 "D Gukesh is currently participating at the Tata Steel Chess tournament in Netherlands and will be traveling to Germany next for the first leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour. Image: Tata Steel Chess")
Reigning world champion D Gukesh’s dream of facing the likes of Magnus Carlsen and other top names in chess in front of his home crowd appears to be in danger with the Freestyle Chess reportedly mulling shifting the India leg of the Grand Slam tour later this year.
The Carlsen-backed Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour will be getting underway in less than a week in Weissenhaus, Germany (7-14 February), with the remaining legs taking place in Paris (8-15 April), New York City (17-24 July), New Delhi (17-24 September) and Cape Town (5-12 December).
Speaking to The Times of India, German entrepreneur Jan Henric Buettner – who co-founded Freestyle Chess Players Club as well as the lucrative tour with Carlsen – hinted at the India leg getting dropped from their 2025 schedule.
Buettner, who is also reportedly in talks with FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich to arrive at a truce with the world governing body after weeks of bad blood , added that the tour organisers are currently on the lookout for alternative venues while explaining why the Indian capital might lose out on hosting the fourth and penultimate leg.
“Delhi is the only tournament we haven’t finalised yet because we are receiving offers from other cities. They are offering hosting fees. If we get a seven or eight-figure offer from another location, we’ll go there,” Buettner told TOI.
“We’ve kept it (Delhi) as a placeholder until we secure an alternative venuem,” he added.
Buettner further revealed that he had reached out to Indian business magnate Anand Mahindra in London to secure his support for the inaugural Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, adding that he isn’t interested in any chess ventures other than Global Chess League.
World No 3 Gukesh , who had defeated Ding Liren to be crowned the 18th and the youngest chess world champion in December, is currently participating at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands, where he is sharing the lead in the Masters standings with fellow Indian R Praggnanandhaa .
The 18-year-old Indian Grandmaster, who had recently received the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award , is the only player guaranteed to participate in all five legs of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour – which will be played in the Chess960 format, one that was developed and popularised by late American chess icon Bobby Fischer.