Las Vegas Freestyle Chess Grand Slam

Las Vegas Freestyle Chess Grand Slam
Levon Aronian, the winner of the Las Vegas Freestyle Chess Grand Slam
Tournament information
SportChess variant (Chess960)
LocationLas Vegas, United States
Dates16 July 2025–20 July 2025
Tournament
format(s)
Single-elimination tournament with round-robin seeding round
Host(s)Freestyle Chess Operations
VenuePavillon Chesnaie du Roy
Participants16
Final positions
ChampionUnited States Levon Aronian
Runner-upUnited States Hans Niemann
3rd placeNorway Magnus Carlsen

The Las Vegas Freestyle Chess Grand Slam was a Chess960 tournament that took place in Las Vegas, United States from 16 July to 20 July 2025. It was the fourth leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, a series of Chess960 tournaments being held throughout 2025.[1]

Regulation changes

See also: Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour § Grand Slams

While the second leg had 12 participants playing in the main event, the number of participants was increased to 16 for the fourth leg. However, while before only the top eight players after the round-robin stage qualified for the main knockout bracket, now all the remaining eight players will still play for positions 3-16 in a modified double-elimination style format.[2]

Another change to the format was the time control of the games. The primary games of the tournament were changed from 90 minutes+30, to being 30 minutes+30. The main goal of this was to have both games be played on the same day, so as to shorten the events' length. The Rapid Round-robin and tiebreaking games, which were already a shorter time control, were unaffected.

Qualification

See also: Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour § Play-ins

All qualification matches were played online and were hosted by Chess.com. All non-titled players started qualification in one of two separate open qualifier events, which were held on June 14 and June 15 respectively, with the top three players from each event advancing to the Swiss stage.[3] 146 players participated in the Swiss stage held on June 18. It was open to all titled players. The top four players, Rasmus Svane, Denis Lazavik, Pranesh M, and Martyn Kravtsiv advanced to the 16-player knockout stage.[4]

Twelve players from the Freestyle Chess Players Club were invited directly to the knockout stage, held on June 19 and June 20. Hans Niemann defeated Denis Lazavik in the final, drawing with black pieces in the armageddon game, and qualified for the Grand Slam.

Round of 16 (Jun 19) Quarterfinals (Jun 19) Semifinals (Jun 20) Final (Jun 20)
        
 Martyn Kravtsiv (UKR) 2
 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) 0
 Martyn Kravtsiv (UKR) 1½
 Yu Yangyi (CHN) 2½
 Yu Yangyi (CHN) 1½
 Vidit Gujrathi (IND) ½
 Yu Yangyi (CHN) 1
 Hans Moke Niemann (USA) 3
 Rasmus Svane (GER) 0
 Hans Moke Niemann (USA) 2
 Hans Moke Niemann (USA) 1½
 Ding Liren (CHN) ½
 Alexander Grischuk (FIDE) 2
 Ding Liren (CHN) 3
 Hans Moke Niemann (USA) 2½
 Denis Lazavik (FIDE) 2½
 Pranesh M (IND) ½
 Vladimir Fedoseev (SVN) 1½
' Vladimir Fedoseev (SVN) 1½
 Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL) ½
 Andrey Esipenko (FIDE) ½
 Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL) 1½
 Vladimir Fedoseev (SVN) ½
 Denis Lazavik (FIDE) 1½
 Denis Lazavik (FIDE) 3 Third Place Match (Jun 20)
 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) 2
 Denis Lazavik (FIDE) 1½  Yu Yangyi (CHN) 0
 Lê Quang Liêm (VIE) ½  Vladimir Fedoseev (SVN) 2
 Alexey Sarana (SER) ½
 Lê Quang Liêm (VIE) 1½

5th-8th Place

The four losers from the quarterfinal round above competed in the 5th-to-8th-place bracket.

(Jun 20) Fifth Place Match (Jun 20)
    
 Martyn Kravtsiv (UKR) 3
 Ding Liren (CHN) 2
 Martyn Kravtsiv (UKR) 1½
 Lê Quang Liêm (VIE) 2½
 Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL) ½
 Lê Quang Liêm (VIE) 1½ Seventh Place Match (Jun 20)
 Ding Liren (CHN) ½
 Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL) 1½

Note: The player listed first played as white in the first game of the match. Scores between two players adding up to 2 indicate a win under rapid time controls; adding up to 4, a win under blitz time controls; and adding up to 5, a win in armageddon with bidding.

Main event

Participants

Leading up to the later-to-be-called third leg of the Grand Slam Tour, the Grenke Freestyle Chess Open, the organizers of the Freestyle Tour and the Grenke Open announced to publish a world rating list for Freestyle based on the tournament results.[5]

In the newest edition of their Rules and Regulation, Freestyle Chess increased the number of players in a Grand Slam to 16 and replaced the qualification by FIDE rating with the Freestyle rating.

