Latest news with #FreestyleChessTour
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
When Gerard Pique was left stunned by Magnus Carlsen sacrificing his queen in game
There are things Magnus Carlsen does on the chess board that can leave even his fans dumbstruck. One such fan is former Barcelona and Spain footballer Gerard Pique, who is an investor in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, and a self-confessed Carlsen fan. As the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour moved its caravan to Las Vegas, Pique was at hand to observe the sport from close quarters. What he saw made him delighted. But also a little confused. Asked who was his favourite chess player, Pique admitted that he was a Carlsen fan. 'For me, Magnus — I think that for everyone — is a legend. It was fun (watching him play) because obviously I follow a little bit, but I don't understand much of the movements. And I saw that he lost the queen at some point during the game and I was surprised because I was saying he's not in the best position, but I think that he did it on purpose a little bit to to gain some good position. So, it's fun. It's fun to really learn a little bit how they think and and how they move the pieces,' Pique said on the official stream on day of the Las Vegas event on Wednesday. Pique was talking about Carlsen's second game against Levon Aronian where Carlsen, playing with black pieces, allowed his queen to be captured by Aronian's rook on move 27 (27. Rxf8+) which started Carlsen's counter-attack on Aronian's own king. Eight moves later, Aronian had resigned. Pique said that he was taught chess as a kid by one of his coaches but in his team, FC Barcelona, they played poker with each other. When asked what position Carlsen would do well on a football pitch, Pique said: 'I assume in the midfield because he will move the team all around!' Pique, who is the face of the seven-a-side football tournament called the Kings League, spoke about how events like the Freestyle Chess Tour were disruptors in the sport. He gave the example of Wimbledon as sports events that were still deeply rooted in tradition. 'I love that people think about how to modernize or to improve the game and to make it more adapted to our time. Making it much more quick and dynamic. It's true that traditional sports are very against that (change). Like tennis — when you go to Wimbledon for example — the crowd is very quiet because the the players need to concentrate and I assume that here (in chess) it's more or less the same. But I would try to find a way where it's a show, it's entertainment. People can shout and athletes have to concentrate even with the shouts of the people. We do in football and they do in basketball. So when I see in tennis that I know it's respect to the players etc, but it's part of entertainment there has to be a lot of loud atmosphere and and for for people to have fun. So I know that here you have to be respectful and you have to be quiet, but if we can find a way where people can express what they are feeling and shout, I think that I'm going against the traditional people and but I'm trying to put my point of view from the outside and just if you can think about it would be great.'
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First Post
27-06-2025
- Business
- First Post
Big blow to Indian chess as Freestyle Chess Tour India event cancelled due to lack of sponsors: 'India will not happen'
Magnus Carlsen and other top players like Hikaru Nakamura will not be coming to India in 2025 for the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour in Delhi as the event has been cancelled by the organisers due to lack of sponsors. read more No Freestyle Chess Tour in India means the Indian fans won't be able to see D Gukesh take on Magnus Carlsen at home. Image: Freestyle Chess on X Freestyle Chess has confirmed that the Indian leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour has been called off due to a lack of sponsors. While it had been speculated for months that the Delhi Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour would be cancelled, the news has now been confirmed by Jan Henric Buettner, the CEO of Freestyle Chess. 'India will not happen this year,' Buettner told The India leg was scheduled to be the penultimate stage in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour 2025. So far, three legs in Weissenhaus, Paris and Karlsruhe have been completed, while the fourth leg is set to take place in Las Vegas . STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour will conclude in Cape Town (5-12 December) as per the schedule. Buettner to leave CEO sport in Freestyle Chess In the meantime, Buettner has confirmed that there could be a replacement or an alternative event now that the Delhi leg has been cancelled. 'We will do something special for the September leg of the tour instead. This will be announced after Las Vegas,' he said. German businessman Buettner has also confirmed that he will leave the position of Freestyle Chess's CEO on 1 July, with Thomas Harsch replacing him. Buettner had spoken about his intentions of leaving the CEO position in the past as well. 'I hope I get out of it! I want it to be implemented in a perfect way. I am giving everything, so when all my visions in my head are implemented, then I can have a more executive role,' Buettner had told The upcoming Las Vegas Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour will take place from 16-20 July, with world No.1 Magnus Carlsen looking to extend his lead at the top. He currently leads the Grand Slam tour with 65 points. World champion D Gukesh of India will not take part in the US event and there's no clarity on possible reasons for his absence. Nonetheless, India will have three players in Las Vegas, including Arjun Erigaisi, R Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi.
