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Cape Town - The 2025 Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Finals will take place from December 8 to 11 in Cape Town, South Africa. It is the final event of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam tour and determines this year's Freestyle Champion, featuring the top eight players from the current Grand Slam standings. The total prize pool is $750k, with $575k for the Finals including $200k for first place, and $175k awarded as overall tour bonuses.
Participants
| No. | Title | Name | FED | Freestyle Rtg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM | Magnus Carlsen | 🇳🇴 NOR | 2923 |
| 2 | GM | Fabiano Caruana | 🇺🇸 USA | 2797 |
| 3 | GM | Levon Aronian | 🇺🇸 USA | 2772 |
| 4 | GM | Vincent Keymer | 🇩🇪 GER | 2752 |
| 5 | GM | Arjun Erigaisi | 🇮🇳 IND | 2744 |
| 6 | GM | Hans Moke Niemann | 🇺🇸 USA | 2717 |
| 7 | GM | Parham Maghsoodloo | 🇮🇷 IRI | 2712 |
| 8 | GM | Javokhir Sindarov | 🇺🇿 UZB | 2704 |
Format/Time Controls
- Group Round-Robin (Dec 8): Players compete in a round-robin to determine knockout seeding, with the top three choosing their quarterfinal opponents. Time control: 10+5.
- Quarterfinals (Dec 9): Single-elimination matches, but all players continue competing for placement (5th-8th included). Each match has two games. Time control: 30+15.
- Semifinals (Dec 10): Winners advance to the final; matches consist of two games. Time control: 30+15.
- Finals (Dec 11): Determines all final standings. Matches have two games. Time controls: 30+15 for 1st-4th place matches, 10+5 for 5th-8th place matches.
- Full Rules & Regulations can be found here.
Schedule
| Date | Time (Local) | Time (UTC) | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 8 | Starts 01:00 PM | Starts 11:00 AM | Group Stage Round-Robin |
| Dec 9 | Starts 01:00 PM | Starts 11:00 AM | Quarterfinals |
| Dec 10 | Starts 01:00 PM | Starts 11:00 AM | Semifinals |
| Dec 11 | Starts 01:00 PM | Starts 11:00 AM | Finals |
Live Coverage
- Official live coverage will be streamed on the Freestyle Chess YouTube and Twitch channels, with two parallel streams: the Pro Stream featuring GM Judit Polgar and GM Peter Leko, and the Community Stream with GM David Howell, IM Tania Sachdev, and many more.
- ChessBase India will provide additional commentary on their YouTube channel, featuring IM Sagar Shah, GM Harshit Raja, and Amruta Mokal.
Glad that magnus and hikaru's 'getting too old' narrative for their bad performance is exposing.
Magnus won 9 tournaments this year... And that is bad performance?!?!? 😱😱😱 Dammmnn then all other players must have a very shitty year
You missed my point, when they lose, they whine like that (mostly hikaru). I didn't said that they lose all time. Casual fans mistakes it as they are performing bad because their peak age has passed and they are on decline. This type of sentiment is there in chess community from last year thanks to hikaru's whining of getting too old. Here, levon winning one of the strongest event being older than both will definitely exposed propaganda spread by magnus and hikaru to fans who mostly have recency bias, who unable to see things in technical way.
Magnus is definitely not happy, despite having won the tour.
Wait Arkady?
this was not on my bingo card
FIDE is benefiting from this in some way, so they are willing to endorse the Freestyle project.
my guy Levon got it done!!
This win also puts Levon in 2nd place in the overall grand slam standings, if I am not wrong
ani saying hans is very arrogant and its good to shut him up lmao i guess shes not a chess player doesnt need to be pretend-a-friend :)) right hans ? lmao
I really like chess 960 as it is more surprising and makes for a better watch
Absolutely deserved win for Levon being undefeated
The way the camera keeps panning to Levon’s wife
That was a lot of hype & tension by the commentators for a Magnus win, but was Levon ever in big trouble here? He had some decisions but he's still a top GM and that endgame always had some outs for him.
Is Levon the best Chess960 player?
He's one of the best for sure. Considering he's not the overall tour winner though, it would be hasty to say he's the best
Damn Levon defended that perfectly. He has the 4th highest rating ever for a reason I guess.
Wow levon wins $200k.
Dude is aging like wine.
