The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour will officially start on July 16 - Photo: chess.com
From July 16 to 20, the Wynn Las Vegas hotel will become the center of the world chess world at the fourth stage of the Grand Slam Tour, where world-class players compete.
Not only is this the first time Freestyle Chess has been held in the United States, but it also marks a historic milestone as it is the first Grand Slam tournament to open its doors to fans to watch live.
Notably, the tournament featured the presence of world number 1 GM Magnus Carlsen, who won two of the first three stages. Along with that was the appearance of his arch-rival, “Lightning God” Hikaru Nakamura at the tournament.
Magnus Carlsen won two of the first three stages of the Freestyle Chess tournament - Photo: Freestyle chess
A special highlight of this tournament is that half of the players will be representatives of the host country, the United States. Besides Hikaru Nakamura, fans will meet familiar names such as grandmasters Fabiano Caruana and Levon Aronian, who have shown impressive performances in the previous three stages.
Next, grandmaster Leinier Dominguez also received an invitation to participate thanks to his excellent performance in Karlsruhe. This promises to bring dramatic matches to the home audience.
Also competing in Vegas are Arjun Erigaisi and Nodirbek Abdusattorov (ranked 3rd and 6th in the world). In particular, the appearance of Parham Maghsoodloo, who won a ticket to Las Vegas thanks to his excellent performance at the Grenke Freestyle Open (a tournament that Carlsen won in a historic way with a perfect 9/9 points). Along with the 2019 Fischer-Random World Champion, Wesley So promises to add drama to the tournament.
Carlsen currently leads the tour after the first three stages, having won the last two in Paris and Karlsruhe. The eventual winner of the tour will be crowned the first Freestyle Chess champion in history.
For the first time, the tournament will use 10+10 (10 minutes for each player and 10 seconds added after each move) in the round-robin group stage and 30+30 in the knockout stages.
The tournament has also been shortened to five days. It includes a group stage and then a double-elimination bracket. But only the winners' bracket players have a chance to compete for the championship.
The event will be held at the luxurious Wynn Las Vegas hotel and will be the first Freestyle Chess stop open to a live audience.
Fans can purchase tickets ranging from $90 for general admission to $550 for a VIP experience that includes meeting the players and access to private areas.
Freestyle Chess is making a significant impact in the chess world, backed by a $20 million investment fund and co-founded by tech entrepreneur Jan Henric Buettner. There are a total of six events scheduled for the 2025 tour. And each event has a total prize pool of $750,000, with the champion taking home $200,000. This is one of the highest prize pools ever seen in a chess event of its kind.
Currently, the tournament organizers are still selling tickets for audiences who want to watch the top players compete - Photo: screenshot
The event was originally scheduled to be held in New York but has been moved to the glitzier entertainment capital of the world. Just days before the Grand Slam begins, Chesstival will kick off on July 13. It is a star-studded single-elimination chess event, featuring current and former NBA players competing for $50,000 in charity.
NBA legend and Freestyle investor Derrick Rose is expected to compete. The tour is off to a successful start with three first events in Weissenhaus, Paris and Karlsruhe.
These tournaments have greatly increased interest in Free Chess – a chess variant also known as Chess960/Fischer Random, where pieces are randomly arranged on the first and last rows, and opening preparation is completely eliminated.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/16-dai-kien-tuong-hang-dau-the-gioi-den-las-vegas-20250716114713232.htm
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