Latest news with #FreestyleChessGrandSlamTour2025
News18
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- News18
What Is Freestyle Chess and Why It's Shaking Up the Game?
Last Updated: Discover the format, winners, prize money, and star players of the 2025 Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour. Freestyle Chess—also known as Chess960—is turning the traditional chess world on its head. Unlike classical chess, Freestyle randomises the back-rank pieces before every game, eliminating memorized openings and forcing players to rely on raw creativity, calculation, and adaptability. The format has quickly gained traction, drawing in fans and elite Grandmasters alike, thanks to its unpredictability and high entertainment value. The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour 2025 is a global series of elite tournaments structured to challenge even the best. Here's how it works: Online Qualifiers Two 9-round Swiss rapid events (10+2 time control) Top 3 from each qualifier advance to Grand Slam legs Main Event Format Tour Venues: From Germany to South Africa 1. Weissenhaus, Germany (Feb 7–14) 2. Paris, France (Apr 7–14) 3. Karlsruhe, Germany (Grenke Open) (Apr 17–21) 4. Las Vegas, USA (July 16–20) 5. Cape Town, South Africa – Grand Slam Final (Dec 5–12) Star Power: Who's Playing? The Tour features a who's who of the chess elite: Winners So Far: Who's Dominating? Weissenhaus: Vincent Keymer – Beat elite field to shock the world Paris: Magnus Carlsen – Defeated Nakamura in final (1½–½) Karlsruhe: Magnus Carlsen – Perfect 9/9 score Las Vegas: Ongoing – Tour Points System & Rankings Players earn points per leg as follows: 25 – 18 – 15 – 12 – 10 – 8 – 6 – 4 – 2 – 1. These accumulate toward overall standings, with the final in Cape Town deciding the Tour Champion. Prize Money: Big Stakes, Big Payouts Key Highlights Who's Behind the Tour? The tour is the brainchild of Magnus Carlsen and Jan Henric Büttner, German entrepreneur and media figure. Together, they launched Freestyle Chess Operations to bring chess to mainstream entertainment. What's Next? Las Vegas leg ends this week Cape Town Grand Final (Dec 5–12) 2026 plans: expand to five continents with $1M events First Published: 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.
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First Post
06-05-2025
- Sport
- First Post
Anand confident ahead of Gukesh vs Carlsen clash at Norway Chess: 'Indian men's chess is at its peak'
Viswanathan Anand has called the upcoming clash at Norway Chess 2025 between D Gukesh and Magnus Carlsen a 'perfect storm' and praised India's rising chess power. Despite recent struggles, Gukesh will look to bounce back strongly as he gets ready to face the world no.1 in Stavanger. read more Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand is super excited about the big clash between India's young star Dommaraju Gukesh and world no.1 Magnus Carlsen at the upcoming Norway Chess 2025 tournament. Anand backed Gukesh ahead of the much-anticipated match, calling it a 'perfect storm.' Anand backs Gukesh against Carlsen 'We have the perfect storm. Gukesh won't be lacking motivation. But Magnus, too, is inspired by the challenge of facing our young talents. We can expect some epic battles,' Anand said. Anand also talked about India's rise in chess. 'Indian men's chess is at its peak. And with Humpy and Vaishali both competing, our women's game is on the rise too.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The tournament will take place in Stavanger, Norway from 26 May to 6 June. Gukesh, who is just 18 years old, has not been in great form in the recent past. Although, he recently became the world's youngest classical world chess champion, led India to gold at the Chess Olympiad, and also won the Tata Steel Masters, he hasn't performed at his best. Gukesh finished 11th out of 12 players in the Paris leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour 2025, where Carlsen took the first prize. He also failed to do well in the Weissenhaus leg, where he took the eighth spot in the final standings. Carlsen secured the third spot in the same event. It will be interesting to see how Gukesh performs against the five-time world champion in Norway. Norway Chess 2025 is packed with top players. Big names like Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, Arjun Erigaisi, and Wei Yi will be playing in the men's category. The women's group is also strong, with Ju Wenjun, Koneru Humpy, Vaishali Rameshbabu, and Anna Muzychuk. Both groups will play under the same format and will get equal prize money. Norway Chess 2025 men's lineup Magnus Carlsen (Norway) – World No. 1 Fabiano Caruana (USA) – World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura (USA) – World No. 3 Arjun Erigaisi (India) – World No. 4 Gukesh D (India) – World No. 5 Wei Yi (China) – World No. 9 Norway Chess 2025 women's lineup Ju Wenjun (China) – World No. 2 Lei Tingjie (China) – World No. 4 Humpy Koneru (India) – World No. 6 Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine) – World No. 9 Vaishali Rameshbabu (India) – World No. 19 Sarasadat Khademalsharieh (Spain) – World No. 21
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First Post
25-04-2025
- Sport
- First Post
D Gukesh is 'universally accepted as world champion': Indian Grandmaster hits back at critics
While D Gukesh's ability to defend his World Chess Championship crown is being questioned, Indian Grandmaster Srinath Narayanan has come out in his defence. read more D Gukesh is under pressure after poor performance in Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour 2025. Image: D Gukesh on X Two back-to-back poor outings in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour 2025 have put chess world champion D Gukesh under increased scrutiny over his recent World Championship win. However, amid the growing criticism, Indian Grandmaster and coach Srinath Narayanan has thrown his weight behind Gukesh. Gukesh became the youngest world chess champion at 18 after beating Ding Liren of China in December last year. However, Gukesh's victory was criticised by former world champions Magnus Carlsen and Vladimir Kramnik for its perceived lack of quality. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Since becoming the world champion through a classical format competition, Gukesh has been mostly busy playing in the inaugural Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, which is played in the Fischer Random or Chess960 format. Gukesh had failed to win a single match in the first leg at Weissenhaus and while he ended the drought in Paris, the Chennai player eventually finished joint-last. Soon after, a video of Norwegian Grandmaster Jon Ludvig Hammer, a former main second for Carlsen, went viral in which he questioned Gukesh's capability to hold onto his crown. Gukesh 'has nothing to prove' Reacting to Hammer's comments, Srinath, who was the Indian men's team coach as they won gold for the first time in the 2024 Olympiad, said Gukesh is universally accepted as the world champion and he doesn't need to prove anything to anyone. 'I don't feel any particular attempt to downplay Gukesh as the world champion in general. He is universally accepted as the world champion and there is no questioning that,' Srinath told New Indian Express. 'Gukesh doesn't particularly need to prove anything to anyone. I also haven't noticed anyone mentioning that Gukesh won the World championship by luck. As for Gukesh's results in freestyle, I think 1-2 tournaments is far too early to draw any major conclusions.' While Hammer felt the challengers in the chess world are currently as good as the world champion and labelled it as a bad thing for the sport. Srinath said Gukesh has the ability to retain his crown in 2026 and even if that doesn't happen, a competitive rivalry is not bad for any sport. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Gukesh certainly has the ability to keep the crown. But it will definitely not be easy and his next challenger could very well be one of his compatriots from India or from his age group. Him and his trainers will have the best idea on what he needs to do to improve and defend his title,' Srinath shared with New Indian Express. 'I don't think a competitive rivalry will have any negative effect on the sport. For example, in tennis for a period of time we had Federer (Roger), Nadal (Rafael) and Djokovic (Novak) all closely at the top and the rivalry was brilliant to watch,' he added.
