Magnus Carlsen Secures 2025 Freestyle Grand Slam Tour Title Despite Final Defeat
Magnus Carlsen won the overall 2025 Freestyle Grand Slam Tour title despite losing 0.5-1.5 to Levon Aronian in the Cape Town final. Carlsen secured around $500,000 in prize money for the season. Earlier in the year, Carlsen had clinched the Tour title by needing only a fourth-place finish in Cape Town; he advanced all the way to the final but was ultimately defeated by Aronian.
The Freestyle Grand Slam Tour, known also as Fischer Random or Chess 960, consisted of five events in 2025 held in Weissenhaus, Karlsruhe, Paris, Las Vegas, and Cape Town. The Tour is financed by a $12 million investment from Left Lane Capital. During the Cape Town event, Carlsen struggled with illness, losing his opening game to Fabiano Caruana before recovering to reach the final by defeating Javokhir Sindarov in the semi-final.
Levon Aronian claimed the Cape Town title after defeating Hans Niemann in the quarter-final and Vincent Keymer in the semi-final, before overcoming Carlsen in the final match. The final Tour standings saw Nodirbek Abdusattorov leading with 7.5 out of 9 points, followed by Alireza Firouzja with 5.5, Nikita Vitiugov with 5, and Luke McShane and Michael Adams each with 4.5. Top prizes in the Tour events were £25,000 for first place, £15,000 for second, and £10,000 for third.