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First Post
06-05-2025
- Sport
- First Post
No Carlsen vs Niemann at Paris leg of Freestyle Chess Tour as American Grandmaster makes surprise withdrawal
The much-anticipated clash between Magnus Carlsen and Hans Niemann won't happen at the Paris leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, as the American Grandmaster has pulled out of the event. The organisers have named a new replacement. read more Hans Niemann pulled out from Paris leg of Freestyle Chess Grand Slam without giving any reason. Image: Hans Niemann on X There will be no Magnus Carlsen vs Hans Niemann match at the upcoming Paris leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour 2025. Niemann has pulled out of the event with only a few days to go for the chess tournament. The news of Niemann pulling out of the Paris leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour was shared by the organisers on Saturday with the tournament set to start on Monday (7 April). Advertisement Abdusattorov replaces Niemann for Freestyle Tour Paris leg Uzbekistan Grandmaster Nodirbek Abdusattorov has been included in the tournament as a replacement for Niemann. 'Hans Niemann has withdrawn last minute and Nodirbek Abdusattorov will replace him,' Freestyle Chess Tour organisers said on Instagram. The exact reasons behind Niemann's withdrawal have not been shared by the organisers. Niemann keeps silence on withdrawal from Freestyle Tour Niemann has not released any statement or clarification from his end. On Tuesday he had posted a Ghibli-styled animated picture of him playing chess with former world champion Vladimir Kramnik on his X account with the caption" 'Coming soon to Paris.' Earlier, talking about the opportunity to play in Freestyle Tour, Niemann had said; 'I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to compete in the Freestyle Paris edition… No matter what opportunities come my way, I will continue to let my chess speak for itself. Thank you to everyone who has supported me on this journey.' Niemann's withdrawal has robbed chess fans of a chance to see him once again take on world No.1 Carlsen who had accused the American Grandmaster of cheating in 2022. The cheating accusation led to a $100 million lawsuit, which was eventually settled out of court. The controversy was rekindled recently after Carlsen spoke about it on Joe Rogan's podcast and Niemann hit back at him by accusing him of trying to destroy the life of a teenager. Advertisement Freestyle Tour in Paris: All you need to know Nonetheless, the Paris leg of the Freestyle Chess Tour will kick-off on 7 April at the Pavillon Chesnaie du Roy which is inside the historic Bois de Vincennes in Paris. The first two days will involve round-robin matches between 12 chess Grandmasters. Eight of them will then qualify for the knockouts. The next six days of the tournament will witness classical time-control knockout matches with the final taking place on 14 April. Germany's Vincent Keymer won the first leg of the Grand Slam tour in Weissenhaus. Besides Keymer, Abdusattorov and Carlsen, other players in the Paris tournament will be Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Richard Rapport (replacing Alireza Firouzja), Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, D Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, R Praggnanandhaa and Vidith Gujrathi. The Freestyle Tour in Paris has a price pool of $7,50,000 and the winner is guaranteed of $2,00,000 prize money.
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First Post
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- First Post
FIDE CEO rekindles memories of 'jeansgate scandal' while taking a fresh dig at Carlsen: 'Does it look appropriate?'
