The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour is one of the most important tournaments in chess. The tournament features five legs taking place throughout the year across different countries. The first leg of the tournament concluded in February in Germany, where Vincent Keymer won the title. The last leg also saw shocking upsets and victories as Gukesh D. failed to claim a single win, while Vincent Keymer continued to reign at the top and defeated World Number 1 Magnus Karlsen.
With the standards the Germany leg set for us, we can expect the Paris leg to be extremely thrilling. It’s also notable because a total of 12 players will be participating in the tournament, eleven of which were pre-confirmed, while the 12th spot was taken by Vidit Gujrathi by winning the Chess.com qualifier. As opposed to the first leg, where only 10 players competed, the next leg promises intense competition with 12 players, out of which four belong to India. The tournament features a round-robin format followed by knockout rounds for the top eight players. The trophy will be given to the highest scorer at the end of the last leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, which concludes in December.
The Paris leg begins on 7 April and will end on 14 April at Pavillon Chesnaie du Roy in Paris, France. The tournament also features a massive prize pool of $750,000. Now, let’s take a look at the full schedule of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour.
Schedule Of The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour Paris Leg
| Stage | Dates |
| Round-robin phase | April 7-8, 2025 |
| Quarter-finals | April 9-10, 2025 |
| Semi-finals | April 11, 2025 |
| Playoffs (5th-8th) | April 12, 2025 |
| Finals | April 13-14, 2025 |
Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour Paris Leg: Prize Money Breakdown
| Place | Prize Money |
| 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 | $12,500 |
| 10th | $7,500 |
| 11th | $5,000 |
Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour Paris Leg: List Of Players
| # | Player | Federation | Rating |
| 1 | Magnus Carlsen | NOR | 2833 |
| 2 | Hikaru Nakamura | USA | 2802 |
| 3 | Gukesh Dommaraju | IND | 2787 |
| 4 | Fabiano Caruana | USA | 2783 |
| 5 | Arjun Erigaisi | IND | 2777 |
| 6 | Praggnanandhaa R | IND | 2758 |
| 7 | Alireza Firouzja | FRA | 2757 |
| 8 | Ian Nepomniachtchi | RUS | 2753 |
| 9 | Hans Niemann | USA | 2734 |
| 10 | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | FRA | 2725 |
| 11 | Vincent Keymer | GER | 2719 |
| 12 | Vidit Gujrathi | IND | 2720 |
Also Read: Indian GM Vidit Gujrathi Claims The 12th Spot At The Freestyle Chess Tour
