D Gukesh Out of Las Vegas Freestyle Chess Match Against Carlsen Due to Exhaustion

D Gukesh, the reigning World Champion, will not be competing against Magnus Carlsen at the upcoming Las Vegas leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour. The official lineup, released last Tuesday, noticeably omitted Gukesh's name, leading to speculation about his absence.

Jan Henric Buettner, co-founder and CEO of Freestyle Chess, revealed the reason for Gukesh's withdrawal in an exclusive interview. "He said he’s exhausted and needs rest," Buettner explained. He further noted that Gukesh's performances at previous Grand Slam events had not met expectations, leading them to anticipate his potential withdrawal.

Despite an initial invitation and Gukesh's willingness to participate after the Paris event, the Norway Chess tournament proved too taxing. "But then, there was Norway Chess. This exhausted him so much. Even I would be exhausted," Buettner stated. Gukesh ultimately conveyed his need for rest, making his participation in Las Vegas impossible.

Vidit Gujrathi has been named as Gukesh's replacement in the Las Vegas lineup. "So we invited Vidit again as a replacement. So Vidit will wear the red jacket of Gukesh this time in Vegas," Buettner confirmed, referencing the tradition of players wearing distinctively colored jackets in Freestyle Chess events.

Gukesh's withdrawal comes as he seeks to find consistency in the Freestyle Chess circuit. After finishing eighth at Weissenhaus and eleventh in Paris, he held the eleventh overall position with four FCC points. His ranking later slipped to sixteenth following the Grenke Open.

However, Gukesh demonstrated his strength at the Norway Chess tournament, securing third place behind Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana. Notably, he achieved victories against the top three FIDE-rated players: Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, and Arjun Erigaisi.

The Las Vegas event marks Freestyle Chess's debut on American soil and is the fourth stop of the 2025 Grand Slam Tour. The tournament, held at the Wynn Las Vegas from July 16 to 20, will welcome a live audience. It features a prize pool of $750,000, with the winner receiving $200,000.

In related news, the Indian leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam, originally scheduled for September 17–24 in New Delhi, has been cancelled due to a lack of sponsors. Jan Henric Buettner will also step down as CEO on July 1, with COO Thomas Harsch taking over daily operations. Buettner will remain involved as Executive Chairman in a strategic role.