Freestyle: Finale in Südafrika
Pressemitteilung:
Freestyle Chess Brings the Grand Slam Finals to South Africa
Cape Town / Hamburg, November 2025 – The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Finals opens its South African chapter on December 4, beginning with the debut of Diving Chess at The Silo Hotel, while public viewing at the V&A Waterfront will start on December 8 and continue throughout the tournament. Before the finalists travel to the Grootbos tournament venue, the opening days in Cape Town offer opportunities for media and local players to connect with the world’s leading grandmasters.
Press Conference
The week begins at 11:00 a.m. on December 4 with the press conference at The Silo Hotel, hosted by Norwegian TV presenter Sverre Krogh Sundbø. Freestyle Chess co-founders Magnus Carlsen and Jan Henric Buettner will be present, making this the only scheduled opportunity for direct questions before the competition moves to Grootbos. Media can register with a brief e-mail to media@freestyle-chess.com.
Diving Chess
Following the press conference, the opening program continues at The Silo Hotel with Diving Chess, the underwater chess variant developed by Etan Ilfeld. World Diving Chess Champion Michal Mazurkiewicz will be on site to support and advise the players. Although this is not a formal media event, limited coverage from designated positions may be possible.
Local Chess Clubs and Welcome Reception
In the hours after the press conference, and in parallel with Diving Chess, several finalists plan to visit the University of the Western Cape where they will meet players from local chess clubs in the Cape Town area. The visit is not part of a structured media program, but selected coverage can be arranged on request through the Freestyle Chess media team. On December 5, a Welcome Reception for students and regional representatives will take place in Stanford. Media coverage is possible and will be coordinated individually after registration.
Public Viewing at the Waterfront
From December 8 to 11, the V&A Waterfront becomes the public hub of the Grand Slam Finals. Starting at 12:30 p.m. each day, the official Freestyle Chess broadcast from Grootbos will be shown live on-site, hosted by South African presenters Cato Louw and Adrian Endly, joined by grandmaster Vidit Santosh Gujarathi from India and several special guests from the South African chess community. They will guide fans through every round of the tournament. The Waterfront public viewing is free of charge. It offers the main opportunity for audiences in Cape Town to experience the event as it unfolds.
Freestyle Chess emphasizes that there is no ticketing or public access to the tournament venue in Grootbos or to Diving Chess at The Silo Hotel. The V&A Waterfront serves as the central public meeting point for audiences throughout the final week.
Throughout Final Week, Freestyle Chess will distribute same-day Flash News updates during the Diving Chess competition and the Grand Slam Finals, along with current photos for editorial use. Full reports will be published on freestyle-chess.com after each tournament day.
For all media inquiries or to confirm attendance: media@freestyle-chess.com
Press Conference Venue
The Silo Hotel
Silo Square, Victoria & Alfred Waterfront
Cape Town, 8001, South Africa
Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/@freestyle_chess_media
Press Release:
Hans Niemann Diving Chess Cape Town 2025 Champion
Cape Town, 4 December 2025. Hans Niemann (USA) became the Diving Chess Cape Town 2025 Champion on Thursday after beating Fabiano Caruana (USA) in the final of an underwater chess event held at the Silo Hotel in Cape Town, South Africa. Javkohir Sindarov (Uzbekistan), the recent FIDE World Cup winner, won the match for third place against Vidit Gujrathi (India). The event was the first ever Freestyle Diving Chess Championship.
Players made their moves on a small chess set placed 110 centimeters deep, on the bottom of the Silo Hotel’s beautiful rooftop pool. Each time a player moved and came out of the water to catch some air, the opponent had to take a dive instantly and make their move.
From the pool, Niemann proudly showed his medal to the applause of local supporters, before taking up Diving Chess World Champion Michal Mazurkiewicz next. The Polish player won a rook and pawn for a bishop due to a blunder by Niemann as early as move two, but the American grandmaster managed to outplay his expert opponent after all to win that game as well.
The Diving Chess competition was the first of several side events that are part of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Finals. Also on Friday, the other four participants of the Finals visited the University of the Western Cape where they met with about 200 fans of all ages, most of them players from local chess clubs in the Cape Town area for a simultaneous exhibition. This event was organized by Freestyle Chess in partnership with Chess South Africa.
Magnus Carlsen (Norway) and Levon Aronian (USA) played a tandem simul, alternating moves against 20 boards, winning 15, drawing one and losing four games. Vincent Keymer (Germany) and coach/commentator Peter Leko (Hungary) stayed undefeated, drawing two games and winning 18.