Qualification method Player Age Classical Rating World
Ranking 		Freestyle
Rating[6]
(June 2025)
The top three finishers in the previous closed Grand Slam Norway Magnus Carlsen (winner) 34 2837 1 2909
United States Hikaru Nakamura (runner-up) 37 2804 2 2818
United States Fabiano Caruana (third place) 32 2777 4 2804
World Chess Champion India Gukesh Dommaraju (withdrew) 19 2776 5 2701
Winner of the Grenke Freestyle Chess Open Iran Parham Maghsoodloo (withdrew)[7] 24 2691 38 2712
Winner of the Aeroflot Open 2025 FIDE Ian Nepomniachtchi (withdrew)[7] 34 2757 10 2771
The three highest rated players in Freestyle Ranking India R Praggnanandhaa 19 2767 7 2773
Germany Vincent Keymer 20 2730 22 2766
France Alireza Firouzja (withdrew) 22 2766 8 2764
Wild cards India Arjun Erigaisi 21 2782 3 2758
Uzbekistan Nodirbek Abdusattorov 20 2767 6 2702
United States Leinier Domínguez 41 2738 18 2749
United States Levon Aronian 42 2742 16 2737
United States Wesley So 31 2745 14 2737
India Vidit Gujrathi 30 2720 25 2713
Uzbekistan Javokhir Sindarov 19 2710 29 2702
Kazakhstan Bibisara Assaubayeva 21 2509 547 2506
Replacements United States Ray Robson (replacement for Maghsoodloo)[7] 30 2687 40 2687
United States Sam Sevian (replacement for Nepomniachtchi)[7] 24 2683 43 N/A
Winner of the online play-in United States Hans Niemann 22 2736 20 2722
Sources:[8]

Group Stage

The Round-robin stage was changed for the Las Vegas leg. Instead of one full Round-robin including every player, the 16 players were broken up into two groups, "White" and "Black". Each player played every other in their respective groups, and the top four from each group advanced to the winners' bracket.

White Group

Rapid round-robin, 16 July 2025
# Player 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Points TB
1  R Praggnanandhaa (IND) * ½ ½ 0 1 1 ½ 1 4½
2  Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) ½ * ½ 0 ½ 1 1 1 4½
3  Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) ½ ½ * 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 4½
4  Levon Aronian (USA) 1 1 0 * 0 0 1 1 4 2
5  Magnus Carlsen (NOR) 0 ½ ½ 1 * 1 0 1 4 0
6  Vincent Keymer (GER) 0 0 0 1 0 * 1 1 3
7  Wesley So (USA) ½ 0 ½ 0 1 0 * 1 3
8  Bibisara Assaubayeva (KAZ) 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 * ½

Going into round 4, Magnus Carlsen was tied for first in the bracket. He then suffered two back-to-back losses against Praggnanandhaa and So, seriously endangering his chances of advancing. During the final round, he had to win his game against Assaubayeva, and hope that either Levon Aronian or Praggnanandhaa lost their final games, so that he could enter a tiebreaking match against them. Magnus defeated Assaubayeva and Aronian lost to Keymer, causing the two to enter a tiebreaker for advancement. In the end, Aronian defeated Carlsen 2-0, eliminating him from the upper bracket and guaranteeing his own placement in the quarterfinals.

Despite starting the tournament with a draw against Javokhir Sindarov, Bibisara Assaubayeva struggled to make much headway against the other competition. She ended the Round-robin with a score of 0.5/7, the lowest in either bracket.

Black Group

Rapid round-robin, 16 July 2025
# Player 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Points
1  Hikaru Nakamura (USA) * 1 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 6
2  Hans Niemann (USA) 0 * 1 0 1 ½ 1 1 4½
3  Arjun Erigaisi (IND) 0 0 * ½ ½ 1 1 1 4
4  Fabiano Caruana (USA) ½ 1 ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ 4
5  Leinier Domínguez (USA) ½ 0 ½ ½ * 1 ½ 0 3
6  Sam Sevian (USA) 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 * ½ 1 2½
7  Ray Robson (USA) 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ * 1 2½
8  Vidit Gujrathi (IND) 0 0 0 ½ 1 0 0 * 1½

Hans Niemann held the sole lead after the fifth round, with a score of 4.5/5. His last two games, however, were against top contenders Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana. He took his first defeat to Hikaru, putting Hikaru in the overall lead with 5/6. Niemann then took a second loss, this time to Caruana, leaving his score at 4.5/7, which was still enough to advance.