I fear Magnus may not grind this one out
Two semi-finals and no podiums is brutal for Sindarov
So Fabiano and Keymer ends with 69 (noice) tour points each, do they split the 3rd place tour prize?
EDIT: Also assuming Fabi gets 5th + Keymer 3rd. Oh never, the regulations PDF says that players will get more points according to results from Round-Robin stage: "In the Rapid tournament the winner will receive 8 Grand Slam Points, second place will receive 7, third 6, fourth 5, fifth 4, sixth 3, seventh 2 and eighth 1." --> So Fabiano gets 3rd
Magnus is maybe just not on his element today
Magnus in the finals in a must win, 10 minutes behind on the clock, in an equal position.
Can he do it?
Also players should not be able to discuss position with others before the game. They should all have 10 minutes, and they should all be given one board and that is it
Anyone interested in lower bracket? Is it important?
For money and to finish high as possible
if you told me Magnus was younger than Hans i would believe it.
You must either have really bad eyesight or be really gullible.
Stress and anger age prematurely
Oh boy the chessbase india stream is unbearable. I would rather solve 50 queen endgames than watch this shit.
Please do.
Did it 🫡. Btw it wasnt that I hate the two guests they stopped talking about the games all together for a long while even though two matches finsihed during that time lol.
Why don't they play two games with each position?
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also the player who play with white in 2nd game would know about position more
That makes sense. Would you say there can be an element of luck with positions white can get? Sorry, new to watching chess.
Considering the game was once called Fisher Random yes. But there was also an element of luck trying to find a line your opponent isn't prepared for.
Bruv how is that he is 1 pawn down and its +5 ☠️
Bruv how is that he is 1 pawn down and its +5 ☠️
Honestly, unreal how lucky is Levon in this event
They should play 2 games in every opening position. Opening position can decide everything
Finally Parham gets a win!
Starting position is just not fair, it iw too good for white
yeah exactly both sindarov and magnus are down to 10 min
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Tiebreaks in Vegas (which ended up being super important as Levon went on to win while Magnus could only fight for the third place).
As far as I remember, this would be the first time that Levon and Magnus fave each other in a final of any tournament of any format, which is kinda amazing how long they are/were on top.
The first Goat challenge Levon lost to Fabi. In paris Levon did not qualify. In Vegas Magnus was knocked out in the RR (by Levon). In Weissenhaus Levon was knocked out in the RR.
I hope we will still have those events in the future. The format is really fun to watch.
What flew under the radar is Parham finally got a 1/2 point. He is definitely not helping his reputation of being the streakiest super gm lmao.
man this magnus vs sindarov semi final was insane and maybe the best match I watched this year after that hikaru vs magnus semi final in ewc or maybe it is even better in terms of thrill and entertainment
I would love to see armagadon in this because it would be deserved but magnus got a little lucky at the end
These old guys are still a beast in faster time controls.
Credit where it's due, Sindarov really pushed Magnus and made him earn it. Exciting young player.
I really thought that he could even win the match and that is very rare when magnus is playing
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We really need the organizers to be serious about the transmission delay and if one is used, make everyone leaving the playing hall wait in a special room for as long as the delay is to avoid this "time travel" effect, unless you are carried out of there due to a medical emergency, escape a fire/earthquake or for whatever rare other reason really can't wait.
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From his perspective that is what he has to do bcz the players won't wait until the tranmission gap is over to come to his stream, if he would tell them to wait, they would probably just leave, specially in classical chess when there is a lot of delay sometimes. But in this event when the time control is less, it has not happened that he called the player while the match was going on until and unless I missed it.
If the organisers enforce it, Sagar won't be able to do anything, either his broadcast is from within the playing hall and has to observe the same delay, or he is outside, is fine to broadcast 100% live but anyone joining him from the playing area needs to wait out the delay before getting out.
This freestyle events are so excited
I would really love for Parham to go 2-0 against Hans for 7th place match.
Ohhh would be so good
omg My heart… what a game. Early final was Caruana magnus and magnus sindarov. What a game: miracle save by magnus. GG
Jesus, these tie breakers are intense.
Insane hand speed
Lucky Magnus. Not the words you usually say
Luck favors the best
Hmm. It is funny how when the opponent wins against him, the opponent is blindly termed as lucky, Nothing more.
I see you everytime everywhere hating on goat , must be sad
Probably the cringiest person around here. Usually best to downvote and not engage.
I pity you fanbois. What will you'll do in a few years time? Leave chess?
