All eyes are on Paris as the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour rolls into town for Stage 2. From April 7 to 14, the French capital hosts the second leg of the 2025 edition, one that's already shaping up to be bigger, and more intense than the opener in Weissenhaus, Germany. (More Chess News)
The Paris leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour will feature 12 Grandmasters, up from 10 in the opening leg in Germany.
Alongside co-founder and world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen and Weissenhaus winner Vincent Keymer, the lineup includes D Gukesh, Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Richard Rapport, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Arjun Erigaisi, R Praggnanandhaa, and Vidit Gujrathi.
Hans Niemann was initially named among the 12 Grandmasters for the Paris leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour 2025, but he withdrew at the last moment.
His exit led the organisers to call up Nodirbek Abdusattorov as a replacement. Earlier, French Grandmaster Alireza Firouzja had also pulled out, making room for Richard Rapport to step into the competition.
The five-tournament series runs throughout the year, with Paris, New York, New Delhi, and Cape Town among the stops. It all builds up to the grand finale, set for December 5 to 12. Each leg, styled as a Grand Slam like in tennis, features top players battling it out in a format that mixes rapid and classical games.
What Is Freestyle Chess?
Freestyle Chess is the new name given to Fischer-Random chess, created by former world champion Bobby Fischer in 1996. It employs what is now known as 'Chess960', a format in which the pieces on the first and eighth rank are shuffled randomly (with some constraints). The number 960 comes from the total possible positions for how the game can start.
Freestyle Chess Grand Tour - Paris Leg: Indian Grandmasters In Action
India will be strongly represented in the Paris leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, with four Grandmasters in the mix. Leading the charge is world champion D Gukesh, joined by Arjun Erigaisi, R Praggnanandhaa, and Vidit Gujrathi, making India one of the most heavily represented nations in the tournament.
Freestyle Chess Grand Tour - Paris Leg: Format
The Paris leg of the Freestyle Chess Tour is structured in two phases: a fast-paced round-robin stage followed by a high-stakes knockout stage.
Stage 1: Round-Robin (April 7–8)
All 12 players compete in a single round-robin format, facing each opponent once.
Each game follows a rapid time control: 10 minutes per player, with 10 seconds increment after every move.
The top 8 players in the standings at the end of this stage qualify for the knockout round.
The bottom four (positions 9 to 12) play classification matches to decide final rankings:
The 9th-placed player selects one opponent from the bottom two.
Winners of these matches face off for 9th place; losers share 11th.
Stage 2: Knockout (April 9–14)
The knockout phase features quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final.
Time control shifts to a classical format: 90 minutes per player, with 30 seconds added after each move.
The top four finishers from the round-robin get to choose their quarterfinal opponents from those ranked 5th to 8th.
Each knockout round spans two days, with one classical game per day.
Tiebreak Format (If a Knockout Match Is Drawn)
Two rapid games (10+10)
If still level, two blitz games (5+2)
If the tie persists, a decisive Armageddon game is played:
White gets more time but must win
A draw gives the win to Black
Freestyle Chess Grand Tour - Paris Leg: Schedule
Round-Robin Stage:
April 7: Day 1 – Finished
April 8: Day 2 – 4:30 PM IST / Local time in Paris
Knockout Stage:
April 9: Quarterfinals Day 1 – 4:30 PM IST
April 10: Quarterfinals Day 2 – 4:30 PM IST
April 11: Semifinals Day 1 – 4:30 PM IST
April 12: Semifinals Day 2 – 4:30 PM IST
April 13: Finals Day 1 – 4:30 PM IST
April 14: Finals Day 2 – 4:30 PM IST
Freestyle Chess Grand Tour - Paris Leg: Live Streaming
The event will be streamed live on Freestyle Chess's official YouTube channel.
