Hikaru Nakamura will not be playing Freestyle Chess Grand Slam in South Africa

The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam South Africa will be held in Cape Town, South Africa, from December 5th to 12th, 2025, as part of a year-long tour. This event marks the final leg of the tour, which will also include tournaments in Weissenhaus, Paris, Grenke, and Las Vegas.

So far in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour Vincent Keymer won in Weissenhaus, Magnus Carlsen Clinched Paris Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Title in Thrilling Final Against Hikaru Nakamura, again Magnus Carlsen won Grenke win a new record, and Levon Aronian won the title in Las Vegas.

During the Titled Tuesday, right after commenting the Kaggle Game Arena AI chess, Hikaru Nakamura announced that he will not be playing the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam in South Africa. Nakamura said, “Will I play Freestyle South Africa? Very unlikely. Truth be told, I do not think I will be playing anymore freestyle events.”