Explaining D Gukesh’s Absence from the Freestyle Chess Tournament in Las Vegas
4 months ago | 5 Views
The World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju is not one of the three players presently representing India in the first Freestyle Grand Slam Tour. Prior to the event, Gukesh withdrew, while R Pragganandha, Arjun Erigaisi, and Vidit Gujrathi competed in a variant of the traditional game in Las Vegas.
Gukesh competed in the Paris leg of the Freestyle Grand Tour, but his performance was not the best. He came in the bottom four of the round robin and ultimately came in ninth place overall.
What was the reason for D. Gukesh's departure from Las Vegas Freestyle?
Citing his desire to prioritize his training for the forthcoming competitions in St. Louis in August, including the renowned Sinquefield Cup and a time-controlled event in the days prior, Gukesh withdrew from the Vegas tournament. Gukesh is presently fifth in the Grand Chess Tour, where the Sinquefield Cup is a part.
In addition, Freestyle Grand Tour CEO Jan Jenric Buettner cited Gukesh's busy schedule during the first half of 2025 and his need for a break as reasons for his departure. Before the Vegas tournament, Buettner stated the following:
"He claimed that he's worn out and needs to unwind. He hasn't played all that well at any Grand Slam tournament. We constantly anticipated that he would refuse to take part in the following event. He did, however, have an invitation (for the Las Vegas leg). Thus, despite his subpar performance in Paris, he was still prepared to face the challenge. “We’re going to come. I will come to Las Vegas,” he said.
“However, there was Norway Chess. He was worn out by this. "He was so exhausted that I got a message, and even I would be tired," said the co-founder of the Freestyle Tour. He claimed to be worn out and in need of rest. He is unable to travel to Las Vegas. Regrettably, he needs rest. Therefore, you know, that is understandable.
With his well-known victory against Magnus Carlsen at the Norway Chess competition in Stavanger—the first time he had ever triumphed against the Norwegian legend in the traditional format—Gukesh now intends to focus on defending his World Championship title the following year.
However, Gukesh had stated that he would like to continue his development in Freestyle chess, also known as Chess360 or Fischer Random Chess, a format in which the back rank of pieces begins in a shuffled order and results in a more dynamic and less rote game, which some, including Magnus Carlsen, believe is the future of chess.
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