Latest news with #FreestyleChessTour
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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 'Hans Niemann has withdrawn last minute and Nodirbek Abdusattorov will replace him,' Freestyle Chess Tour organisers said on Instagram.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.
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First Post
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- First Post
FIDE CEO rekindles memories of 'jeansgate scandal' while taking a fresh dig at Carlsen: 'Does it look appropriate?'
World No 1 Magnus Carlsen's ongoing feud with world governing body FIDE shows no signs of thawing with CEO Emil Sutovsky targeting the Norwegian icon as well as Freestyle Chess for the attire of top players the Grenke Chess Freestyle Open. read more Magnus Carlsen hasn't shared the best of relations with FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky since the 'jeansgate' scandal in December. Image credit: Freestyle Chess/FIDE The ongoing feud between Magnus Carlsen and FIDE rages on and shows no signs of a thaw with Emil Sutovsky, the CEO of what is the governing body for the sport, taking a fresh dig at the Norwegian Grandmaster as well as the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour recently. Sutovsky took to social networking platform X to air his grievances regarding the attires of top players during the prize ceremony of the Grenke Chess Freestyle Open in Karlsruhe, Germany. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD World No 1 Carlsen was among the participants in the event that offered Freestyle Chess Tour points as well a spot in the upcoming Grand Slam event in Las Vegas in July. And he ended up winning the event with a perfect score of 9/9. Sutovsky questions attire at Grenke Chess Freestyle Open prize ceremony The players who were on stage with Freestyle Chess co-founder Jan Henric Buettner however, were seen wearing casual attire – which is in stark contrast to the formal clothes worn by those competing at FIDE events such as the World Championship, Candidates among others. 'Now a serious question - as we get back to review the dress code for FIDE events this year,' Sutovsky wrote on X on Friday. 'Do you, as a spectator, feel it really does not matter?' 'I think Grenke was a great event with hundreds of amateurs - but I am talking specifically about the top players. The photo is from the prize giving ceremony. Does it look appropriate? And if you were the host/organizer, would you have welcomed similar attire? 'Apart of spectators we will obviously inquire the opinion of hosting country, sponsors, broadcasters. And then we try to see what players think about it. But first thing first,' the 47-year-old Azerbaijani-born Israeli GM added. Now a serious question - as we get back to review the dress code for FIDE events this year. Do you, as a spectator, feel it really does not matter? I think Grenke was a great event with hundreds of amateurs - but I am talking specifically about the top players. The photo is… — Emilchess (@EmilSutovsky) April 25, 2025 STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Sutovsky's comments brought back memories of the infamous 'Jeansgate' scandal that took place in the World Rapid and Blitz Championships in New York City in December. Five-time Classical world champion Carlsen had courted controversy after showing up wearing a pair of jeans, violating the tournament's dress code in the process. Also Read | Carlsen's infamous jeans that took the chess world by storm sold for a whopping Rs 31 lakh Carlsen refused to change his denims despite repeatedly being told to do so right away by the chief arbiter, which led to him pulling out of the Rapid championship halfway through the event. The 34-year-old, however, would return for the Blitz championship, where he would find himself embroiled in another controversy by sharing the title with Russian GM Ian Nepomniachtchi. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Indian Express
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Hans Niemann calls out Hikaru Nakamura for wearing headphones during prize money events: ‘Competitive advantage, double standards'
USA Grandmaster Hans Niemann questioned compatriot Hikaru Nakamura's integrity for wearing headphones during prize money tournaments. Apart from playing competitive chess, Nakamura is also a famous chess streamer with his subscriber count reaching millions. Taking a dig at Nakamura, Niemann called out the World No. 2, saying Nakamura is getting an unfair 'competitive advantage and double standard for the chess mafia's brand ambassadors'. A controversial figure in the chess world, Niemann has never shied away from expressing his opinions, nor has he remained out of the spotlight for long. He took to X (formerly Twitter), venting out his frustration by saying, 'Why is Hikaru allowed to wear HEADPHONES during prize money tournaments while others aren't. Clear competitive advantage and double standard for the chess mafia's brand ambassadors.' Why is Hikaru allowed to wear HEADPHONES during prize money tournaments while others aren't. Clear competetive advantage and double standard for the chess mafia's brand ambassadors. — Hans Niemann (@HansMokeNiemann) May 2, 2025 Niemann previously cited Magnus Carlsen and Nakamura as part of the chess mafia, lobbying against him. In the following post, he wrote, 'In any real sport, giving a competitive edge to someone you're financially invested in would spark a scandal. In chess, it's business as usual. Silence reigns when power is centralised and accountability is absent. Monopolies don't last forever, alternatives always appear.' Earlier, Niemann was back in action at the Grenke Open last month after his mysterious last-minute pull-out from the Paris leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour. Niemann was supposed to play at the Paris event of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, but had withdrawn without offering an explanation just two days before the event started. The organisers had found a last-minute replacement in Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Jan Henric Buettner, who is the force behind the Freestyle Chess Tour, had told the Take Take Take app that Niemann had refused to respond to his texts or emails and instead opted to write an email to another member of the organising committee to announce his withdrawal due to 'personal reasons' without explaining anything.
