The much-awaited Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Las Vegas 2025 is finally starting today on 16 July 2025. The tournament will take place at the luxurious Wynn Las Vegas. It’s part of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour 2025 and marks the third leg following Paris and Grenke.
What makes this tournament truly unique is the Chess960 format, also called Fischer Random Chess, where the starting positions are randomized, pushing players to showcase pure talent over memorized openings. However, what makes this leg, the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Las Vegas 2025, stand out is the absence of the world champion, Gukesh D. Gukesh, featured in both legs that took place before and showed poor results; however, his abrupt absence this year has surely raised eyebrows. In his absence, R. Praggnanandhaa, Vidit Gujrathi, and Arjun Erigiasi will handle the Indian front.
Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Las Vegas 2025 Format
The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Las Vegas 2025 will be held in the vast 50,000-square-foot Lafite Ballroom, welcoming live spectators for one of the first times on U.S. soil. It features 16 of the world’s top grandmasters battling it out over five days.
The action kicks off with a group stage in a round-robin format, with fast-paced 10 minutes plus 10 seconds increment games to keep things intense. The top 8 then move into a knockout double-elimination stage, where time controls slow to 30 minutes plus 30 30-second increment, raising the stakes under pressure.
Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Las Vegas 2025 Prize
The prize pool is a solid $750,000, also accumulating points for the grand tour championship finale, which is scheduled in Cape Town this December. This event is co-founded by none other than Magnus Carlsen, the former World Chess Champion, alongside Jan Henric Buettner.
Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Las Vegas 2025 Players
Alongside Magnus, fan favorites like Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, and rising stars such as Arjun Erigaisi, Praggnanandhaa, and Nodirbek Abdusattorov will be battling for glory. Here is the full list of participants at the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Las Vegas 2025.
- Magnus Carlsen
- Hikaru Nakamura
- Fabiano Caruana
- Hans Niemann
- Bibisara Assaubayeva
- Arjun Erigaisi
- Levon Aronian
- Wesley So
- Nodirbek Abdusattorov
- Leinier Dominguez
- Parham Maghsoodloo
- Vincent Keymer
- Ian Nepomniachtchi
- R Praggnanandhaa
- Javokhir Sindarov
- Vidit Gujrathi
Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Las Vegas 2025 Schedule
| Date | Stage |
| June 14–20 | Play-In |
| July 16 | Group Round-Robin |
| July 17 | Quarterfinals |
| July 18 | Upper Bracket Semifinals |
| July 19 | Lower Bracket Semifinals |
| July 20 | Finals |
Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Las Vegas 2025 Prize Money
| Placing | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1st | $200,000 |
| 2nd | $140,000 |
| 3rd | $100,000 |
| 4th | $60,000 |
| 5th | $50,000 |
| 6th | $40,000 |
| 7th | $30,000 |
| 8th | $20,000 |
| 9th-12th | $10,000 |
| 13th-16th | $7,500 |
Also Read: Women’s Chess World Cup 2025 Update: Round 3 Ends With Drama