Among the participants in the simuls were streamers Anna Cramling, Dina Belenkaya, and Niklas Steenfatt. Parham Maghsoodloo (Iran) was present as well and played blitz against many fans for 2.5 hours, taking just 30 seconds on the clock against five minutes for the opponent (and a one-second increment each). He still won all games. Afterward, it was time for selfies and autographs, all in a very cheerful atmosphere.
Earlier in the day, Magnus Carlsen and Jan Henric Buettner gave a press conference at the Silo Hotel. Buettner said he was particularly happy to be in Africa: “I know that the African population, at least the people who follow chess, are extremely happy to have such a tournament here with Magnus and all the other great players. We have eight top players. It’s fantastic, and we’re very grateful and excited to start this tournament.”
Carlsen had been to South Africa and Cape Town once before, during a family trip in 1999, shortly before his 10th birthday. “I’ve always wanted to come back, but it hasn’t panned out, so I’m very happy to finally be back in this beautiful country,” he said. “People keep telling me the city has changed, and what can I say — it’s still beautiful!”
A full report will be available soon in the news section of our website.
Press Release:
Freestyle Chess Announces Duolingo as Official Partner of the Grand Slam South Africa
Cape Town, South Africa (December 4, 2025) – Freestyle Chess, the trailblazing chess league co-founded by five-time World Champion Magnus Carlsen and entrepreneur Jan Henric Buettner, today announced that Duolingo, the world’s leading mobile learning platform, has signed on as the Official Partner of the Grand Slam South Africa.
Duolingo’s flagship app has become the world’s most popular way to learn languages and is the top-grossing app in the Education category on both Google Play and the Apple App Store. The platform has since expanded beyond teaching language and now offers math, music, and chess courses. Launched in 2025, the Duolingo chess course is designed to help its users learn one of the world’s oldest and most popular games. With technology at its core, Duolingo continues to invest in creating fun, engaging, and effective learning experiences, consistent with its mission to develop the best education in the world and make it universally available.
“We are thrilled to welcome Duolingo as our Official Partner for the Glam Slam South Africa,” said Jan Henric Buettner, CEO of Freestyle Chess. “The global popularity of chess continues to surge – from our Grand Slams in Germany, France, and the United States, and now to the continent of Africa. Together, we look forward to expanding access for fans who are inspired by elite competition at the highest level.”
“Chess can feel intimidating for new or casual fans. At Duolingo, our goal is to make learning fun and engaging.” said Katy Romdall, Director of Global Events at Duolingo. “By partnering with Freestyle Chess, we hope to inspire the next generation of fans to experience the sport not just as spectators, but as players.”
About Freestyle Chess
Freestyle Chess was founded in 2024 by Magnus Carlsen and Jan Henric Buettner, to revolutionize the game of chess. Capitalizing on the boom of interest in the sport, Freestyle Chess incorporates a unique style of gameplay featuring Fischer Random and follows the players’ heart rates throughout the matches. Working to democratize the sport, matches are available for free online, and players participate in press conferences and post-match interviews, keeping the company’s events exciting for all audiences. This year, Freestyle Chess kicked off its Grand Slam tournaments in Germany, France with upcoming stops in the United States and South Africa.
About Duolingo
Duolingo is the leading mobile learning platform globally. Its flagship app has organically become the world’s most popular way to learn languages and the top-grossing app in the Education category on both Google Play and the Apple App Store. With technology at the core of everything it does, Duolingo has consistently invested to provide learners with a fun, engaging, and effective learning experience while remaining committed to its mission to develop the best education in the world and make it universally available.
Pressemitteilung
Grootbos, 8 December 2025. The Round Robin stage of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Finals concluded on Monday at Grootbos, with Javokhir Sindarov topping the table on his 20th birthday. He finished on 5.5 points out of 7 games, followed by Levon Aronian with 5, while Arjun Erigaisi and Magnus Carlsen both reached 4.5. Under Grand Slam rules, all eight players advance to the Knockout stage, and the top three held the right to select their Quarterfinal opponents from the bottom four.
The pairings for Tuesday:
- Javokhir Sindarov vs. Parham Maghsoodloo
- Levon Aronian vs. Hans Niemann
- Arjun Erigaisi vs. Vincent Keymer
- Magnus Carlsen vs. Fabiano Caruana
Two matchups stand out. Aronian vs. Niemann is a direct rematch of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Final in Las Vegas, where Aronian took the title. Carlsen vs. Caruana carries its own long history: the two played the 2018 World Championship match, meeting now at the Quarterfinal stage of the Grand Slam Finals.
