Big blow to Indian chess as Freestyle Chess Tour India event cancelled due to lack of sponsors: 'India will not happen'

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 Chess.com.

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.

The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour will conclude in Cape Town (5-12 December) as per the schedule.

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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 Chess.com.

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.