World No 1 Magnus Carlsen's ongoing feud with world governing body FIDE shows no signs of thawing with CEO Emil Sutovsky targeting the Norwegian icon as well as Freestyle Chess for the attire of top players the Grenke Chess Freestyle Open. read more Magnus Carlsen hasn't shared the best of relations with FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky since the 'jeansgate' scandal in December. Image credit: Freestyle Chess/FIDE The ongoing feud between Magnus Carlsen and FIDE rages on and shows no signs of a thaw with Emil Sutovsky, the CEO of what is the governing body for the sport, taking a fresh dig at the Norwegian Grandmaster as well as the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour recently. Sutovsky took to social networking platform X to air his grievances regarding the attires of top players during the prize ceremony of the Grenke Chess Freestyle Open in Karlsruhe, Germany. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD World No 1 Carlsen was among the participants in the event that offered Freestyle Chess Tour points as well a spot in the upcoming Grand Slam event in Las Vegas in July. And he ended up winning the event with a perfect score of 9/9. Sutovsky questions attire at Grenke Chess Freestyle Open prize ceremony The players who were on stage with Freestyle Chess co-founder Jan Henric Buettner however, were seen wearing casual attire – which is in stark contrast to the formal clothes worn by those competing at FIDE events such as the World Championship, Candidates among others. 'Now a serious question - as we get back to review the dress code for FIDE events this year,' Sutovsky wrote on X on Friday. 'Do you, as a spectator, feel it really does not matter?' 'I think Grenke was a great event with hundreds of amateurs - but I am talking specifically about the top players. The photo is from the prize giving ceremony. Does it look appropriate? And if you were the host/organizer, would you have welcomed similar attire? 'Apart of spectators we will obviously inquire the opinion of hosting country, sponsors, broadcasters. And then we try to see what players think about it. But first thing first,' the 47-year-old Azerbaijani-born Israeli GM added. Now a serious question - as we get back to review the dress code for FIDE events this year. Do you, as a spectator, feel it really does not matter? I think Grenke was a great event with hundreds of amateurs - but I am talking specifically about the top players. The photo is… — Emilchess (@EmilSutovsky) April 25, 2025 STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Sutovsky's comments brought back memories of the infamous 'Jeansgate' scandal that took place in the World Rapid and Blitz Championships in New York City in December. Five-time Classical world champion Carlsen had courted controversy after showing up wearing a pair of jeans, violating the tournament's dress code in the process. Also Read | Carlsen's infamous jeans that took the chess world by storm sold for a whopping Rs 31 lakh Carlsen refused to change his denims despite repeatedly being told to do so right away by the chief arbiter, which led to him pulling out of the Rapid championship halfway through the event. The 34-year-old, however, would return for the Blitz championship, where he would find himself embroiled in another controversy by sharing the title with Russian GM Ian Nepomniachtchi. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Indian Express
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Hans Niemann calls out Hikaru Nakamura for wearing headphones during prize money events: ‘Competitive advantage, double standards'
USA Grandmaster Hans Niemann questioned compatriot Hikaru Nakamura's integrity for wearing headphones during prize money tournaments. Apart from playing competitive chess, Nakamura is also a famous chess streamer with his subscriber count reaching millions. Taking a dig at Nakamura, Niemann called out the World No. 2, saying Nakamura is getting an unfair 'competitive advantage and double standard for the chess mafia's brand ambassadors'. A controversial figure in the chess world, Niemann has never shied away from expressing his opinions, nor has he remained out of the spotlight for long. He took to X (formerly Twitter), venting out his frustration by saying, 'Why is Hikaru allowed to wear HEADPHONES during prize money tournaments while others aren't. Clear competitive advantage and double standard for the chess mafia's brand ambassadors.' Why is Hikaru allowed to wear HEADPHONES during prize money tournaments while others aren't. Clear competetive advantage and double standard for the chess mafia's brand ambassadors. — Hans Niemann (@HansMokeNiemann) May 2, 2025 Niemann previously cited Magnus Carlsen and Nakamura as part of the chess mafia, lobbying against him. In the following post, he wrote, 'In any real sport, giving a competitive edge to someone you're financially invested in would spark a scandal. In chess, it's business as usual. Silence reigns when power is centralised and accountability is absent. Monopolies don't last forever, alternatives always appear.' Earlier, Niemann was back in action at the Grenke Open last month after his mysterious last-minute pull-out from the Paris leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour. Niemann was supposed to play at the Paris event of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, but had withdrawn without offering an explanation just two days before the event started. The organisers had found a last-minute replacement in Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Jan Henric Buettner, who is the force behind the Freestyle Chess Tour, had told the Take Take Take app that Niemann had refused to respond to his texts or emails and instead opted to write an email to another member of the organising committee to announce his withdrawal due to 'personal reasons' without explaining anything.