The South Africa Finals will decide the 2025 Freestyle Chess Champion and conclude the Grand Slam season. Magnus Carlsen leads the overall standings with 80 points ahead of Fabiano Caruana on 49 and Vincent Keymer on 39. Fans in Cape Town can follow all Knockout matches at the V&A Waterfront, where the official broadcast from Grootbos runs daily from 12:30 p.m. SAST, hosted by Cato Louw, Adrian Endly, and Vidit Santosh Gujarathi.
A full report will be available soon in the news section of our website.
Pressemitteilung
Carlsen secures 2025 Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour title
Cape Town, 9 December 2025. Magnus Carlsen has secured the 2025 Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour title early. By reaching the semifinals at Grootbos on Tuesday, Carlsen clinched the season championship and the $100,000 bonus prize, while the South Africa Finals – and the $200,000 winner’s purse – remain to be decided. Carlsen’s route to the semifinals was anything but smooth. He started his match against Fabiano Caruana with a loss after a grave mistake. Facing a must-win situation with Black, Carlsen forced tiebreaks, won the first blitz game and closed the match with a second win.
Javokhir Sindarov continued his momentum from the round-robin stage. After Parham Maghsoodloo’s 0/7 in the preliminaries, the Iranian still managed to create a crushing position in game one but let it slip. Sindarov survived, turned the game around and won game two as well, finishing the match 2–0.
Vincent Keymer became the second player to advance. After drawing game one against Arjun Erigaisi, he took over in game two and converted calmly to reach the semifinals. Levon Aronian later joined him by defeating Hans Niemann. Niemann had been on the ropes in their first game but escaped; Aronian finished the job in the tiebreaks.
The semifinal lineup for Wednesday:
- Magnus Carlsen vs. Javokhir Sindarov
- Vincent Keymer vs. Levon Aronian
A full report will be available soon in the news section of our website.
Pressemitteilung
Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian will contest the Grand Final of the 2025 Freestyle Chess Grand Slam in Grootbos.
Grootbos, 10 December 2025. After a dramatic day in which both semifinals went to tiebreaks, Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian emerged as finalists, with $200,000 still on the line for the winner of the South Africa Finals. Carlsen, who had already secured the 2025 Grand Slam Tour title earlier in the event, took the lead against Javokhir Sindarov in game one. Sindarov struck back with a must-win as Black in game two, leveling the match and forcing a blitz tiebreak. Carlsen won the first blitz game and produced a miraculous save in the critical second one.
In the second semifinal, Vincent Keymer had Levon Aronian under pressure for long stretches of their second game but missed Aronian’s extraordinary escape. The match moved into a tiebreak, where Aronian capitalized in blitz, winning 2–0 to reach his second Grand Final of the season. In Las Vegas in July, he won the event in a final against Hans Niemann. This time, it will be world number one Carlsen he must overcome — “a great privilege,” Aronian said after the tiebreaks.
With both semifinals decided, the placement matches are set. Keymer and Sindarov will contest the match for third place, while Fabiano Caruana and Arjun Erigaisi meet in the match for fifth. Caruana defeated Parham Maghsoodloo in the lower bracket, and Arjun beat Hans Niemann after a strong tiebreak performance.
Grand Final (Thursday):
- Magnus Carlsen vs. Levon Aronian
Match for 3rd:
- Vincent Keymer vs. Javokhir Sindarov
Match for 5th:
- Fabiano Caruana vs. Arjun Erigaisi
Match for 7th:
- Hans Niemann vs. Parham Maghsoodloo
A full report will be available soon in the news section of our website.
Pressemitteilung
Grootbos, 11 December 2025. Levon Aronian has won the 2025 Freestyle Chess Grand Slam event in Grootbos. The grandmaster from the USA defeated Magnus Carlsen (Norway) 1.5–0.5 in the Grand Final, winning the first game and securing the title with a draw in the second. Aronian earns the $200,000 winner’s prize and completes four days without a single loss. Carlsen, who had already secured the overall Grand Slam Tour title earlier in the week, takes second place.
Vincent Keymer claimed third place after defeating Javokhir Sindarov 2–0. In the first game Keymer broke through with a tactical sequence, and he converted the second as well, sealing a strong finish to his South Africa run. Sindarov ends the event in fourth place.
Fabiano Caruana secured fifth place with a 1.5–0.5 victory over Arjun Erigaisi. In the match for seventh place, Hans Niemann completed a comeback by beating Parham Maghsoodloo in the tiebreaks.
With all matches concluded, the 2025 Freestyle Chess Grand Slam season is officially complete.
A full report will be available soon in the news section of our website.
