Round-robin stage
The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam South Africa serves as the concluding event of this year’s Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour. It brings together the qualifying players for a four-day programme that will determine the 2025 Freestyle Champion. The tournament follows a structured format, beginning with a round-robin stage and culminating in placement matches that rank all participants from first to eighth place.
The Ragozin Defence (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4) has become a cornerstone of modern chess theory. With 3.Nf3 gaining popularity as a way to avoid Nimzo-Indian setups and the challenges Black faces in the Queen’s Indian, the Ragozin offers a solid and dynamic alternative.
Free video sample: Introduction
Free video sample: 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bf4
Round-robin stage (8 December)
The event opens with a round-robin group stage in which all players face each other. Results from this phase determine the seeding for the knockout rounds. The top three finishers gain the additional advantage of choosing their opponents for the quarterfinals. Games in this stage are played with a 10+5 time control.
Quarterfinals (9 December)
The quarterfinals adopt a single-elimination format, though no player leaves the competition entirely at this point. Instead, defeated players move into a parallel bracket to establish positions five to eight. Each match consists of two games, played at a 30+15 time control.
Semifinals (10 December)
Winners from the quarterfinals advance to the semifinals, where two-game matches, again using a 30+15 time control, decide who will contest the championship match and who will play in the third-place playoff.
Finals (11 December)
The final day determines the complete standings. The first- through fourth-place matches are played with a 30+15 time control, while the classification matches for fifth through eighth place use a 10+5 control.
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EXPAND YOUR CHESS HORIZONS
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