Hikaru had the highest score in either round-robin group with 6/7, the next highest being 4.5/7. He took two draws and was one of only three players to suffer no losses, the other two being Sindarov and Caruana. Caruana made six consecutive draws before finally taking a win in his last game, against Hans Niemann.

Vidit Gujrathi, similar to his performance in the Paris Grand Slam, struggled in the round-robin stage, ending with the second lowest score of 1.5/7.

Knockout Stage

Upper Bracket

Quarterfinals (Jul 17) Semifinals (Jul 18) Final (Jul 20)
         
W1  R Praggnanandhaa (IND) 3
B4  Fabiano Caruana (USA) 4
B4  Fabiano Caruana (USA) 1½
B2  Hans Niemann (USA) 2½
B2  Hans Niemann (USA) 4
W3  Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) 2
B2  Hans Niemann (USA) ½
W4  Levon Aronian (USA) 1½
B1  Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 1½
W4  Levon Aronian (USA) 2½
W4  Levon Aronian (USA) 2
B3  Arjun Erigaisi (IND) 0
W2  Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) ½
B3  Arjun Erigaisi (IND) 1½

Lower Bracket

Lower Quarterfinals (Jul 17) Intermediate Stage 1 (Jul 18) Intermediate Stage 2 (Jul 19) Lower Semifinals (Jul 19) Third Place Match (Jul 20)
B4  Fabiano Caruana (USA) 1
B1  Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 3
W2  Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) 1
B6  Sam Sevian (USA) ½ W7  Wesley So (USA) 3
W7  Wesley So (USA) 1½ W7  Wesley So (USA) ½
B1  Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 1½
B1  Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 2
B5  Leinier Domínguez (USA) 1½ B5  Leinier Domínguez (USA) 0
W8  Bibisara Assaubayeva (KAZ) ½ B1  Hikaru Nakamura (USA) ½
W5  Magnus Carlsen (NOR) 1½
B3  Arjun Erigaisi (IND) 0
W5  Magnus Carlsen (NOR) 2
W1  R Praggnanandhaa (IND) 1½
W6  Vincent Keymer (GER) 2½ W6  Vincent Keymer (GER) ½
B7  Ray Robson (USA) 1½ W1  R Praggnanandhaa (IND) 1
W5  Magnus Carlsen (NOR) 3
W3  Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) ½
W5  Magnus Carlsen (NOR) 2 W5  Magnus Carlsen (NOR) 1½
B8  Vidit Gujrathi (IND) 0

Fifth and Seventh Place Matches

Fifth Place Match (Jul 20)
B4  Fabiano Caruana (USA) 2
B3  Arjun Erigaisi (IND) 0
Seventh Place Match (Jul 20)
W7  Wesley So (USA) ½
W1  R Praggnanandhaa (IND) 1½

Final classification

Pos. Player Prize money Points
1  Levon Aronian (USA) $200,000 25
2  Hans Niemann (USA) $140,000 18
3  Magnus Carlsen (NOR) $100,000 15
4  Hikaru Nakamura (USA) $60,000 12
5  Fabiano Caruana (USA) $50,000 10
6  Arjun Erigaisi (IND) $40,000 8
7   R Praggnanandhaa (IND) $30,000 6
8   Wesley So (USA) $20,000 4
9–12  Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) $10,000 2
 Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) $10,000
 Leinier Domínguez (USA) $10,000
 Vincent Keymer (GER) $10,000
13–16  Ray Robson (USA) $7,500 0
 Sam Sevian (USA) $7,500
 Bibisara Assaubayeva (KAZ) $7,500
 Vidit Gujrathi (IND) $7,500
Sources:[9][2]

References

  1. ^ "Freestyle Chess' Grand Slam Tour Will Make its U.S. Debut at Wynn Las Vegas". www.freestyle-chess.com. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
  2. ^ a b "Official Rules and Regulations" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2025-07-07. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
  3. ^ "Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Paris - Play-in: Open Qualifier". Chess.com. Retrieved 2025-07-23.
  4. ^ "Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Paris - Play-in: Swiss Stage". Chess.com. Retrieved 2025-07-23.
  5. ^ "3.000 Teilnehmer und Freestyle-Rating". 2025-04-08. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
  6. ^ "Freestyle rating" (PDF). Retrieved 2025-06-23.
  7. ^ a b c d Colodro, Carlos Alberto (2025-07-16). "Freestyle Chess Las Vegas: A formidable field and a new format". ChessBase. Retrieved 2025-07-19.
  8. ^ "Freestyle Chess lands in Las Vegas". Freestyle Chess. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
  9. ^ https://www.chess.com/events/2025-freestyle-chess-grand-slam-las-vegas-group-white
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