Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour sponsor Jan Henric Buettner has revealed he didn’t seek Magnus Carlsen’s approval before inviting Hans Niemann for Paris leg, who also confirmed his participation via social media.
Two months after he was crowned the youngest world champion in chess history and less than two weeks after nearly winning Tata Steel Chess, D Gukesh failed to win a single game in the opening event of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour in Weissenhaus.
Nakamura and Raina have also appeared on videos and live streams together, engaging in hilarious conversations while making playing a game of chess together. The 37-year-old American GM is yet to meet Raina in person and is looking forward to that interaction later this year.
Indian grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi has confirmed his participation in the Paris leg of the 2025 Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour. The tournament will be held in the French capital from 8 to 15 April.
While D Gukesh finished a disappointing eighth after failing to win a single game across eight days of competition, Vincent Keymer was crowned champion of the Weissenhaus leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour.
Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour Weissenhaus Highlights: Vincent Keymer, completes a fairytale triumph in Weissenhaus after beating Fabiano Caruana 1.5-0.5 in the final. D Gukesh, on the other hand, signs off without a victory after losing to Alireza Firouzja 0.5-1.5 in their seventh-place playoff. Follow our live blog for more updates.
With his 0.5-1.5 defeat at the hands of Alireza Firouzja in the seventh-place playoff on the final day of the competition, D Gukesh finished with 11 draws and six defeats across eight days of competition at the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour event in Weissenhaus, Germany.
Vincent Keymer pulled off the biggest triumph of his career so far after defeating Fabiano Caruana in the final of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour 2025 event in Weissenhaus.
American Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura added that his focus currently is on the unpredictable Freestyle Chess format as well as on the ESports World Cup later this year, and that the Classical format is no longer a priority.