The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Las Vegas is a major Chess960 (Fischer Random) tournament, part of the 2025 Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour.
Las Vegas Freestyle will take place July 16–20, 2025, at the Wynn Las Vegas, specifically in the 50,000-square-foot Lafite Ballroom. It’s the third leg of the 2025 tour – after Paris Freestyle and Grenke Freestyle – and the first Freestyle Chess event in the U.S. open to live spectators. It features 16 top grandmasters in a five-day event with a group stage (round-robin, 10+10 time control) followed by a double-elimination knockout (30+30 for key stages). The prize fund is $750,000, contributing to the tour’s points system to crown the first Freestyle Chess Champion in Cape Town, scheduled for December 2025. Co-founded by Carlsen and Jan Henric Buettner, Freestyle Chess emphasizes raw talent over opening preparation due to randomized starting positions. The Las Vegas event marks a push for a high-energy, spectator-friendly format, backed by a $20 million investment.
Las Vegas Freestyle participants
Magnus Carlsen (Norway, calendar)
Hikaru Nakamura (USA, calendar)
Fabiano Caruana (USA, calendar)
Arjun Erigaisi (India, calendar)
Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan, calendar)
Leinier Dominguez (USA, calendar)
Vincent Keymer (Germany, calendar)
Ian Nepomniachtchi (FID, calendar)
Levon Aronian (USA, calendar)
Wesley So (USA, calendar)
Praham Maghsoodloo (Iran, calendar)
Praggnanandhaa R (India, calendar)
Hans Niemann (USA, calendar)
Javokhir Sindarov (Uzbekistan, calendar)
Vidit Gujrathi (India, calendar)
Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kazakhstan, calendar)
More on the Las Vegas Freestyle tournament
This is a developing story and you may want to bookmark this article, as rolling updates will appear here before and during the event. Chessdom will provide wide coverage of one of the Top Events in The Chess Calendar, including expert opinions, live games, news coverage, and more.