Insane finish
WTF WAS THAT
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Sindarov my goat please don’t fabi this away
"Fabi this away" is crazy lol
fabi’d 💔💔
Fabi blew the 1-0 lead to 3-1 Its not same
Magnus studying the position with Keymer at his table rather than the designated spot. Talk about a poor sport
that’s rich coming from a Hans fan 🤣
Flair checks out, what i see is hans’ fans are same as hans. Insufferable
Not much to cheer on when your guy is fighting for last place, so his delusional fans have to find something to do.
Even if magnus loses he won the tour so apart from the money why would someone care ( im not trashing or downplaying the event )
Is Fabi already eliminated or is it double elimination format?
Best Fabi can get is 5th, as he lost in the quarter finals. He will play for 5th tomorrow against the winner of Arjun - Hans
He’s eliminated. He’ll play 5th place game tomorrow.
Parham will get his first draw now
Magnus made Sindarov play that out for a while huh.
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It was very difficult to find under 1 minute like he had to go rh4 and then some bs and then again he had to play re8 and then re1 and not directly re1...
it's wild that magnus is 0/2 with the white pieces so far this tournament
Only if you count 2 fast classicals
Watching Aronian claw that back was inspirational.
Is it in carlsen's contract that the chesscom stream has to call him the greatest of all time at least once every five minutes?
They make money hyping the current players, like any sport
This is a weird hater comment since carlsen has never even call himself as the goat. Which he can but he didnt,
Everyone calls him that weird for you to assume “ contract “
Keymer is on the Brink of the finals!
Of course Magnus saved that position
E: oh nvm lmao
anybody perturbed of Hans being thoroughly checked by the metal detector?
I need to see the Parham post tournament interview
I hope Parham gets some point somewhere. it's crazy that he hasn't even gotten a draw?
He had a brilliancy yersterday but ended up wasting it. Sometimes it's just not your tournament lol
I scored 0 at the World Open in Philadelphia 20 years ago or so. I still remember what a nightmare that was even though I was an amateur. Must be incredibly hard for a real pro like Parham.
“Not your tournament” usually means something like 2/7, not 0/10 (and counting).
Magnus may start slow, but he is an unstoppable train when he gets going. Let's see if Sindarov can slow him down with black.
Yeap Magnus reign is over. New generation is gonna take over. 😂
Magnus having 99.6% accuracy in freestyle is insane
Everyone was so excited about Javokhir going into these semis, but when Magnus decides that he wants to win, he's an impenetrable wall which no amount of form can break through. All others are left competing for second place.
it does feel like only when Magnus drops the form, then someone else can compete with him
Yes, but this is obvious. Because he is the best player, so even if someone else is playing their best he will win.
When Magnus loses it isn't because of his opponent but because of Magnus himself
That's a fair point, it's rare to see Magnus being ran over, usually it's him making a blunder that sinks him. I think the fact that he plays more instinctively than calculating adds to his longevity.
I cannot express enough how much I truly enjoy Judit and Peter as a commentator duo. They have really great energy and chemistry. Both are so present in what they’re doing and their conversation usually flows so well.
I'd listen to them commentate paint drying, love this duo, they should be mandatory commentators for every chess tournament for "advanced" viewers.
I don’t think anyone will be picking Vincent from now on, though Alireza, Nepo, and Arjun isn’t bad company.
Wonder what Magnus’ freestyle ‘Elo’ would be now
8 grandmasters show up to a tournament
and in the end Magnus wins
a script we are all too familiar with
This has not been the case in freestyle tho.
The randomness have introduced enough variance that he only win most of the time instead of all the time!
Yeah. Though on this note I find it funny that some people claimed that he was doing freestyle because it's in his favor when the only tournaments he hasn't won in this entire year are freestyle tournaments.
I know another version of this:
Why is Parham playing in this event?
He actually qualified for the vegas event after getting 2nd in grenke, but couldnt participate because of visa problems, which is why he is playing here
Am I a plastic chess fan if I lose interest in tournaments where an Indian is no longer in contention?
Yes.
I think it is fairly typical.
I rarely watch non Magnus events unless maybe it is IM not a GM (we need another run of that!), the World Championship/Candidates, or similar.
