 "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.
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.
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.
As world champion, Gukesh is guaranteed an entry in all of the Grand Slam events.
In his 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.