lack of interest from local sponsors, The Indian Express has learnt. 'We've always communicated that we'll only go to foreign countries or other cities where local sponsors are willing to contribute significantly. India would have been a great place because there are so many great players and we love all the players. But I am wondering why despite a lot of rich people in India and a lot of interest in chess, nobody has come forward yet,' Jan Henric Buettner, the man behind the Freestyle Chess tour, said on Friday. 'In Las Vegas, we're getting around $2 million from sponsors. But in India, despite my efforts to generate interest, no one has come forward to support the event. Without financial backing from India, there's no reason for us to go,' Buettner, a German entrepreneur, told The Indian Express. The relationship between the Freestyle Tour organisers and FIDE, the global chess body, is strained. FIDE had objected to the unauthorised use of official titles like 'World Champion' in the Freestyle Tour. FIDE also has a strong relationship with the All India Chess Federation (AICF) as former five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand is the world body's vice president. After the first two legs in Weissenhaus and Paris legs, the tour will move to its third leg in Las Vegas from July 16 to 20. It will be preceded by a three-day 'Chesstival' starting July 13, featuring a knockout-style celebrity chess tournament with current and former NBA stars. The Freestyle Tour in the U.S., set to take place at the Wynn Las Vegas, will also allow fans to watch the event live at the venue for the first time. The Freestyle Tour recently raised $20 million from investors, including former NBA MVP Derrick Rose, who will participate in the Las Vegas Chess Festival. Buettner explained the costs and partnerships expected from host cities. 'One Freestyle Grand Slam event costs about $4 million. Right now, we're covering 50% through sponsorships in the U.S., but from the next event, we'll aim for 60-65%,' he said. Buettner is still hopeful of generating sponsorship money from India. 'If a sponsor in India is willing to contribute $2.5 million… either in cash or kind… we'll cover the remaining $1.5 million. We'd also let the Indian sponsor handle regional marketing and keep all local revenue. We would not take any part of the revenue from the regional revenue in India,' he added. Buettner said that there is 'interest' from other countries willing to host the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam tour 'I've just stated facts… not disappointed at all. I'm very happy to go to India but first, I need somebody from India to raise their hand and say here we are, we do it together. We have a lot of other interests from the Middle East, from China, and from other countries and cities where we would expand next time like Australia, for example,' said Buettner. As earlier reported by this newspaper, the U.S. leg will feature 45-minute games with a 10-second increment per move, instead of the previous 90-minute games with a 30-second increment. The shorter format aims to condense the event from eight days to five, with both legs of a round played on the same day. Players will now compete in two 45-minute games with reversed colours in a single day, rather than spreading them over two days. The Paris leg featured four Indians — D. Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, R. Praggnanandhaa, and Vidit Gujrathi — among the 10 players. Germany's Vincent Keymer won the Weissenhaus leg, while Magnus Carlsen dominated Paris to claim the second event and lead the tour after the first two legs.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Chess icon Carlsen held to draw by over 140,000 players
Norwegian chess star Magnus Carlsen takes part in a press conference for the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam at the Weissenhaus Private Nature Luxury Resort. Gregor Fischer/dpa Norwegian chess star Magnus Carlsen had to settle for a draw in an online chess duel against more than 140,000 players. "Magnus Carlsen vs the world," organized by the portal started on April 4 and has now ended with a creditable result for all. Advertisement "Overall, 'the world' played very, very solid chess right from the start,' the 34-year-old Carlsen, a five-time world champion, said on Friday when a draw was already looking likely. Last year, the Indian grandmaster Viswanathan Anand won his match against "the world," but only against around 70,000 players.
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First Post
06-05-2025
- Sport
- First Post
No Carlsen vs Niemann at Paris leg of Freestyle Chess Tour as American Grandmaster makes surprise withdrawal
The much-anticipated clash between Magnus Carlsen and Hans Niemann won't happen at the Paris leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, as the American Grandmaster has pulled out of the event. The organisers have named a new replacement. read more Hans Niemann pulled out from Paris leg of Freestyle Chess Grand Slam without giving any reason. Image: Hans Niemann on X There will be no Magnus Carlsen vs Hans Niemann match at the upcoming Paris leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour 2025. Niemann has pulled out of the event with only a few days to go for the chess tournament. The news of Niemann pulling out of the Paris leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour was shared by the organisers on Saturday with the tournament set to start on Monday (7 April). Advertisement Abdusattorov replaces Niemann for Freestyle Tour Paris leg Uzbekistan Grandmaster Nodirbek Abdusattorov has been included in the tournament as a replacement for Niemann. 'Hans Niemann has withdrawn last minute and Nodirbek Abdusattorov will replace him,' Freestyle Chess Tour organisers said on Instagram. The exact reasons behind Niemann's withdrawal have not been shared by the organisers. Niemann keeps silence on withdrawal from Freestyle Tour Niemann has not released any statement or clarification from his end. On Tuesday he had posted a Ghibli-styled animated picture of him playing chess with former world champion Vladimir Kramnik on his X account with the caption" 'Coming soon to Paris.' Earlier, talking about the opportunity to play in Freestyle Tour, Niemann had said; 'I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to compete in the Freestyle Paris edition… No matter what opportunities come my way, I will continue to let my chess speak for itself. Thank you to everyone who has supported me on this journey.' Niemann's withdrawal has robbed chess fans of a chance to see him once again take on world No.1 Carlsen who had accused the American Grandmaster of cheating in 2022. The cheating accusation led to a $100 million lawsuit, which was eventually settled out of court. The controversy was rekindled recently after Carlsen spoke about it on Joe Rogan's podcast and Niemann hit back at him by accusing him of trying to destroy the life of a teenager. Advertisement Freestyle Tour in Paris: All you need to know Nonetheless, the Paris leg of the Freestyle Chess Tour will kick-off on 7 April at the Pavillon Chesnaie du Roy which is inside the historic Bois de Vincennes in Paris. The first two days will involve round-robin matches between 12 chess Grandmasters. Eight of them will then qualify for the knockouts. The next six days of the tournament will witness classical time-control knockout matches with the final taking place on 14 April. Germany's Vincent Keymer won the first leg of the Grand Slam tour in Weissenhaus. Besides Keymer, Abdusattorov and Carlsen, other players in the Paris tournament will be Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Richard Rapport (replacing Alireza Firouzja), Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, D Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, R Praggnanandhaa and Vidith Gujrathi. The Freestyle Tour in Paris has a price pool of $7,50,000 and the winner is guaranteed of $2,00,000 prize money.