I don't watch other sports games that don't have my team in it so I don't find it unusual.
yes but its not a big deal really. no shame in being a casual fan
Yes
You're a bigger fan of the players
it frees you up to post about how well behaved the indian players are in every other thread, there's a real shortage on those kind of posts /s
play a little chess and then magnus goes home with the trophy
and a hundred grand to boot
😭😭 that too in the middle of the tournment
Massive congratulations to Magnus on becoming theChess Freestyle World Champion, and just like Titled Tuesday Grand Prix Splits. IT WASN'T EVEN CLOSE
Hans helpfully filling his hands with sweat and snot before shaking Levon's hand, i'm sure that was appreciated
Magnus is champion gg
Both Fabi and Hans did similar mistake right in the opening.
What is this Venue ? It looks like some millionaires’ villa
No offence to Niklas but could do with less of him reading computer lines
That's his job though...
I know! Not his fault per se but I don’t like it. Minor thing anyway
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So these "Freestyle Grand Finals" don't actually decide the tour and Magnus just needs semi-finals? Dawg how does this shit even work
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So it's just another event in the cycle, merely with higher points. Not very Grand Finals-y but aight
The title is a bit confusing for sure.
Yes, which the entire broadcast havent even mentioned once.
What an insane tiebreak, so many blunders
I remember when Magnus had this terrible FF performance that he had to pull out due to not feeling in shape you said Hans was gonna end his career here in South Africa, lol absolute clown
Magnus took Fabi to the deep dark forest
What’s up with the sound quality. Did they mic up the air conditioning?
Is the time control 5+3 for the tiebreaks?
YT chat says 5+2
How much money does Parham get for going 0/9?
I really hope he at least draws or something in one of his matches. Even Bibisara got a draw or two.
He will still play in the lower bracket for 5th-8th place match and 8th place finisher will get 15k
If the classical starting position (#518) is drawn, will there be a re-draw or will the games just be played in that position?
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Ahh makes sense, thank you!
I thought they didn’t even include that one or the one with king and queen swapped. Though I guess the one with king and queen swapped would have changed castling a bit.
They are both removed as per the other comment that replied.
Hans really should have won the last game. He was winning for majority of the game, and had Levon under serious time pressure too. Anyways, credit to Levon for finding ways to complicate and secure a draw
Levon is good at that :D
The field is so stacked that parham has become a punching bag, hopefully he can bag some nice wins and it on a better note
At this point, I just believe that 2025 is just not arjun's year 🙃... Congo to Vincent
No year is Arjun's year. Because he crumble in pressure situations.
What can I say... People on the internet really have short term memory... Its not like he hasnt defeated magnus, vincent and parham yesterday... And I could give many examples when he performed very well but its just that he loses to one of his peer and people just start spitting nonsense like he cant defeat 2700 players... Dude I mean he defeated more 2750+ this year than vincent, alireza, nodirbek, hans and Sindarov... Its just that he is missing that one big win that will change everything and it will happen very soon!
0/9 is brutal
Congratulations to Magnus the Freestyle Chess World Champion he will completely destroy Fabi in the tiebreakers. Fabi will get himself under low time and his nerve will break. Magnus first loss was just a fluke a bit out of form now Magnus is better and that is enough to destroy Fabi
nvm the beautiful brick agenda lives to see another day damn
yes beautiful brick please jinx Magnus
There is no jinxing the GOAT
Feel bad for Parham. Wish he got a couple of draws at least.
he still gets to keep playing in the lower bracket. so he's got more chances to not lose. which is a sad way to put it but. here we are.
Everybody is just playing to lose to Sindarov in the finals.
Fabi really enjoys the play offs and armageddon........
Magnus is not the right opponent to enjoy it.
Classic Arjun 🤪
Classic Fabi
Classic Magnus!
Round 2 is Crazy, Levon holding for dear life, arjun and parham turning it around, Magnus and Fabi equal but double edged
Levon's amazing arm tats. oh.
Caruana is in serious trouble. I'm convinced that Magnus calculated everything up to the knight sacrifice.
Edit: well, it will be a sacrifice if Fabiano takes.
I haven't been following this event closely. Have they said anything about the future of the tour? Will it be back next year?
Crazy how fast Fabi got in trouble after the pawn sac.
I find it interesting that no players with White considered a more direct king-side attack.
Parham with 2 inaccuracies in his opening 2 moves. Sensational stuff.
huschenbeth is so reactionary! :D he was like Parham is winning! and then magnus takes it! both games ended with the opposite result, he is reading into the analysis of the best lines too much.
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