USA – In a stunning twist on the opening day of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam 2025 in Las Vegas, world number one Magnus Carlsen saw his hopes of defending the title slip away.
The Las Vegas leg marks the third stop in this year’s Grand Slam series of Chess960 events, following tournaments in Weissenhaus, Germany, and Paris, France. Taking place from July 16 to July 20, the event features a star-studded lineup of 16 elite players, including Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, and Hans Niemann. Teen sensation and reigning Candidates winner Gukesh Dommaraju received an invitation but declined to participate.
The competition structure splits the 16 participants into two groups—White and Black—with 8 players in each. They face off in a round-robin format. The top four players from each group move into the upper bracket of a double-elimination round, while the bottom four drop into the lower bracket. A single loss in the upper bracket sends players to the lower bracket, while a defeat in the lower bracket results in elimination. The grand final features the winners of both upper brackets, while those relegated to the lower bracket can, at best, finish in third place.
The group stage was played in a rapid format—10 minutes per side with a 10-second increment per move (10+10) on Jul 16. Carlsen began his campaign in the White Group confidently, notching wins against Vincent Keymer and Levon Aronian. He followed up with a draw against Javokhir Sindarov. But then the wheels came off. Back-to-back losses to Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Wesley So derailed his momentum. He ended the group stage with a draw against Nodirbek Abdusattorov and a win over the tournament’s only female participant, Bibisara Assaubayeva.
Carlsen concluded the group stage with 4 points, tying for fourth place with Aronian. Meanwhile, rising stars Praggnanandhaa, Sindarov, and Abdusattorov each tallied 4.5 points to advance to the upper bracket. Carlsen and Aronian were forced into a blitz tie-break to determine the final upper bracket spot. In that match, Carlsen lost both games—marking a shocking early exit for the defending champion.
Adding drama to the moment, the organizers brought Niemann into the commentary booth during Carlsen’s tie-break. Niemann openly rooted for Aronian, cheering him on throughout. Tensions between the two have been high since Carlsen publicly accused Niemann of cheating in a previous classical encounter. Niemann, in turn, has claimed that Carlsen sought to sabotage his career.
As Aronian sealed the win, Niemann bowed deeply in admiration—seemingly relishing Carlsen’s defeat.
In the Black Group, Niemann himself advanced comfortably to the upper bracket after a strong performance. He secured victories over Arjun Erigaisi, Leinier Dominguez, Ray Robson, and Vidit Gujrathi. His only losses came at the hands of Nakamura and Caruana, while he drew with Sam Sevian.
Nakamura has been in blistering form, scoring 5 wins and 2 draws to top the group with 6 points. Joining him in the upper bracket are Erigaisi and Caruana.
Quarterfinal matches begin at 11:00 AM (PDT, local time), or 18:00 PM (UCT time). Each match consists of two games with 30 minutes per player and a 30-second increment. If tied after two games, players will proceed to a tie-break to determine who moves forward. With both former champions—Carlsen and Keymer—relegated to the lower bracket, the tournament is guaranteed to crown a new Grand Slam champion.
The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam, a premier series of Chess960 tournaments, rarely sees Carlsen fail to reach the knockout rounds. This time, however, he’ll have to settle for a shot at third place. The winner of the tournament will take home $200,000, with the total prize fund set at $750,000.
I’m Xuan Binh, the founder of Attacking Chess, and the Deputy Head of Communications at the Vietnam Chess Federation (VCF). My chess.com and lichess rating is above 2300, in both blitz and bullet.
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