Categories: Other Sports

Freestyle Grand Slam Tour 2025: Stage 1 Overview, Format, And Key Players

The Freestyle Grand Slam Tour 2025 started on February 7 in Weissenhaus, Germany, with top chess players worldwide. Stage 1 runs until February 14, followed by stages in Paris, New York, Delhi, and Cape Town. The player with the most points after Stage 5 in Cape Town will win.

Stage 1 of the Freestyle Grand Slam Tour 2025 features the world’s top three players and the new world champion D Gukesh. Along with Gukesh, the event includes Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, and other top players like Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Alireza Firouzja, Levon Aronian, and Vincent Keymer.

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How are players selected for the Freestyle Grand Slam Tour 2025?

Players are chosen based on specific criteria. Each Grand Slam has 10 players: the top three from the previous Grand Slam, the top three based on the classical FIDE rating, the winner of a major classical tournament, and the winner of a qualifying tournament.

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Vincent Keymer and Viswanathan Anand were given wildcards, and after Anand withdrew, Javokhir Sindarov was invited since he finished second in the qualifying tournament.

What is the Freestyle Chess format?

Freestyle Chess, also known as Chess960 or Fischer Random, is a variation of classical chess. In this format, the pieces on the back rank are randomly arranged at the start of the game, but they move the same way as in classical chess.

The black pieces mirror the white pieces, and the king must be placed between the rooks. The bishops must be on opposite-color squares.

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Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour Format

Each stage of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour starts with round-robin matches, followed by a knockout stage.

Round-robin time control: 10 minutes per game + 10 seconds added per move.
Round-robin format: Each player plays against the other nine once. The top eight players move on to the knockout stage.

Knockout stage time control: 90 minutes per game + 30 seconds added per move.
Knockout format: Players are eliminated after one loss.

Tiebreak system for the knockout stage:

Two rapid games (10 minutes + 10 seconds per move).
If still tied, two blitz games (5 minutes + 2 seconds per move).
If still tied, a bidding Armageddon game.

Freestyle Grand Slam Tour 2025 Stage 1 Schedule

Round-robin stage: 7-8 February
Quarter-finals: 9-10 February
Semi-finals and playoffs for 5th to 8th: 11-12 February
Finals: 13-14 February

Day 1 Pairings:

Round 1: 2025/02/07
Round 2: 2025/02/07
Round 3: 2025/02/07
Round 4: 2025/02/07
Round 5: 2025/02/07

Freestyle Chess Grand Slam LIVE Streaming:

The matches will be live-streamed on Freestyle Chess’s YouTube channel and Chess.com.

Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour Prize Fund:

Each leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour will have a prize fund of $750,000.

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Unnati Madan

Unnati is a passionate cricket writer with a deep love and understanding of the game. As a female cricket writer, she brings a unique perspective to the sport, having had to overcome various challenges to pursue her passion for cricket. Growing up, Unnati developed a love for cricket by watching matches with her family. She was always fascinated by the way the game was played, and would often spend hours reading about cricket, analyzing matches, and learning more about the sport. However, as a female in a male-dominated industry, she faced numerous obstacles to pursue her passion for cricket writing. Despite this, Unnati persevered and became an accomplished writer in the field. Unnati’s writing style is engaging and insightful, with a keen eye for detail and a deep understanding of the nuances of the game. Her articles are known for their depth of analysis, and she is often sought after for her strong opinions on the sport. Unnati has a unique ability to break down complex ideas and make them accessible to a wide audience, which has helped her build a large following of readers.