Magnus Carlsen questioned the validity of classical chess as a measure of skill, favoring rapid chess. Gukesh acknowledged the quality of their championship match, while Carlsen ruled out a title clash.

Carlsen, the world’s highest-rated chess player since 2010, will take a seat in Weissenhaus, Germany, to compete in freestyle chess, previously known as Chess960 and Fischer Random. The starting position of the back row pieces is randomized, removing a top grandmaster’s lifetime of memorization and theory on how to open a chess game.

This isn't just another chess tournament though, with a public spat between Carlsen and the promoters of the FCGT with FIDE in the build-up to the tournament.

The five-tournament series will unfold through the year, with Paris, New York, New Delhi and Cape Town being the other four host cities. It will end with the final competition from December 5 to 12

World champion D Gukesh made a steady start at the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam, adapting to the unique format amid rising tensions between FIDE and organisers, while Magnus Carlsen and other top players experience mixed fortunes.

Five-time World Chess champion, Magnus Carlsen has won the first-ever Freestyle Friday tournament on Chess.com. The Norwegian grandmaster was challenged by some of the best players in the world including his long-time rival Hans Niemann, world number two Hikaru Nakamura, and Ian Nepomniachtchi.

C HESS IS the sort of deep and rewarding game that you can spend an enjoyable lifetime failing to master. But even ardent fans might concede that, as a spectacle, watching two players think for long periods before shuffling pieces around a board is somewhat short on sparkle.

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